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Internet of Things + Analytics = Opportunities

Internet of Things gives businesses and marketers the opportunity to create, extrapolate and utilize actionable insights about consumers.

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is clearly the most exciting invention since the Internet itself. Kevin Ashton coined the term IoT, 17 years ago, to describe the network connecting objects in the physical world to the Internet. Fast forward to the present day, IoT is about pervasive connectivity. This means everything and anything is connected to the Internet in some way. IoT, thus, gives businesses and marketers the opportunity to create, extrapolate and utilize actionable insights about consumers and trends that were unimaginable just a few decades ago.

Prediction is that by 2019, IoT will be the world’s largest device market—double the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car, and the wearable market combined. There will be reinventions in business models, helping them save millions of dollars in the next decade as the trend comes closer to reality.

A look at the next gen technologies that are imperative for successful IoT implementations, and to drive new business opportunities:

Location-intelligent IoT

Our analysis shows that roughly 80% of all industrial Internet data contains a location. Utilizing location intelligence and spatial information (the graphically represented location information) for industrial IoT use cases, we foresee impact on municipal processes, changing how governments aid citizens and the way they interact with city services.

Smart City initiatives, for example, can utilize location intelligence to better understand population distribution. Analysing neighbourhood demographics supports improved routing of public transportation and identifying urban infrastructure inefficiencies to better educate policymakers. When location intelligence is utilized within Smart City applications, city managers will be able to make swifter and better business decisions.

For consumer applications, marketers can provide interactivity in location-based offerings. Marketers are out to exponentially increase their interactions with their customers. And fortunately for them, the market for location-based services has begun a healthy trend by attracting developers to create highly interactive apps for games, learning environments, environmental models, way-finding, shopping and entertainment.

We’re not talking about merely an ad strategy of location-based services that gives you a coupon for Starbucks or Domino’s as you walk/drive near the location. No. This is a more context-aware technology.

Let’s say your Fitbit shows you are a runner, so perhaps you get an ad for a salad rather than pizza, or if your heart rate is high, maybe decaf is on offer rather than regular coffee. There’s more “hot” data (read real-time) to convert into actionable efforts.

IoT and big data management

What enterprises need is a single, unified big data platform to traverse multiple data sources that often don’t easily work together. Data integration, in batch or real time, requires the ability to connect to data from multiple sources either directly or through integration with existing data access technologies. This helps marketers unlock the true value of data by giving them a 360 degree view of their customers that helps them identify relationships, uncover opportunities and engage with customers in a more meaningful way.

There are many innovations taking place in this space that have given rise to new business applications. For example, with a robust big data platform, a financial company can track a consumer’s spending pattern or it can be used by an insurance company to visually depict a customer’s risk profile. For a retailer or a marketer, it can provide a holistic perspective of each buyer’s unique history, behaviour and preference.

However, enterprises are moving away from managing big data infrastructure themselves, instead concentrating on data analytics and the value they can derive. The promise of IoT can be accomplished by driving partnerships with big data platform providers.

IoT and real time analytics

IoT analytics will become a data science specialized category and discipline. And rightfully so. There needs to be development of such analytical capabilities that supply information while protecting the privacy of individuals. Deep machine learning technologies (based on neural networking) are showing great potential in deducing relationships.

A simple business use case that has come up using IoT analytics is around Beacons, which is about emitting a signal that can be picked up by a smartphone. Retailers are offering deals, promotions, and recommendations on nearby products for customers who opt in. Beacons are estimated to amount to $44 billion in sales by 2016.

Real-time analytics can become a differentiator for companies in the future.

Internet of Things + Analytics = Opportunities was originally published on Interniot

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IoT devices about 80% not tested for security flaws, study

A recent study found 80 percent of Internet of Things (IoT) apps aren’t tested for vulnerabilities and there is still a lack of urgency to address the risk.

The “2017 Study on Mobile and IoT Application Security”, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM and Arxan Technologies surveyed 593 IT and IT security practitioners to explore how companies are unprepared for risks created by vulnerabilities in IoT apps.

The survey found despite the lack of urgency, 84 percent of respondents are very concerned about the threat of malware to mobile apps and 66 percent of respondents say they are very concerned about this threat to IoT apps. To make matters worse, 79 percent of respondents say the use of mobile apps and 75 percent of respondents say the use of IoT apps increase security risk very significantly or significantly.

Respondents also reported being more concerned about getting hacked through an IoT app, 58 percent, than a mobile app, 53 percent.

Anyone who thinks these findings sound contradictory, you’re not alone. Arxan Technologies Chief Marketing Officer Mandeep Khera told SC Media “the biggest surprise was that a vast majority of the respondents believe that they are likely to get hacked but most of them are not doing much to protect themselves.” ��Just seems counter-intuitive,” she said.

Khera warned this is mainly due to a lack of inertia, lack of awareness, and lack of budget and that these are the same type of problems that got developers in trouble when trying to secure web apps a few years ago.

“IoT is still fairly new and due to lack of a big visible hack or a regulation, organizations have hard time justifying security initiatives,” Khera said. “However, a hack is coming and in some segments like connected medical and connected automobiles, companies are starting to make good progress in terms of security.”

One of the problems that is staggering progress, Khera said, is that since IoT is so new most professionals do not understand the potential vulnerabilities and the potential impact of hack on these devices. To combat this security executives need to make a strong case for IoT app protection because consequences could be devastating.

Proactive testing, fixing vulnerabilities and binary code as well as cryptographic key protection are some of the ways that companies can mitigate the risks and better secure IoT devices and while companies may go through the software development lifecycle with security in mind, once they throw those out in the wild on end point devices or mobile, binary code and cryptographic keys are vulnerable and easy for hackers to attack, Khera said.

IoT apps are experiencing something similar to the rise of virtualization; a lack of understanding and commitment to security first methodology, Brad Bussie, CISSP, Director of Product Management, STEALTHbits Technologies told SC Media.

“IoT apps are still new enough that usability is outflanking security because security has a reputation of getting in the way,” Bussie said. “The new IoT apps also lack a common set of standards because of the sheer number of IoT devices providing countless applications.”

Bussie said vendors continue to manufacture insecure devices because manufacturers are experiencing a phenomenon in IoT and IoT apps where the buzz and usability are outweighing the security implications.

“I always take this back to a simple principle when analyzing risk (Probability of Event) x (Cost of Event) = Risk Value,” Bussie said. “Many companies appear to be running this equation and coming to a simple conclusion; it is cheaper to manufacture devices and applications without proper security.”

He noted that until manufactures stand up and make this a priority and a marketable feature, the industry will continue to produce insecure products regardless of the impact it has on consumers.

IoT devices about 80% not tested for security flaws, study was originally published on Interniot

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Rentokil Initial Partners with Qlik to Handle IoT Data Infestation

Qlik announced that Rentokil Initial, one of the largest business services companies in the world, is using the Qlik Sense® analytics platform to gain better insights from its product and global company operations data. Rentokil’s partnership with Qlik supports its wider global deployment of new innovative digital pest control products and next-generation services.

Qlik joins Google and PA Consulting Group to execute Rentokil’s mission to deliver its customers predictive advice and connected solutions. The cloud-based Qlik Sense platform will be used to provide visualizations of data from Rentokil’s Internet of Things (IoT) product roll out, which leverages connected digital devices to deliver new levels of proactive risk management against the threat of pest infestation – for instance, mapping weather patterns with rodent behavior or tracking swarms of insects as they cross territories.

So far, Rentokil has extended its range of connected rodent control products to over 20,000 digital devices, running in 12 countries globally and generating more than three million pieces of data. These IoT units can automatically alert technicians when a rodent is caught, while customers are kept informed through the myRentokil online portal.

Rentokil Initial’s Paul Donegan, IT Director comments: “Qlik’s platform will enable Rentokil to gain a new depth of insight from its data and, crucially, empower our front line staff with the latest information and real-time trends, improving productivity. This level of data visualization will be crucial as the company continues to digitize and extend its IoT services, heralding the future of pest control management.”

Qlik’s UK&I MD and Country Manager, Simon Blunn comments: “Rentokil’s innovative use of the IoT to launch a new generation of services is reflective of the possibilities a connected world can bring. Key to the realization of this potential is an ability to make sense of the increased level of data produced by IoT devices, and putting power in the hands of the employees and customers that need this information. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with Rentokil and helping the company extract further value and see the whole story within its data.”

Rentokil Initial Partners with Qlik to Handle IoT Data Infestation was originally published on Interniot

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Viasat builds IoT network for connected vehicle insurance

Satellite connectivity services supplier Viasat is to offer a global internet of things (IoT) roaming service to provide services such as insurance, fleet management, security and safety, and telematics to its automotive sector customers.

The Italy-based firm has enlisted Orange Business Services to run a three-year, multimillion-euro contract covering up to 350,000 SIM cards.

Using its Datavenue service, Orange will supply rugged IoT connectivity to enable Viasat’s remote telematics boxes to send and receive data, SMS and voice, while satellite tracking technology will enhance a comprehensive insurance offering for the automotive industry.

“Our telematics solutions need global coverage to provide a complete service for our customers in the fleet and insurance industries,” said Massimo Getto, vice-president and CFO at Viasat. “Among our partners, we selected Orange Business Services for IoT connectivity because of their wide coverage, flat rate pricing across the European Union and comprehensive international support.”

Viasat will also have access to Orange’s IoT management platform to let users manage and update their SIM card estates, including ordering, suspending and reactivating SIMs, setting data consumption alerts, and blocking them if needed. This platform will also integrate into customers’ back-end systems for reporting and billing.

The firm said the move would allow its customers to improve the quality of their driving experience, improving safety on the roads and lowering insurance premiums.

“Viasat needed multi-roaming capabilities to cover 100% of its markets and an international partner with global reach and support, capable of managing a very high number of SIM cards,” said Helmut Reisinger, executive vice-president international at Orange Business Services. “With our full-service Datavenue offer, we can contribute to an improved driver experience, all while supporting Viasat’s business.”

Orange has been busy rolling out its Datavenue service around the automotive industry in early 2017, having recently signed a similar pan-European deal with car rental service Hertz, enabling the hire firm to keep track of a fleet of keyless cars that it lets out on a short-term basis.

Insurance is increasingly being positioned at the front line of the shift towards IoT-enabled businesses, and last year the UK became the first country in the world to introduce legislation on insurance requirements for connected and autonomous cars in the Modern Transport Bill. In June 2016, specialist car insurance provider Adrian Flux became the first UK company to offer a dedicated policy for driverless cars.

Current thinking tends to hold that future policies are likely to hold vehicles and manufacturers liable for accidents, which suggests the suppliers of the underlying technology will also come under scrutiny in the event of a technology failure leading to a claim.

Viasat builds IoT network for connected vehicle insurance was originally published on Interniot

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In Rare Interview Matt Cutts Talks About His Challenges At Google

It has been rare for Matt Cutts to talk about working at Google. Matt was the search spam guardian at Google, he went on a leave a while back and was replaced in March 2015 and now is temporarily at the Pentagon working on projects with the Defense Digital Service team.

The interview was by Anil Dash and posted on Medium. It was a weird format because they used an app for the interview and Matt was asked a question on a mobile app and he had to reply quickly typing on his mobile phone. But the questions were solid and not just about his work with the Defense Digital Service team. Anil has known Matt for years and asked him some solid questions around his work at Google.

Here are the most interesting ones about his challenges while working at Google in the unique position of doing webmaster communication, when there was no such role for that early on.

He told Anil that he “was always amazed that more engineers didn’t want to step out in front of the curtain.” I know he tried, he brought many engineers to conferences, brought them into videos and forums but very few lasted. So he decided to help make a team just for this, named the Webmaster Trends team.

When asked about the stresses around how SEOs can get a bit extreme, Matt said “occasionally someone would be stressed and threaten something.” Yes, he received threats. In fact, he said he “did get a credible threat at a search conference.” He added that since then his “wife insisted that I had to carry a cell phone after that.”

But when he was asked if that was unusual, he shrugged it off explaining that “even then the kernel of there reaction was trying to set things right.” He explained “well, it is there livelihood in many cases,” “so I understand the stress that people would be under,” Matt added.

I then was able to ask a few questions and I asked if he ever considered a body guard and he said “nah. Most people even when stressed are still reasonable and nice.” Yea, most people are, but it only takes one, I thought.

Matt did add “folks would occasionally send a big cookie or a fruit basket. We always joked whether it was safe to eat them.”

So what was the tricky part I asked Matt?

The knowledge from one area helped in the other. But at times, it was frustrating because I wanted to shut down some loophole faster, and I wasn’t going to recommend things that would make the web worse. On balance though, I am so grateful for my time doing communication and outreach.

He never once said he left Google because of these challenges and technically, he is still on a leave and with Google. But I assume he is somewhat relieved and thankful not to be getting as many threats these days.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

In Rare Interview Matt Cutts Talks About His Challenges At Google was originally published on Interniot

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Matt Cutts Officially Resigns From Google

With no surprise to I am sure most of you, Matt Cutts, the man at Google who helped shaped the SEO community from within the search engine, has announced he has officially resigned from Google. His last date at Google officially was December 31, 2016.

Matt Cutts joined the USDS team, working for the government like I expected, six months ago. He thought it would be a 3 month gig, but it turned into six months. Then his boss stepped down officially when the new administration was elected and he stepped in as the director of engineering for the USDS.

Matt is working on big problems within the government, instead of big problems at Google. Both his jobs impacted hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. There are some serious issues within the government around data and systems and he is working on fixing that.

Matt wrote:

Working for the government doesn’t pay as well as a big company in Silicon Valley. We don’t get any free lunches. Many days are incredibly frustrating. All I can tell you is that the work is deeply important and inspiring, and you have a chance to work on things that genuinely make peoples’ lives better. A friend who started working in this space several years ago told me “These last five years have been the hardest and worst and best and most rewarding I think I will ever have.”

We covered a rare interview with Matt several months back that go into this more.

Matt – thanks for everything you’ve done and will do in the future.

Forum discussion at Twitter, WebmasterWorld and Hacker News.

Matt Cutts Officially Resigns From Google was originally published on Interniot

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Biggest High-Tech Story to Watch in 2017: How to Secure the Internet of Things

An article by David Sovie, global managing director for Accenture’s Electronics & High-Tech Industry.

The most important high-tech story to watch in 2017 will be whether companies make substantial improvements in securing the Internet of Things ecosystem, which includes devices (Internet of Things), networks, platforms and services.

This story will be so crucial because the market potential is enormous. More than 50 billion devices (Internet of Things) are predicted to be used by consumers by the year 2020, according to industry analysts and high-tech companies. But this won’t happen nearly as fast as projected unless more and better security is built into the entire IoT ecosystem.

New U.S. Department of Homeland Security Report

The seriousness and extent of these security concerns surfaced in a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security report titled, Strategic Principles for Security the Internet of Things, which says: “The time to address IoT security is now. Many of the vulnerabilities in IoT could be mitigated through recognized security practices, but too many products today do not incorporate even basic security measures. There is a lack of incentives for developers to adequately secure products, since they do not necessarily bear the costs of failing to do so. While the benefits of IoT are undeniable, the reality is that security is not keeping up with innovation.”

The IoT market is as weak as its weakest link. A hacker who gains access to a corporate or home network could remotely control each of the connected devices to make them a part of an orchestrated attack. If the broader network is compromised, the hacker could also capture other sensitive data on the network such as peoples’ financial information.

Hacking surveillance cameras

A recent security attack underscores the severity of this problem. Dyn, a company that monitors and routes Internet traffic, was hit with a severe “distributed denial of service” attack in October that flooded its servers with so many fake requests for information that they could not respond to real ones, causing the servers to crash. Unknown hackers took down the company’s routing network, which allowed them to knock many popular websites such as Amazon, Twitter, and Netflix offline.

By hacking into unsecured IoT devices, mainly home surveillance cameras, hackers took control of these devices to attack other devices on the network, which served as gateway to take down the company’s routers and attack the entire corporate infrastructure including the popular websites.

These types of IoT devices are easily hackable because they are designed to be accessed over a local network and they come with unsecured, hard-coded default passwords, which can be easily compromised.

Security slowing shift from product to service businesses

Security has hastened the growth of the IoT market as companies pivot from product-focused businesses towards new service and software application business models. To do this faster and more effectively, the security issues need to be solved. Product and service application development, device and service testing, and platforms need to be as secure as the hardware devices and equipment. Connecting the security “dots” – digital, operations, technology and strategy – will be important to building secure IoT offerings.

A one-size-fits-all security solution for IoT devices and platforms does not exist. But the remedies for this problem need to account for attack risks and the costs of security failures.

Over the past two years, consumer purchases of IoT devices such as wearable health devices, connected vehicles, and home monitoring devices have not grown as quickly as once predicted. Security concerns are among the main reasons. An Accenture research report, Igniting Growth in Consumer Technology, finds that 18 percent of consumers decided to quit or terminate an IoT device or service until they were assured of its safety.

What’s next?

As this year unfolds, a specific IoT security story to track will be which companies are embedding security technologies during the design phase of products. Integrating security at the start of product design – a practice few companies do now — tends to be easier and less expensive than after the product has been manufactured.

Companies should further consider the full lifecycle of deploying, provisioning, or updating devices. The recent attack at Dyn is a reminder that many organizations only consider the deployment of an IoT device, and are unable to effectively update the devices once it is deployed. Although security vulnerabilities are usually present in any products running software, IoT offerings are especially vulnerable.

Companies could also program IoT devices to require users to change passwords upon first use. This would have been helpful in preventing the Dyn attack.

Technology providers must urgently address these very real security concerns to enable continued growth of the Internet of Things.

  Biggest High-Tech Story to Watch in 2017: How to Secure the Internet of Things was originally published on Interniot

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Linux is part of the IoT security problem

Does that ‘thing’ really need to run Linux, given alternatives have smaller attack surfaces?

The Mirai botnet? Just the “tip of the iceberg” is how security bods at this week’s linux.conf.au see the Internet of Things.

Presenting to the Security and Privacy miniconf at linux.conf.au, embedded systems developer and consultant Christopher Biggs pointed out that Mirai’s focus on building a big DDoS cannon drew attention away from the other risks posed by insecure cameras and digital video recorders.

IoT offers a full suite of risks, he said: a perpetrator could just as easily use badly-secured cameras or recorders to stalk a victim, or download videos for blackmail. There’s a huge potential for mass data collection by someone driving around “sniffing for vulnerable devices”, and there’s plenty of scope for unauthorised control.

“It might be briefly funny if someone works out subvert autonomous computers into delivering free groceries from Woolworths or free petrol from BP,” Biggs said, but how would you react if your lights started flashing every 200 milliseconds unless you paid Bitcoin to your attacker?

And firewalls fall far short of offering protection, he said, for obvious reasons: they’re oriented to block traffic from the outside, and if you haven’t turned off UPnP, Things expect to open whatever ports they wish.

As another presenter, Tom Eastman, told the conference: “You’re inviting a device into your home or office that you have absolutely no control over. You don’t know what threats it enables, and you have no way of updating the software on it.”

Biggs added that “The monsters are inside the room. If IoT devices use cloud services, there’s the risk of that service being compromised … many devices on the market are finicky to install, have low-quality user interfaces, and no provision for maintenance.”

The enemy is “us”

Biggs therefore feels that the enemy is IoT developers who don’t think of how real-world users behave when designing connected things, and create devices without upgrade paths.

“Most of the time there’s no useful brand identification on the device. If there’s a bug, you probably won’t know. If you do know, there’s probably no patch. And if you complain, there’s probably no-one who cares.”

“We as geeks owe it to our friends to design things they can use,” he said.

Biggs emphasised the relative immaturity of the IoT market, something that’s clearly evident from his self-defence advice, which is clearly more geek-ready than consumer-ready at this stage.

Too often, he said, there’s too much in the Linux stack that device makers build: “It’s easy to install a complete Linux distribution on the device and not bother to reduce the threat surface. In fact, sometimes it’s arguable that there better choices than Linux for an OS for IoT’s simple applications.”

“There’s no incentive to do better. If the buyer doesn’t care, the vendor won’t care.”

But defence is hard, as Biggs’ “selecting IoT devices” list illustrates:

Look for unexpected devices or open Wi-Fi networks you don’t recognise;

When you see an unexpected device, run a port scan to see what services it’s offering;

Don’t accept devices that ask you to do unacceptable things, such as running untrusted software;

Look for devices that support standard protocols or a well-documented API.

Devices that support a well-known framework from the likes of Apple, Google or Amazon (or the open source HomeKit connector, HomeBridge), are only going to open one hole in your firewall, he added.

However, while such things may indicate devices that are a cut above the rubbish, it also demands knowledge that’s a cut above the consumer.

The same could be said for his advice that an IoT buyer should create a separate network for those devices, rather than having them all on the same home LAN.

His developer advice sits much more readily with its intended audience:

Align with one of the major frameworks – even if Apple is difficult to deal with;

Watch the development of open source frameworks. The Open Connectivity Foundation is working on device profiles that define capabilities, based on “the best bits of UPnP and the Service Location Protocol”;

Don’t restrict configuration to a mobile app. Provide an API of some kind – “people installing thousands of sensors will thank you”;

Put a copy of the instructions in the device, because everybody loses the instructions;

Decide what the support life of the device is going to be, and commit to supporting it;

If there are higher functions that aren’t absolutely mandatory for operation, give people a way to turn those off if a vulnerability arises;

Remember, “an IoT device is different from a PC – limit what software you put on it.”

This last item, Biggs concedes, is inconvenient for developers.

“Automate around it,” he said. “When you commit code, your system builds a debug, test, production version for each release. Only put the non-necessary tools in the debug version.”

Biggs’ complete presentation is in the video below. ®

Watch Presentation Here

Linux is part of the IoT security problem was originally published on Interniot

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Will Big Data become a relic, quickly? Or are we looking at a future of "fast data"?

Much is happening at the World Economic Forum Annual Summit, Davos, since Tuesday. With an additional 1,000 attendees than previous years, the chatter seems to be getting smarter by the day.

The session on Smart Cities (which I attended) told us several things :

1.  The future of cities and services are bound by all aspects that are “smart” — smart planning, smart infrastructure, smart networks, smart security, smart communities — all for the future of smart citizens.

2.  Information technology firms need to see this as a tremendous opportunity to work closely with governments, planners and corporations to deduce everything that is “smart”

3.  Infrastructure based on communications isn’t enough — the real question is how to monetise them? There lies the collaboration to create an ecosystem of smart trends backed by (IoT) internet of things, sensors, analytics, cybersecurity, etc

4.  Almost everyone here seems to agree that data has deeply influenced almost all business decisions, but what’s next? Will data continue to grow? What technologies will develop around it? Or will Big Data become a relic as quickly as the next trend of cognitive technology emerges? Or are we looking at a future of “fast data”?

5.  Whether the real impediments identified as capital and infrastructure were reiterated. Privacy policy implications around autonomous cars and corollary issues were discussed

The other smart musings were Chinese President Xi Jinping in defence of globalisation, should the US go cashless — Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz’s point of view, Donald Trump’s aide (Anthony Scaramucci) clarifying why the world may have got the President-elect all wrong, the eight men who own as much wealth as half of humanity to the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution chaired by Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard, had me keep both my ears to the ground.

Elsewhere, the conversations on why Europe lags behind on 3G speed, why their companies rent airwaves whereas in the US they buy; whether AT&T, which today has 140,000 people to run its network may need not more than 90,000 and the emphasis on retraining, were being heard.

I was asked by many about the future of jobs. All I can say is that the jobs of tomorrow won’t map directly to the roles, skillsets and industries we know today. And as the digital economy becomes more pervasive, accounting for 15 per cent of global productivity in 2005 and is expected to reach 25 per cent by 2025 — so the obligation of business and political leaders will come into sharper focus. In less than 10 years, three quarters of the global labour market will be made up of millennials and those that follow (12-18 year-olds, the so-called Generation Z). Both generations must be given the tools, education and infrastructure that will enable them to drive our economies forward.

I met several leaders. Notable among them were Jack Ma (Alibaba), Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Bill McDermott (SAP), Gavin Peterson (BT), and the one common view that emerged from the conversations is the need for speed — to be able to think ahead of others and implement before others, to stay competitive and unique. These are the people who are creating solutions and software that are going to power tomorrow’s enterprises and are doing real implementation of futuristic technologies. I have never failed to see the same kind of optimism in all of them while they all know that we all have to reshape and stay tuned for tomorrow, knowing that it could turn out to be quite uncertain.

Will Big Data become a relic, quickly? Or are we looking at a future of “fast data”? was originally published on Interniot

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India ready to take IoT to the next level?

The people, process and the technology required for smart manufacturing is available. What is needed is a mindset change

The Internet of Things (IoT) will revolutionise the way we see and use everyday things. Cities around the world are experimenting with IoT technology to improve the lives of their citizens, Industries are using it to reduce costs and organisations are leveraging the power of connect to improve their products. Given these advances and the potential benefits, is our country really geared to exploit this revolution?

  Forward-looking equipment manufacturers are starting to incorporate built-in intelligence as well as connectivity. They comprehend that by providing connectivity—as well as intelligence around operational states—they can moderate the total cost of ownership and usage statistics of their equipment, and help their customers optimise their operations at the same time. Access to technology and speed of development have spurred the explosion of multiple IoT startups, leading to infinite possibilities of leveraging the technology and generating business value. However, many moving parts need to work in tandem for sustainable growth.

The reality of embracing Industry 4.0 is not far-fetched for manufacturers in India, as elevating manufacturing industry to global levels of excellence is a top priority under the Make-in-India initiative. The people, process and the technology required for smart manufacturing are now available in India. The thrust must now come from within the industry through a mindset change, thinking and dreaming big.

It is critical to focus on a long term roadmap with strategic investments and calculated benefits. Smart decisions are needed on smart innovative retrofits vs. totally new smart machines. Our choice has always been cost and our biggest strength has been maximum output and quality by running machines effectively with low capital costs. Procuring used machines and extending the life of these machines has always been a strategic move. Smart IoT retrofit solutions need to be adapted to these used machines. People will need to be reskilled and adapted to the new processes and technology.

The dependence on data servers outside of the organisation and the use of the internet for data communications is a big risk in terms of data loss and data theft.

A data communication or an infrastructure breakdown could bring the entire networked production and smart manufacturing down with a substantial cost impact. It is imperative to design a redundant architecture to cover for potential breakdowns.

India has to look at IoT adoption differently but aggressively. We, as an industry, need to accelerate time to market, reduce costs, and raise quality, lower energy consumption and increase customisation to local needs. A product innovated for India has a massive potential outside of India. So embracing the concept of laying down the infrastructure and then embarking on a roadmap of invest, experiment, validate and deploy has to be taken up.

The journey of creating and developing smart factories will be complex but evolutionary. Requirements for local innovation will be the need of the hour as these will play an instrumental role in increased adoption. With the advent of Industry 4.0, new manufacturers will look absolute different from what we see today and we can anticipate smart industries helping emerging nations to gain global competitiveness.

India ready to take IoT to the next level? was originally published on Interniot

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Why Apple HomeKit Seems Boring Right Now?

The rollout of the Apple company’s smart home framework has been decidedly low-key. There’s a very good reason for that.

Apple HomeKit could become the quintessential product of Tim Cook’s Apple, but right now it’s kind of dull.

Apple has yet to tell much of a story around HomeKit since announcing the smart home framework in mid-2014, and there was little fanfare when the first HomeKit-enabled devices, such as the Ecobee3 thermostat and iHome iSP5 SmartPlug, rolled out last year. At Apple’s WWDC conference in June, the big news around HomeKit was that the company would release a remote control app for smart door locks, lighting, and thermostats, similar to third-party apps that are already available. This is not the type of dramatic product launch for which Steve Jobs was famous.

Playing The Long Game Inside Tim Cook’s Apple

iPhone sales have slumped, stock is down, and pundits insist Apple is a tech laggard. But the company may be stronger than ever.

But maybe it doesn’t have to be. Apple is becoming a different kind of company now, one with a burgeoning interest in ever-evolving services. While the persistent iteration that led to the iPhone and other breakthroughs is still present, it’s no longer happening behind the scenes. Ambitious connected services like HomeKit, Apple Pay, and HealthKit all involve lots of partners operating at scale, which means they must develop out in the open.

These services have the potential to evolve into lucrative businesses for Apple. But in the meantime, the process is going to seem a bit bland.

FAITH IN THE TRACK RECORD

I spoke to several smart home device makers for this story, and all of them seem satisfied to be working with Apple on HomeKit. At the same time, they’re short on examples of how HomeKit will push smart home adoption into the mainstream. Most acknowledge that while smart home devices are a growing business, they’re still the domain of either tech enthusiasts or home fixer-uppers.

“So far, nobody has crossed into the masses yet,” says Matt Swatsky, director of product management for smart dimmer maker Lutron. “Apple has historically figured out how to take products and get them to the masses … They haven’t done it yet.”

Lutron

So what drew device makers to HomeKit in the first place? Mostly a belief that Apple’s success in this area is inevitable.

“Clearly, the ability to work with a leader like Apple, you have to assume that those in the Apple ecosphere are very passionate about their products and devices,” says Gary Schultz, who heads product development for iHome’s SmartHome line. “It just makes sense that Apple and HomeKit are going to be leading platforms for the future smart home as it evolves, so it was a win-win.”

A similar line emerged from Schlage, whose smart door locks were among the first HomeKit devices. The main attraction was Apple’s demonstrated knack for intuitive products, says Rob Martens, Schlage’s futurist and director of connectivity platforms.

“You could name any number of experiences they’ve provided, even buying an iPhone … that end-to-end experience that they’ve provided gives what I would call adult businesses, adult manufacturers such as ourselves, a lot of confidence that they’re going to do it properly,” Martens says, referring to Schlage’s decades of experience in the lock-making trade.

Of course, it helps that Apple sells a lot of iPhones. Because the its hardware is so prevalent, the company can start assembling a smart home platform even without an anchor product, akin to Amazon’s Echo speaker or Google’s OnHub router.

“They have a different approach than others. Starting with a device that a lot of people have is not a bad way to get people interested in that connected home experience. There’s not really an up-front purchase to get started,” Lutron’s Matt Swatsky says.

That’s not to say smart home makers aren’t at all interested in HomeKit’s unique traits. Schlage’s Martens praised Apple’s work on creating a secure platform—device makers must include a custom chip for secure communications among devices—and the company’s steps to minimize data collection.

“They have put some stakes in the ground in terms of what they believe are the right things to do and the wrong things to do, and we believe consumers are paying attention and are very interested,” Martens says.

More broadly, the HomeKit framework is easy for device makers to work with in terms of talking to other devices in the home and helping users get set up, says Stuart Lombard, CEO of smart thermostat maker Ecobee.

“I think Apple has done a really good job of enabling people like us to create services on top of that platform. They’ll deliver services, we’ll deliver services, and in the end consumers will win.”

If there’s a common thread here, it’s that Apple is doing a lot of thankless work around HomeKit right now, from rallying device makers to building a system around privacy and security. But with products like the iPhone and iPad, this work happened quietly in Cupertino, long before Steve Jobs brought the end result on stage. Now we’re witnessing the construction in real time.

WHERE HOMEKIT GOES FROM HERE

So here’s the challenge for Apple: How does HomeKit get from a bare-bones product that appeals to a tiny (but growing) fraction of its customer base to something that’s part of every iPhone owner’s home? In other words, how does it stop being boring?

One argument goes that such a transformation won’t be necessary, and that HomeKit will grow gradually as people replace failing dumb appliances with brand-new smart ones.

“As you go to homes, you see people talking to their homes, you see things in the home responding,” iHome’s Gary Schultz says. “Word of mouth begets any technology, and really, we’re only 12 months into this journey.”

Ecobee’s Stuart Lombard says adoption is already moving from early followers to mainstream users, noting that 40% of new thermostat purchases are Wi-Fi-connected models. Smart homes aren’t just the domain of wealthy people anymore; Ecobee customers have a median household income of $75,000, Lombard says, and more of those customers connect to HomeKit than to any other platform.

���It is not a rich and famous kind of product,” Lombard says.

Still, smart home makers expect Apple to do more over time to push HomeKit forward. The upcoming Home app is the first step, allowing users to control appliances and set up automation routines from one place, and device makers are banking on Apple making that app more intelligent.

Lombard, for instance, envisions a system that automatically recognizes when you’re on vacation, and rotates through lighting to look like someone’s still home. It’s worth noting that Nest has offered these kinds of advanced home and away automations for a couple years now, but Apple is building a broader framework that works with entire device categories instead of specific partners.

“Those types of use cases, where you solve customer pain points and make it easy for them, those are ones that work really, really well.”

Schlage’s Rob Martens also hopes HomeKit will learn to recognize when not to trigger certain actions. For example, if a motion sensor is set up to turn on the lights and play NPR on the speakers when the user gets home from work, that action should get bypassed if someone else is home already.

“It’s definitely not a play for just the ‘good night Siri’ thing, in terms of making sure the door is locked, making sure the temperature is where I want it, et cetera,” Martens says. “There’s a heightened level of integration.”

But as Martens notes, designing that system requires deep understanding of what each device can do. If a smart lock can tell the difference between someone knocking on the door and trying to kick it in, for instance, HomeKit should know how to communicate that.

“Building your solutions off of an incredibly solid foundation allows you to innovate at a much faster pace later,” he says.

Those who are following the process of building up that foundation via HomeKit may find it dull, but that’s how innovation tends to work.

Would Apple’s partners like to see the company’s marketing muscle kick in sooner? Perhaps, but they also realize that’s not going to happen until the product feels complete. Only then can Apple perform its usual routine, and explain why HomeKit is something people didn’t realize they needed.

“Before they put their weight behind it,” Lombard says, “they really want to make sure they’ve got it right.”

Why Apple HomeKit Seems Boring Right Now? was originally published on Interniot

[interniot-blog]

Why Internet of Things might never speak a common language?

A single standard for smart homes and other connected devices sounds great, but some of the biggest tech firms don’t seem interested.

At the moment, the Internet of Things has some communications issues.

Unless you shop carefully, you might end up with a smart garage door opener that can’t converse with your security camera, or a smart door lock that won’t talk to your alarm system. The set of connected light bulbs in your hallway might not be on speaking terms with the ones in the living room, and your basement flood detector probably couldn’t get a message through to your smart TV.

Ideally, these devices would simply have a standard way to communicate, so users wouldn’t have to worry about making sure every product works together. Some companies, such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, and Intel, are now trying to figure out how to make that happen.

Even so, the ambitious goal of a common Internet of Things language is starting to seem like a Tower of Babel. Over the last year, tech titans like Apple, Google, and Amazon have built up their own ways of connecting to vast numbers of smart home products, and these companies have shown little interest in standardization. As these platforms gain traction, is it too late for a unified language to take hold?

WAVES AND WORDS

The notion of interoperability in IoT devices typically refers to one of two different issues, which can sometimes get conflated.

First, there’s the networking layer, which determines how devices connect to one another through the airwaves. Some devices use well-established standards such Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, while a power-efficient alternative called 802.15.4 forms the basis of other protocols such as ZigBee and Thread. Each method has strengths and limitations, but because each requires a separate radio, it’s rare to see a single smart home product supporting more than one or two protocols.

Although the networking layer is a conundrum in itself, it already has a partial solution in “hub” or “bridge” devices, which act as switchboards for products that use different networking protocols. Philips Hue lightbulbs, for instance, use the ZigBee protocol to connect with a bridge device, which then connects to Wi-Fi for control by smartphone or tablet. We’re even starting to see bridge-like features built into wireless routers, such as Google’s OnHub.

The knottier problem with IoT has to do with the application layer, which is essentially the language devices use to accomplish specific tasks. If a thermostat and motion detector can talk to each other, for instance, they can figure out how to turn down the temperature when no one’s home. Likewise, a device with voice recognition could control other devices around the house provided they understand one another.

So far, the tech industry has decided the best way to handle this is to create their own application layers. Apple has HomeKit for controlling certified smart home products with Siri, while Amazon has its own Alexa virtual assistant built into the Echo speaker and Fire TV set-top box. Nest—owned by Google parent company Alphabet—has created a system that automates certain actions across different devices. (One example: Nest’s thermostat can turn off a furnace when its smoke detector senses trouble.) Google itself is building its own language, called Weave, and Samsung has a system called SmartThings that it acquired in 2014.

Amazon’s Echo

For device makers, the sheer number of languages on offer poses a dilemma: Which ones do you support when building a new product?

“You may not have the resources to do everything, and you may not have the capacity, the bandwidth, the processing power to do everything in an individual product, so you have to make selections,” says Tom Kerber, an analyst with Parks Associates. “Limiting those choices to the critical few is important.”

Meanwhile, consumers are left to untangle a spider web of product integrations. Samsung SmartThings devices, for instance, are controllable through Amazon’s Alexa system, but not through Siri. August smart locks are controllable through Siri, but not through Alexa. Philips Hue lightbulbs have some neat integrations with Nest, but Cree lightbulbs don’t. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to think about all this stuff?

ENTER THE STANDARD

Before Apple and Amazon even created their smart home systems, other industry players anticipated the problem and started working on standard ways for connected devices to communicate. The idea is that a device like Nest shouldn’t have to distinguish between Philips Hue and Cree lightbulbs. Instead, it would just recognize lightbulbs in general and offer similar capabilities to all of them.

Still, not everyone agrees on how to move forward, and over the last couple years, two major competing standards groups have emerged: the AllSeen Alliance, with Qualcomm, Microsoft, LG, and Sony among its key backers, and the Open Interconnect Consortium, whose backers include Intel and Samsung. So far, neither group has produced much of an ecosystem on its own.

“Right now, the fact that they’re fighting each other…they’re splitting the apple,” Kerber says.

Some signs of progress did emerge last month, when AllSeen members Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Electrolux joined the Open Interconnect Consortium, now renamed the Open Connectivity Foundation (or OCF). But Kerber notes that it’s not a complete merger. AllSeen remains an independent entity with its own framework, called AllJoyn, though the hope is that both systems will interoperate.

Matt Perry, a Microsoft program manager who works on the Internet of Things, stresses the need for patience as the two groups resolve their differences. While quibbles over bylaws, structure, and intellectual property still need to be worked out, Perry notes that Microsoft and Qualcomm are the two biggest contributors by far to the base code of AllSeen’s AllJoyn framework.

“We believe the announcement…was a great first step, and we’re actively working towards our end goal here, which is one standard supported by the largest amount of companies possible,” Perry says.

TOO EARLY, OR TOO LATE?

Even if AllSeen and Open Connectivity Foundation come together, they still have a mountain of work in front of them. There’s the technical challenge of figuring out how interoperability should work, and how to market those benefits to consumers, so they know what they’re getting and which products it’ll work with. (Perry won’t say with certainty, for instance, that the Open Connectivity Foundation will have some sort of consumer-facing label.) Once all that is settled, device makers must create the types of flagship products that get people to invest in the ecosystem, on par with hits like the Nest Thermostat and Amazon Echo.

There’s also the more fundamental question of whether a standard amounts to much if doesn’t have the support of tech titans like Apple, Google, and Amazon. So far, those companies haven’t shown much interest in either OCF or AllSeen.

“Hey, we would love for them to join our efforts in creating one open standard. Our phones are open,” Perry says. “We’re driving for what’s best for customers, and whether it be Nest or these other products, it’s going to be great if all of these products work together.”

In the meantime, OCF executive director Mike Richmond takes the view that this is a long game, using the increasingly familiar analogy that today’s Internet of Things is like the Internet of the early 1990s: Back then, walled-garden portals like America Online and Prodigy were the norm, until people discovered what they were missing on the open web.

“The Internet of web pages completely changed that whole dynamic, because open usually wins in the long run, and I don’t see any reason why the Internet of Things shouldn’t have a similar dynamic for exactly the same reason,” he says.

It’s a fair point, but one that only holds true if the products and services that emerge from an open standard are better than the proprietary systems that exist now. How that actually happens is kind of hard to envision.

For that reason, the mere existence of an open Internet of Things standard is on some level a leap of faith, says Macario Namie, vice president of Strategy for Jasper, a company that helps bring cellular connectivity to IoT products. The plan is to build the framework, and hope the interesting use cases follow.

“If everybody believed that they could build on one single vendor’s platform, it would be done already,” Namie says. “They wouldn’t be talking about it, right? So I think there’s still a lot more room for innovation here.”

Why Internet of Things might never speak a common language? was originally published on Interniot

[interniot-blog]

Universal Language of Internet of Things will be Interniot?

In the home and beyond, it’s more important than ever that gadgets (Internet of Things) get standard ways to talk to each other. And there are signs of progress.In the home and beyond, it’s more important than ever that gadgets get standard ways to talk to each other. And there are signs of progress.

Smart home gadgets (Internet of Things) were everywhere at the CES trade show in January, from useful iterations on connected light bulbs and door locks to odder endeavors such as fridge cams and connected trash cans. But one theme was constant: They’re not all going to work together.

LIFX light bulbs support OCF predecessor AllSeen.

  While some of these devices can communicate with others, no universal language yet exists for the “Internet of Things”—the industry catch-all term for ordinary devices made more powerful through connectivity. Device makers must instead choose between disparate frameworks such as Apple’s HomeKit, Samsung’s SmartThings, Works with Nest, Android’s Things, and Amazon’s Alexa. The burden then falls on users to determine whether the products they want are compatible with the system they bought into.

The good news is that standardization is under way, with meaningful progress toward a common language for all these devices. But it’ll probably be another CES or two until consumers start to notice.

NO MORE STANDARDS WAR

The Open Connectivity Foundation—the industry body that’s building an Internet of Things standard—didn’t have an outsized presence at CES. Its modest demo pavilion blended into a sea of booths within the smart home section of the Sands Expo, which itself is a shuttle ride away from the cavernous Las Vegas Convention Center that serves as CES’s main venue. Yet the firms that are leading OCF are some of the biggest in technology, including Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung, LG, and Sony.

Until about a year ago, those companies were split on how to standardize. Intel and Samsung belonged to one standards group, called the Open Interconnect Consortium, while Qualcomm, Microsoft, LG, and Sony were part of the AllSeen Alliance. Each group was developing its own framework, with seemingly different policies over intellectual property, structure, and bylaws.

But over the last year, those two groups hashed out their differences and merged into one entity, now called the OCF. All members are now working toward a single framework that will support the couple dozen existing products already certified by AllSeen. With the newfound unity, there’s been an uptick in interest from device makers; the group now has more than 300 members.

“I think we’ve eliminated one of the potential hurdles for other companies to consider joining and participating,” says Matt Perry, a Microsoft program manager who is also the OCF’s president.

LOOK FOR THE LOGO

The goal for this year, Perry says, is to get products into the market. Member companies are now trying to define standard behavior for various types of devices—for instance, a common on-off function across all connected light bulbs, and a common set of climate adjustments for smart thermostats—and are coming up with a certification process. The group has also started working beyond the smart home, into automotive and industrial applications.

“A standard’s just a standard. When it really gets interesting is when you have real products that are interoperating together, and that makes it more compelling for other companies to join,” Perry says.

To that end, the OCF used its CES booth to demonstrate how products might work together. A living room section showed light bulbs, a TV, an air conditioner, and a robot vacuum cleaner all turning on and off from a single command on a Windows PC. In the kitchen section, the touch screen on a connected fridge triggered the room’s lighting, air purifier, air conditioner, and coffee maker. The OCF also demonstrated its potential for medical devices, for instance allowing different-brand blood pressure detectors to feed standardized information into a single smartphone app.

Once the OCF feels it has enough products, it’ll offer a logo that consumers can look for. The logo wasn’t always a certainty—last year, Perry said the OCF was still evaluating whether to create one—but since then, member companies have started to ask for it.

“The companies are proud of the work they put in from a tech perspective, and they trust the certification program, so they wanted to have some way to represent that work, and asked us to have a cert mark so they can put it on their products,” says Kimberly Lewis, a marketing program manager for Intel’s Standards and Advanced Technologies group.

The OCF isn’t giving a timeline for when that logo might appear, or how many devices the group would like to see on the market first. But Lewis notes that there’s a lot of interest in pushing things forward.

“Everyone’s anxious to make money, so it’s like, ‘When are we going to be done?'” she says. “That’s a good problem to have, that people want to start putting this in their products.”

CAN OPEN WIN?

Although competition among standards is no longer an obstacle, the OCF still has plenty of competition from existing Internet of Things platforms. Some of the biggest companies in tech, including Apple and Google, aren’t participating, nor is smart home mainstay ZigBee, which used CES to announce its own common language for smart homes. Device makers must still make tough decisions about which of these platforms to support.

Perry says the OCF’s phone lines are still open, though it doesn’t sound like there’s been much progress in working with the major players who aren’t yet on board. For now, the OCF is assuring itself with the long view, believing that free, open standards will prevail over time.

People shouldn’t have to worry whether their smart door lock is compatible with Apple’s system, or Google’s, or Amazon’s.

“There’s only one company out there that’s probably going to be successful with a vertically integrated stack or solution, and that’s Apple,” says Gary Martz, Intel’s product line director for Internet of Things communications frameworks. “And even then, in markets where they’ve done this, at some point in time, markets develop to a level of maturity where there are enough industry heavyweights that they’ll sit at the table and they’ll participate as well.”

That’s not to say there’s no room for proprietary systems. One might imagine a virtual assistant like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa sitting on top of all these connected devices, able to control them all in a standard way instead of needing each device maker to add their own support. (Alexa currently has more than 7,000 “skills,” but gadget companies must hand-craft each integration individually.) The real value of interoperability, Martz says, is that it grows the overall market so that these kinds of uses can flourish.

“The players that recognize this are going to do very well,” Martz says. “If somebody comes in and says, ‘Oh, my brand is so important, and I’m going to use this space as a competitive barrier,’ they’re not going to be successful, not in this space, not in the narrow space that OCF has defined as having this common framework.”

That’s not to say there’s no room for proprietary systems. But Martz’s point is that those systems—whether they’re virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa, home-monitoring services, or other types of offerings—should sit on top of interoperable hardware. In other words, people shouldn’t have to worry whether their smart door lock is compatible with Apple’s system, or Google’s, or Amazon’s. Instead, “door lock” would be a generic concept that every service could tie into, with no walled gardens keeping them out.

“The players that recognize this are going to do very well,” Martz says, whereas companies that try to use hardware compatibility to beat their competitors will fail. On the whole, he’s optimistic that the industry will choose the right path.

“[Compatibility] is not the space that we need to differentiate our products on,” he adds. “This is the space where we all need to agree on interoperability, so we can all provide features above the standards.”

Universal Language of Internet of Things will be Interniot? was originally published on Interniot

[interniot-blog]

Internet of Things Retail Solutions Will Be A 'Boon' For The Channel

Solution providers got a preview of this year’s newest products in the retail space at this week’s National Retail Federation (NRF) conference – and the internet of things was the star of the show.

Channel partners like Ira Grossman, CTO of end user and mobile computing at Cleveland, Ohio’s MCPc, said that resellers would benefit from the internet of things (IoT) opportunities in the vertical segment.

“The IoT solutions will be a boon for the channel – beyond those partners focused on big data – as they require more devices, introduce new, and different, security use cases and move to mission-critical devices and workflows that previously were either nonexistent or didn’t demand the service levels that they will now,” he said.

Grossman said that the biggest players in retail IoT that he saw at NRF were Intel and Samsung.

Intel announced Monday it would invest $100 million in IoT retail efforts over the next five years through its new Responsive Retail Platform. The platform, which offers retail hardware, software, APIs and sensors to help retail businesses integrate technologies and find new business insights, will be available through the channel, including Arrow Systems, Bluemetal, and Smartrac.

“IoT was pervasive at NRF with many solutions leveraging Intel’s new platform,” said Grossman. “The Intel booth showcased solutions across several verticals – all directly retail or adjacent to retail, such as supply chain or logistics – and most based on collecting some sort of predictive analytics, such as a variance in temperature in a cooler that is being monitored, or directing a shopper to merchandise that aligns with previous purchase trends.”

In its show recap, the NRF’s blog quoted Sandra Lopez, vice president of Intel’s new technology group, as saying that sensors and wearables have a huge role to play in retail. “By 2020 there will be 50 billion connected devices, and they will interact. It’s all going to be driven by 220 billion overall sensors.”

Samsung also showed off its IoT smarts at the retail show, introducing new IoT tools in partnership with digital agency SapientRazorfish that are intended to link online and in-store shopping activities – including smart merchandising, mobile payment, and customer interaction technology solutions.

Brent Fairbanks, president of Electronic and Computer Specialties, Inc., an Orange, Calif.-based solution provider, said that the opportunities are endless for the internet of things in the retail space.

“If the owner of a mall would like to send out ads targeting women between 40 to 52 years old … They can have cameras analyzing people as they go through stores,” he said. “Stores can now see if they are bringing in the target clientele that ads were supposed to bring in. IoT devices are wonderful for generating that types of data – now people can use technology to make sense of the data.”

Stephen Monteros, vice president of business development at Sigmanet, an Ontario, Calif.-based solution provider, said that he sees the retail IoT segment gaining traction for applications like digital signage.

“Retailers are definitely looking for new ways to communicate and automate,” he said. “I see a lot of [applications] around Raspberry Pi-enabled devices including digital signage, that is cloud-enabled on the backside.”

Internet of Things Retail Solutions Will Be A ‘Boon’ For The Channel was originally published on Interniot

[interniot-blog]

OSSC Recruitment 2017 97 ATO, 363 Junior Clerk & Assistant, 60 Junior Stenographer, 134 SI Vacancy

OSSC Recruitment 2017: OSSC is a recruitment agency which works for state government. The Odisha Staff Selection Commission always takes seriously the task of recruiting and selecting the best candidate. Visit official homepage of OSSC i.e. www.ossc.gov.in to know about agency, notification, recruitment, result, admit card, exam information, press release, news and more information. We created this OSSC 2017 web page to provide latest vacancy information. Every year recruitment organization release many recruitment projects. Generally the selection is based on the performance of the written test. Many new employees are working in various department selection made by this commission. The recruitment happens through OSSC for posts like Small Saving Officer, Junior Engineer (Electrical), Junior Motor Vehicle, Inspector, Lab Assistant, Junior Typist and plenty more.

OSSC Recruitment 2017 – 97 Assistant Training Officer

Total Number of Vacancies: 97

Post Name: Assistant Training Officer

Educational Qualification: Those decided to participate in Odisha SSC Assistant Training Officer Recruitment 2017 should have 10th passed or equivalent examination and ITI or Degree / Diploma in trade mentioned in notification and recognized by respective institution / organization.

Age Limit: Date to calculate cut off age is  01-January-2016

Lower age condition: 18 years

Upper age condition: 32 years, 37 years for reserved category and 42 for PWD.

Selection: Officers will issue OSSC Admit Card 2017 to conduct written examination, Career Assessment & viva voce test for selection of Assistant Training Officer.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Registration for Asst. Training Officer: 30th January 2017

Closing Date: 2nd March 2017

Last date to reach hard copy of online application at following postal address: 17th March 2017

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http://www.ossc.gov.in/pdf/web.ADVTATO.pdf

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http://online.odishassc.in/

OSSC Recruitment 2017 – 134 Sub Inspector of Police

Government of Odisha decided to make recruitment of Sub Inspector in Odisha Police Department. Odisha SSC published employment notice online at www.ossc.gov.in. According to notification total 134 (one hundred thirty four) vacancy open for following post. Register your name from 25th January 2017 to 24th February 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 134

Post Name: Sub Inspector of Police

Educational Qualification: Aspirant interested in OSSC Sub Inspector Recruitment 2017 should have graduation in any discipline.

Age Limit: Date to calculate cut off age is 1st January 2016

Lower age limit: 21 years

Upper age limit: 25 years for unreserved, 30 years for reserved and 35 years for PWD.

Selection: Authority will issue OSSC Sub Inspector Admit Card 2017 to conduct written test on the basis of preliminary exam, physical test, main written examination, viva voce & Psychological test.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Orissa Police Sub Inspector Registration: 25th January 2017

Closing Date: 24th February 2017

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http://www.ossc.gov.in/pdf/webADVT.CPSE-2016.pdf

Apply Now

http://online.odishassc.in/

OSSC Recruitment 2017 – 19 Auditor Vacancy

Government of Odisha approved new recruitment project and details published at ossc.gov.in website. According to vacancy circular 19 new vacancy open for following post. Apply online before 28-January-2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 19

Post Name: Auditor

Job Type: Contractual basis

Educational Qualification: Aspirant interested in Odisha  SSC Auditor Vacancy 2017 should have completed Bachelor Degree in any discipline.

Age Limit: Date to calculate cut off age is 1st January 2016

Lower age condition : 21 years

Upper age condition: 32 years

Selection: Authority will issue Odisha SSC Admit Card 2017 to conduct Written Exam & Shorthand Test.

Important Dates

Opening Date for Auditor Vacancy Registration: 29th December 2016

Closing Date: 28th January 2017

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http://www.ossc.gov.in/pdf/web.ADVTAuditor.pdf

Apply Online

http://online.odishassc.in/

OSSC Recruitment 2017 – 60 Junior Stenographer

Exclusive news for people of Orissa looking government job after 10+2. Government of Odisha informed about Odisha SSC 2017 notification announced for recruitment of 60 (sixty) Junior Stenographer. Aspirants may login www.ossc.gov.in website to apply for respective post online from 27th December 2016 to 26th January 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 60

Post Name: Junior Stenographer

Job Type: Regular

Educational Qualification: Aspirants who decided to participate for OSSC Junior Stenographer Recruitment 2017 notification should have 12th pass in Arts/Commerce/Science or equivalent qualification with minimum speed of 80 wpm in shorthand both in English and odia.

Age limit: lower age limit is 18 years and upper 32 years for UR, 37 years for SC/ST/SEBC/Women candidate. Calculate date as on 1st January 2016.

Selection Process: Authority decided to issue OSSC Junior Stenographer Admit Card 2017 to conduct written examination and shorthand test.

Important Information

Opening Date of Jr. Stenographer Online Gateway: 27th December 2016

Closing Date of Online Registration: 26th January 2017

Last Date to Reach Hard Copy of Online Form: 11th February 2017

Postal Address: The Secretary,  Odisha Staff Selection Commission, Barrack No.1, Unit -V, Bhubneswar -751054

Odisha SSC Jr. Steno Notification PDF Format

http://www.ossc.gov.in/pdf/Web.AdvtJrStenoHOD.pdf

Apply Online

http://online.odishassc.in/

OSSC Recruitment 2017 – 363 Junior Clerks & Jr. Assistant

Odisha Staff Selection Commission updated official recruitment portal www.ossc.gov.in with new vacancy. According to notification total 363 (three sixty three) jobs open out of which 207 (two zero seven) vacancy open for Junior Clerks and 156 (one fifty six) for Junior Assistants. Aspirants who are 12th class pass and looking government job in Odisha state should focus on this job information and apply online before deadline i.e. 11th January 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 363

Post Name:

Junior Clerks

Junior Assistants

Posting: Orissa

Educational Qualification: Aspirants who are interested in Odisha SSC Recruitment 2017 should have 12th / 10+2 or equivalent exam passed certificated from recognized board.

Age Limit: Date to calculate lower / upper age is 1st January 2016

Lower age condition: 18 years

Upper age limit: 32 years for General, 37 years for Reserved and 42 years for Person with Disability.

Fee charges: Pay fee charges if applicable online or offline bode.

SEBC / UR: Rs. 100/- (Rupee one hundred only)

Reserved Category: No fee

Selection Process: Authority will issue OSSC Junior Clerk & Junior Assistants Admit Card / Hall Ticket 2017 to conduct competitive written test and personal interview.

How to Apply for OSSC Recruitment 2016

First keep ready your HSC / 10+2 certificate and other necessary details & documents.

Now open web browser and fill recruitment portal address: www.ossc.gov.in

Now navigate site for “363 Junior Clerks / Assistants” Recruitment 2017

Those fulfills eligibility norms & agree with all condition may go for online registration

Click on “Apply Online” and fill details for desire post

Submit and take printout.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Clerk / Assistant Registration at www.ossc.gov.in: 12th December 2016

Closing Date of Online Registration: 11th January 2017

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OSSC Recruitment 2017 -02 Odia Translator

Odisha Staff Selection Commission now decided to make new appointments. Employment notice uploaded at commission website i.e. www.ossc.in. According to advertisement total 02 (two) new vacancy open for Odia Translator. Apply online from 25th December 2016 to 24th January 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 02

Post Name: Odia Translator

Posting: Orissa

Educational Qualification: Those aspirants decided to apply for OSSC Odia Translator Recruitment 2017 should have Bachellor Degree in BA (Hons) in Odia Language or at 2nd class Master degree or above in Odia Language.

Age Limit: lower and upper age limit is 21 – 32 years for general candidates applicable as on 1st January 2016. +5 years age relaxation for reserved category and +10 years upper age relaxation for PWD.

Selection: Authority will issue OSSC Odia Translator Recruitment 2017 notification to conduct written exam and computer skill test.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Online Gateway: 25th December 2016

Closing Date of Application: 24th January 2017

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http://www.ossc.gov.in/pdf/webODIATRANSLATOR.pdf

Apply Online

http://online.odishassc.in/

OSSC Recruitment 2016 – 2017 – 115 ACTO

The breaking news coming from Odisha about new job opening. Candidates who are looking public sector jobs in Odisha after bachelor degree need to pay attention in this job advertisement. Government of Odisha notified about upcoming recruitment drive for the year 2016 – 2017.  We are talking to the OSSC ACTO Recruitment 2016. The Odisha Staff Selection Commission has notified about 115 vacancies for the post of Assistant Commercial Tax Officer. Any candidate who is holding Bachelor Degree certificate can use this state government job opportunity. Read this web article for Asst. Commercial Tax Officer Job related details such as academic profile, lower & upper age limit, application procedure, fee charges, important dates and more. Submit OSSC ACTO Jobs 2016 – 2017 online application after being satisfied with all terms & conditions. Odisha SSC will start application registration process at their government authorized portal i.e. ossc.gov.in. All aspirants will be allowed to fill OSSC ACTO vacancy form from 22nd August 2016 to 21st September 2016.   There are many days left to fill application form, so complete it comfortably and correctly.

Upcoming Notification: We have confirmed news that commission going to start application process for OSSC ACTO Notification 2016 on 22nd August 2016. As per reports government approved 115 vacancies for Assistant Commercial Tax Officer. However we waiting for official employment notice to update following space.

Updates 20th August 2016: Today government of Odisha ordered commission to released OSSC ACTO Recruitment 2016 notification. Finally it is available with us. Total 115 vacancies open for Asst. Commercial Tax Officer out of which 43 vacancies reserved for female and remaining 72 for male candidates.

OSSC ACTO Vacancy Details

Total Number of Vacancies: 115 (UR-80, SC-18 and ST-17)

Post Name: Asst Commercial Tax Officer

Official recruitment portal: ossc.gov.in

Educational Qualification: Candidate decided to participate in Odisha ACTO Recruitment 2016 project should have Bachelor Degree in any subject. But degree should be from University / Institute recognized by UGC.

Age Limit: Date for calculating cut off age mentioned in vacancy notice

Lower limit: 21 years

Upper limit: 32 years

How to Apply for Odisha Recruitment 2017

Odisha Staff Selection Commission has notified in notification that online application process will start on 22nd August 2016. Therefore candidate who wants to utilize this Odisha govt job opportunity should be ready to submit their details online. Authorities will place “Apply Online” link at home page of ossc.gov.in and this link will remain on homepage until 21st September 2016.

Odisha ACTO Application Process

First reach commission home page: ossc.gov.in

Navigate sire carefully for respective notification

Once found it read again for satisfaction

Now click on “Apply Online” link available under notification

Fill all the mandatory details correctly

Upload scanned documents if required

Submit form and take printout

OSSC ACTO Jobs 2016 Fee charges: The fee should be Rs.100/- For OBC/General Category and there is no fee for SC/ST

Selection Process: The commission excepting huge number of application therefore first admits card will issue to all applicant for preliminary examination. Those clear this test will allow for main exam through admit card / hall ticket and those manage to perform outstanding will invite for interview.

Important dates

Opening dare of online application window: 22th August 2016

Closing date for registration: 21st September 2016

Odisha SSC ACTO Notification 2016

Odisha ACTO Recruitment apply online

OSSC Recruitment 2017 web article updated with 115 vacancies. Register with govtjobform.in website to get all Odisha government jobs information direct into your email ID.

OSSC Recruitment 2017 97 ATO, 363 Junior Clerk & Assistant, 60 Junior Stenographer, 134 SI Vacancy was originally published on Interniot

[interniot-blog]

IOCL Recruitment 2017 Apply for Technical Apprentice & Junior Engineer Assistant & Apprentice

Indian Oil Corporation is a public enterprise of Government of India. It is popularly known by short name IOCL. It has started their Oil & Gas industry business on 1959 and recently completed 57 years of excellence. Visit www.iocl.com website to know about company, vision, purpose, project, history, business, head quarter, key people, numbers of employee, career, news, latest job notification and plenty more details. We created this IOCL Recruitment 2016 – 2017 web page to publish all latest and upcoming recruitment alerts. The recruitment happens in IOCL for posts like Junior Engineer Assistant, Junior Material Assistant, Engineering Assistant, Technical Attendant, Graduate Engineer, and plenty more.

IOCL Recruitment 2017  – 110 Technician Apprentice / Trade Apprentice

Government of India has notified about new recruitment in IOCL for the year 2017 2018. The recruitment branch uploaded new job advertisement at iocl.com. According to vacancy circular total 110 new jobs open out of which 107 (one hundred seven) vacancy open for Technician Apprentice and 03 (three) for Trade Apprentice. Apply online at www.iocl.com from 1st February 2017 to 13th February 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 110

Post Name:

Technician Apprentice: 107 Salary Offered Per Month: Rs. 7530/-

Trade Apprentice: 03 Salary Offered Per Month: 6970/-

Educational Qualification: Aspirants interested in Indian Oil vacancy project should have  3 years full time regular/sandwich Diploma in relevant Engineering

Age limit: Date to calculate age limit is 1st December 2016

lower age condition: 18 years

upper age limit: 24 years for unreserved, 27 years for other backward classes, 29 years for SC/ST and 34 for PWD.

Selection: Authority will issue IOCL Admit Card 2017 and candidate who able to get this document will allow to attend Written Test and Personal Interview.

How to Apply: Aspirant having Diploma in Engineering and satisfying other terms & conditions may be eligible for this post. Application process start at www.iocl.com website online from 1st February 2017 to 13th February 2017.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Registration: 1st February 2017

Closing Date: 13th February 2017

Notification PDF Format

https://www.iocl.com/download/Detailed_Advt_WR_14012017.pdf

Apply Online

https://www.iocl.com/PeopleCareers/job.aspx

IOCL Recruitment 2017  – 89 Technician Apprentice

Indian Oil Corporation has released new recruitment drive for the year 2016 – 2017. The recruitment branch of IOCL published notification at www.iocl.com. According to IOCL 2017 notification total 89 (eighty nine) vacancy open for Technician Apprentice. Aspirants having diploma in relevant engineering field can register their form online from 1st February 2017 to 13th February 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 89

Post Name: Technician Apprentice

Salary Offered: Rs. 7530/- (Rupee seven thousand five hundred thirty only)

Educational Qualification: Aspirants who are interested in Indian Oil Apprentice Recruitment 2017 2018 project should have 3 year full time regular/sandwich Diploma in relevant  Engineering.

Age Limit: Date to calculate cut off age is 1st December 2016

lower age condition: 18 years

upper age limit: 24 years for unreserved, 27 years for other backward classes, 29 years for scheduled cast and scheduled tribe and 34 years for person with disability.

Selection: Authority will issue IOCL Admit Card 2017 to conduct apprentice written test and those clear this test will get call letter from company to attend personal interview.

How to Apply: Aspirant having diploma as mentioned in notification and also completing all terms & conditions may visit to www.iocl.com website and apply online from 1st February to 13th February 2017.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Online Gateway: 1st February 2017

Closing Date: 13th February 2017

Download IOCL Notification

https://www.iocl.com/download/SRO_Apprentice_14012017.pdf

Apply Online

https://www.iocl.com/PeopleCareers/job.aspx

IOCL Recruitment 2017  – 32 Jr. Engineer Assistant

Today we have wonderful news for people looking government job in Haryana. Government of India notified about new vacancy in IOCL Haryana for the year 2017 2018. According to vacancy circular published at www.iocl.com total 37 new jobs open for following position. Registration starts from today i.e. 9th January 2017 and it will close on 29th January 2017.

Advertisement No. PR/P/38(2016-17)

Total Number of Vacancies: 32

Post Name: Junior Engineering Assistant – IV

Salary Offered: Rs. 11900/- to 32000/-

Educational Qualification: Aspirants who are interested in IOCL Engineer Assistant Recruitment 2017 project should have 3 year diploma in Electrical Engineering and other as mentioned in notification.

Age Limit:

lower age condition: 18 years

upper age limit: 26 years, 29 years for OBC, 31 years for SC/ST and 36 years for PWD.

Selection: Authority will issue IOCL Admit Card 2017 to conduct written test and kill/Proficiency/Physical Test.

Fee charges: Pay fee charges of Rs. 150/- (Rupee one hundred fifty) through DD in favour of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, payable at SBI Baholi, Panipat (Branch Code – 8706). SC/ST candidates not need to pay fee charges as they are exempted as per rules.

Important Dates

Opening Date of Online Gateway at www.iocl.com: 9th January 2017

Closing Date: 29th January 2017

Last date to take hard copy: 13th February 2017

IOCL Notification PDF Format

https://www.iocl.com/download/PRPCOpenAdvtforrecruitmentofNon-Exe%202017-Final.pdf

Apply Online

https://www.iocl.com/PeopleCareers/job.aspx

  IOCL Recruitment 2017  – 56 Junior Engineering Assistant, Jr. Material Assistant

Exclusive recruitment news for Uttar Pradesh people who searching central government job after Diploma / B.Sc in engineering. Government of India notified about upcoming job in Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Uttar Pradesh for the year 2016 – 2017. According to IOCL Recruitment 2016 – 2017 notification total 100 vacancies open for Junior Engineering Assistant – IV posts. Candidate wishing to work in IOCL Assam should use this opportunity. Use IOCL Jobs 2016 apply online form available at www.iocl.com and register for Junior Engineering Assistant post before deadline. Registration process for IOCL vacancy will starts apply before 23rd January 2017.

Total Number of Vacancies: 56

Post Name:

Junior Engineer Assistant – IV – 46

Junior Material Assistant – 09

Junior Quality Control Analyst: 01

Posting: Assam

Educational Qualification: Aspirant interested in IOCL Assam Recruitment 2017 should have 3 year diploma / B.Sc in relevant discipline.

Age Limit: lower and upper age limit is 18 to 26 years applicable as on 23-January-2017

Procedure to Apply Online

Open internet browser (preferred: chrome or firefox)

Now fill Indian Oil website address www.iocl.com in address

Navigate site for 100 JEA Vacancies

Read advertisement carefully

After ensured by click on apply online for 100 JEA Jobs

After filling submit and take printout

Important Dates

Closing Date of Application: 23rd January 2017

Postal Address: Chief Human Resource Manager, IOCL (Bongaigaon Refinery), Post Office – Dhaligaon, District – Chirang, Pin code – 783385, Assam

Advertisement Notification

https://www.iocl.com/download/AdvtnoBGR-2016-22-12.pdf

IOCL Recruitment 2017 Apply for Technical Apprentice & Junior Engineer Assistant & Apprentice was originally published on Interniot

[interniot-blog]

Prasar Bharati Recruitment 2017 – 33 Multi Tasking Staff

Prasar Bharati Recruitment 2017: Prasar Bharati, the public broadcasting agency of the Government of India is very famous. It was formed in 1997 and recently on 23rd November 2016 completed 19 years of excellence. Visit homepage of official website i.e. www.prasarbharati.gov.in to know about all India radio, doordarshan, marketing, technology, information, career, recruitment, mission, opportunities, recruitment and more information. We created this Prasar Bharti Recruitment 2017 web page to provide latest job information. Recently offered new job opportunity for Anchor-cum-Correspondents, Web Assistant, News Reader cum Translator and Language Inter.

Prasar Bharati Recruitment 2017 – 33 Multi Tasking Staff

Total Number of Vacancies: 33

Post Name: Multi Tasking Staff

Official Web Portal: www.prasarbharati.gov.in

Eligibility: Aspirants who are interested in Prasar Bharti MTS Vacancy 2017 project should have 10th or ITI passed qualification.

Age Limit: Date to calculate cut off age is 23rd January 2017

Lower age limit: 18 years

Upper age limit: 25 years for Unreserved, 28 years for OBC, 30 years for SC/ST and 35 years for PH

Important Dates

Closing Date of Application Process: 23rd January 2017

Postal Address: Additional Director General (Training), National Academy of Broadcasting and Multimedia, Radio Colony, Kingsway, Delhi – 110009

Advertisement in PDF Format

http://prasarbharati.gov.in/Opportunities/Employment/Documents/advertisement_pwd_mts_01_2017.pdf

Prasar Bharati Recruitment 2016 2017 – 27 Anchor Cum Correspondents

According to Prasar Bharti Recruitment notification application process for Anchor cum Correspondents will complete on 08-07-2016. Before publish this government job alert,  employment notice has been verified through its official website (www.prasarbharati.gov.in – www.ddinews.gov.in/). Let’s go ahead to check detailed information.

When the notifications will be issued?

Prasar Bharati regularly done new appointments of qualified candidates. According to the latest information issued by competent authority, new vacancy notice for Anchor-cum-Correspondents will notify in June 2016 and application process will complete in July. Once the Prasar Bharti recruitment form released, we will immediately update this page.

Updates: Recruitment notice released, check the details below

This government agency has issued notification for recruitment, but it is not a permanent job. Application invites for 27 Anchor-cum-Correspondents on contract basis. If you interested to apply for this contract basis job make sure your application reach to concerned address before 08-07-2016. Take a look at some important information required prior to application:

Prasar Bharati Vacancy 2016 2017 Details

Total Number of Vacancies: 27

Name of the Post: Anchor-cum-Correspondents

Duty Area: Delhi

Official Portal (Web Address): www.prasarbharati.gov.in

Application Procedure:  Offline

Educational Qualification: Candidate must complete essential educational condition, below is the information

Graduation in any discipline Diploma / PG in  Mass Communication/Journalism

Age Limit: The agency aims to recruit only young candidates so the age limit is set to 21 years. If reserve category candidates looking for upper age relaxation may read the employment notice.

Prasar Bharti  Recruitment 2017 Form – Application Process

How to Apply: After knowing all the conditions those candidates willing to work in this agency under all the terms & conditions may apply through proper procedure. First download Prasar Bharti Recruitment Form and send alongwith -necessary documents  to the Individual RNUs. on or before 08-07-2016

Prasar Bharti Application Fee Charges: All candidates will have to pay the fees in described method. Make Demand Draft of Rs. 400/- in favour of  DDO of the respective Doordarshan Kendra, Prasar Bharati, payable locally. If the application sent without DD, the application will be deemed invalid.  even if the DD issued in wrong name and address will be considered invalid.

Download Prasar Bharti Job Advertisement & Job Application

Important Dates

The last date for application receipt: 08-07-2016

www.govtjobform.in site is designed to provide freejobalert on Prasar Bharti Recruitment 2017, you may register with our website to know Govt Job in Delhi,  Indian Government Jobs and other updates on your email every morning.

Prasar Bharati Recruitment 2017 – 33 Multi Tasking Staff was originally published on Interniot