Industry ecosystem grows but still faces problems down the road

from Industry ecosystem grows but still faces problems down the road
by Anasia D'mello
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It’s been a busy few weeks for the IoT ecosystem. Here, freelance technology writer Antony Savvas looks at developments and also considers some of the problems.

For things to really take off companies need connectivity, and Deutsche Telekom is doing its best on that front by offering standard European IoT SIM tariffs for businesses. Its new package includes a service portal to manage the cards and can be used in the 28 countries of the European Union (EU).

Deutsche Telekom says it is the first company to offer roaming on NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) networks of its national subsidiaries. These currently include Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Greece.

Customers order the appropriate product via the portal and the pre-activated SIM cards are delivered within three days. They can be used immediately in sensors, trackers and other IoT devices. “Smart City applications ranging from intelligent waste management to offering smart parking can be quickly implemented. The tracking of goods or vehicles in logistics is also simplified,” said Deutsche Telekom.

Customers have access to Telekom’s entire mobile communications network, from 2G and LTE to the European machine and sensor network (NB-IoT).

Industrial front

On the German IoT industrial front, Logicalis Germany recently acquired a team for Cisco-based solutions and services around the IoT and operational technology (OT) sectors from Hopf Vertriebsgesellschaft, a provider of solutions in the industrial Ethernet and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) markets.

The acquisition supported the service provider’s ongoing strategy of addressing the increasing convergence of IT and OT due to the continuing networking of devices and applications.

Vodafone Business’ venture with IBM was only launched in the first half of 2019, but it is already delivering. The venture, which brought together IBM’s strengths in hybrid cloud with Vodafone’s strengths in connectivity, has announced an eight-year deal with coach transport provider National Express.

Vodafone already had a long-standing relationship with National Express, providing wide area network connectivity and a Secure Internet Gateway. The latest announcement extends its footprint and brings it closer to its client’s business objectives of raising customer and safety standards, driving efficiencies and growing sales.

National Express is also looking to modernise its IT infrastructure through moving to the IBM Cloud and a hybrid cloud environment. The overall aim is to use the partners’ infrastructure as a foundation to transform its business through technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), edge computing and software defined networking (SDN).

Alibaba cars

Meanwhile, Alibaba Group has announced that it will open up its fundamental OS technology for use by all partners in the auto sector. This is the first time that Alibaba has opened up its car OS to partners, a move that underscores the tech giant’s commitment through an open and collaborative approach to meeting the digital transformation needs of car-makers.

Alibaba began developing its own OS in 2010 and debuted its first YUNOS-enabled internet car in 2016.

The new initiative is designed to drive the development of smart mobility, a strategic area led by Banma Network Technology, a joint venture between Alibaba Group [...]

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