Monthly Archives: April 2015

connected car, Ericsson, Internet of Things, News & Analysis, Orvar Hurtig, traffic cloud

Ericsson, Eindhoven University drive connected car partnership

Ericsson has been pushing its connected car platform the past couple of years

Ericsson has been pushing its connected car platform the past couple of years

Swedish infrastructure giant Ericsson has announced a new partnership with Eindhoven University of Technology focused on advancing the intelligent capabilities of automotive vehicles, starting with a solar-powered connected car, reports Telecoms.com.

The car, which will compete in a 3,000km race from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia as part of Solar Team Eindhoven, will be fully solar-powered, and Ericsson will be looking to drive intelligence in the vehicle based on the Connected Traffic Cloud platform it announced at Mobile World Congress in March.

Connected Traffic Cloud is a managed service capable of sharing two-way data between connected cars and road traffic authorities. In the context of the World Solar Challenge, Ericsson will be looking to aggregate car, traffic and weather data, conduct in-depth analytics and maximise the energy and power consumption efficiency of the vehicle.

Announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, Ericsson at the time said connected cars and road authorities utilising the platform will benefit from enhanced road safety, improved traffic flow and vehicle performance. The company has previously partnered on similar initiatives with Volvo, the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen).

Orvar Hurtig, head of industry and society at Ericsson said real-time data analysis is the key to driving more intelligent road networks.

“Mobile connectivity is increasingly a must-have feature in cars, thanks to both consumer demand for infotainment and a wide range of regulatory initiatives that aim to increase road safety,” he said. “As a result, vehicles are becoming a major source of data that could be used to improve road traffic authorities’ ability to manage traffic and prevent avoidable accidents. Connected Traffic Cloud is the means by which that data could be shared.”

Visit Connected Cars 2015 at the RAI Amsterdam between the 24th & 25th June. Automakers are eligible for free passes.

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The Data Lake Has Landed By @JeffreyAbbott | @ThingsExpo [#BigData #IoT]

The biggest, and possibly the most hated buzzwords to happen to IT in the last 10 years have been… Cloud, Internet of Things, and drumroll… Big Data (featuring its ugly stepchild the Data Lake). And over the past 10+ years, I’ve had the job of explaining these “things” to people (many of whom are not technical). Nobody likes new buzzwords – at least not the kind of people I like. But if they become understood, and validated, people start to understand why they’re legitimately needed. And this is the year, 2015, when Data Lake earns its keep.

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Software – And DevOps – Are Eating The World | @DevOpsSummit [#DevOps]

Companies in industries as diverse as banking and manufacturing are realizing that in order to remain competitive, they must become software-driven organizations. From customer-driven digital transformation to cloud computing for the back office, software is eating the world – one enterprise at a time.

Enterprises have depended upon software for decades, of course. What’s different now is how modern advances in information technology are increasingly able to change the fundamentals of business itself via sophisticated automation and acceleration of every aspect of the organization.

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Announcing @OptimalDesignCo to Exhibit at @ThingsExpo New York [#IoT]

SYS-CON Events announced today that Optimal Design, an Internet of Things solution provider, will exhibit at SYS-CON’s Internet of @ThingsExpo, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY.
Optimal Design is an award winning product development firm offering industrial design and engineering services to the consumer, medical, and defense markets.

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applications, Cloud computing, Featured, transformation services

If You Could Transform Your IT Strategy, Would You?

GreenPages-Transformation-Services-LogoAs you may know, GreenPages recently launched our Transformation Services Group, a new practice dedicated to providing customers with the agility, flexibility and innovation they need to compete in the modern era of cloud computing.

This move was designed to allow us to help companies think beyond the near-term and to cast a vision for the business.  As we look at the market, we see a need to help organizations take a more revolutionary and accelerated approach to embracing what we call “New World” IT architectures.  While this is something we have been helping companies with for many years, we now believe that this is a logical evolution of our business that builds on our legacy of delivering high quality and competency deploying advanced virtualization and cloud solutions.

When we think about some of the great work we have done over the years, many examples come to mind.  One of these is a complex project we completed for The Channel Company, that helped them truly transform their business. Coming off a management buyout from its parent company, UBM, The Channel Company was tasked with having to migrate off the parent company’s centralized IT infrastructure under a very tight timeline.

Faced with this situation, the company was presented with a very compelling question: “If you had the opportunity to start from scratch, to transform your IT department, resources and strategy what would you do?”

Essentially, as a result of their situation, The Channel Company had the opportunity to leapfrog traditional approaches.  They had the opportunity to become more agile, and more responsive. And, more importantly, they took it!

As opposed to simply moving to a traditional baseline on-prem solution, The Channel Company saw this as an opportunity to fundamentally rethink its entire IT strategy and chose GreenPages to help lead them through the process.

Through a systematic approach and advanced methodology, we were able to help The Channel Company achieve its aggressive objectives.  Specifically, in less than six months, we led a transformation project that entailed the installation of new applications, and a migration of the company’s entire infrastructure to the cloud.  This included moving six independent office locations from a shared infrastructure to a brand-new cloud platform supporting their employees, as well as new cloud-based office and ERP applications.

In addition to achieving the independence and technical autonomy The Channel Company needed, the savings benefits and operational efficiencies achieved were truly transformational from a business standpoint.

It is these types of success stories that drove us to formalize our Transformation Services Group. We have seen first-hand the benefits that organizations can achieve by transforming inflexible siloed IT environments into agile organizations, and we’re proud to be able to offer the expertise and end-to-end capabilities required to help customers achieve true business transformation.

In our view, the need for business agility and innovation has never been greater. The question is no longer “is transformation necessary?” but rather  “if you had the opportunity to start from scratch and achieve business transformation, would you take it?”

If you’re interested in hearing more about how GreenPages has helped companies like The Channel Company transform their IT operations, please reach out.

 

By Ron Dupler, CEO

Gartner, Internet of Things, Mike Walker, News & Analysis

Garter: IoT requires new architecture strategy

The IoT will require a new architectural approach, Gartner claims

The IoT will require a new architectural approach, Gartner claims

Enterprise IT professionals and architects will need to develop new architectures in order to help mitigate the technological, legal and reputational risks associated with delivering Internet of Things services, Gartner claims.

It has been suggested by some industry specialists that the Internet of Things has the potential to cripple existing datacentre infrastructure from a technical perspective, and could also create new or heightened risks around data security and regulatory compliance.

That said, Gartner believes developing the right architecture to handle the wealth of data generated by IoT sensors will be key to ensuring infrastructure can keep pace with new services being rolled out, and help deal mitigate other non-technical risks.

Mike Walker, research director at Gartner said enterprises need to understand not just the opportunities this wealth of information can generate but the risks as well. He said the anticipated data growth may require organisations to develop new competencies around regulatory compliance, and reassess the impact of security breaches on corporate reputation.

“Enterprise architects need to determine the potential impact, both positive and negative, of IoT technologies and then create actionable deliverables that can define which business opportunities should be pursued as result,” Walker said.

“The first step is bringing together various business unit and IT leaders to explore how the IoT can impact their respective business domains, and agree on actionable business scenarios that will require deep collaboration between them.”

Walker suggested that organisations create internal competency centres to help coordinate activities across internal stakeholders.

“Organisations must understand the profound impact new sources of information will have. Enterprise architects are best positioned to discuss and enable the most lucrative opportunities in partnership with business unit and IT leaders. At the same time, they must work with chief data officers and security officers to structure this data in a way that mitigates the worst risks of pursuing these opportunities,” Walker added.

Brendon Riley, M&A, News & Analysis, Pacnet, Telco Cloud, telstra

Telstra, Pacnet finalise acquisition deal

Telstra is buying Pacnet to bolster its presence in the Asia Pacific cloud and managed services market

Telstra is buying Pacnet to bolster its presence in China’s cloud and managed services market

Telstra’s acquisition of Pacnet has now come to fruition, with the Australian telco today announcing it has completed the purchase of the cloud, managed services and datacentre provider. As reported by Telecoms.com in December, the valuation of the deal came in at $697m.

When initially announced, the deal came with the stipulation of agreement from regulatory bodies, as well as Pacnet financier approval. According to Telstra, all necessary approvals and agreements have now been confirmed, and the firm can now begin the full acquisition of Pacnet.

All that remains, it claims, is full regulatory approval in the United States, which it reckons is expected in due course and will not impact operations or the agreed purchase price.

Speaking on the acquisition, Telstra’s Global Enterprise and Services chief executive Brendon Riley said the integration of Pacnet will see its brand gradually retired, but that the Chinese market remains a big focus for the joint-venture.

“The addition of Pacnet’s staff, intrastructure, technology and expertise will position Telstra as a leading provider of services to multinational and large companies in Asia,” he said. “The completed acquisition will double Telstra’s customers in Asia, and greatly increase our network reach and data centre capabilities across the region. This includes the addition of the largest privately owned intra-Asia cable network, 29 data centres and the ability to further grow our China operations through existing joint venture.”

Riley concluded with a nod towards the Pacnet Enabled Network (PEN), an elastic and on-demand network based on SDN architecture, pioneered by Pacnet. PEN was one of the first live SDN-based networks launched globally.

“The acquisition provides us greater specialisation and scale, including the delivery of enhanced services, such as software-defined networking and opens up significant incremental opportunities for our business,” he said.

Chris Dedicoat, Cisco, DHL, Internet of Things, Logistics, Markus Kückelhaus, News & Analysis, supply chain operations

DHL, Cisco claim Internet of Things will give $1.9tn boost to supply chain, logistics

Deutsche Post DHL and Cisco are looking at how IoT will unlock extra value in the supply chain and logistics sectors

Deutsche Post DHL and Cisco are looking at how IoT will unlock extra value in the supply chain and logistics sectors

DHL and Cisco, which are collaborating on a joint Internet of Things initiative looking at how IoT can improve decision-making in warehouse operations, claim the technology could give A $1.9tn boost to supply chain and logistics operations.

The two companies, which recently inked a report on IoT in logistics, are looking at how IoT sensors strategically embedded in warehouse inventory, stock locations and vehicles and connected to cloud-based services via Wi-Fi can improve warehouse operations through the use of analytics.

“At Deutsche Post DHL Group we have a deeply held belief in the positive powers of global trade. Yet, as our Global Connectedness Index 2014 revealed, the overall level of global connectedness remains surprisingly limited,” said Ken Allen, chief executive officer of DHL Express and Board Sponsor Technology.

“There is huge potential for countries to further increase their connectedness and prosper through trade, integration and technology. We believe the Internet of Things will be a primary enabler of this global transformation,” Allen added.

The companies said there is potential for IoT to expand beyond the warehouse and into supply chain,logistics operations and freight transportation, and could have a “game changing” impact on ‘last mile’ delivery for consumers. Cisco reckons that value to sit in the region of $8tn worldwide over the next decade.

But Markus Kückelhaus, vice president Innovation & Trend Research, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation said there’s still much to do before that value can be realised.

“The Internet of Things is the connection of almost anything – from parcels to people – via sensor technology to the web and both Cisco and DHL believe this will revolutionize business processes across the entire value chain including supply chain and logistics,” Kückelhaus  said. “We’ll need to understand how all components in the value chain converge and this will require a comprehensive collaboration, participation and the willingness to invest to create a thriving IoT eco system for sustainable business processes.

Chris Dedicoat, president, EMEAR for Cisco said: “Digitization and the expansion of the Internet of Things is a catalyst for growth, which is driving new economic models and enabling organizations to remain competitive and embrace the pace of change happening globally. This report clearly demonstrates that digitization and the IoT will deliver long term efficiencies and growth opportunities across a wide range of industries.”

Ben Uretsky, Datacentre, DigitalOcean, Frankfurt, Germany, News & Analysis

DigitalOcean drops into Frankfurt

DigitalOcean is among a number of US-based incumbents moving into Germany

DigitalOcean is among a number of US-based incumbents moving into Germany

In a bid to tap further into the European market DigitalOcean has expanded its presence in Germany with a new datacentre in Frankfurt.

The dev-focused cloud provider already has a presence in Amsterdam and last year partnered with Equinix to make its cloud platform available in one of the company’s London-based Tier III datacentres.

“We’re here to give our full support to developers throughout the world by offering a simple, ideal cloud solution and infrastructure experience for hosting applications,” said DigitalOcean co-founder and chief exec Ben Uretsky. “Innovative companies in Germany deserve the best tools possible in order to continue to grow and succeed.”

The company also said it wanted to appeal to local companies with strong data residency requirements, a common theme among cloud providers throwing their weight into the German market.

Germany – particularly Berlin – has a big startup scene, but putting the datacentre in Frankfurt means it can benefit from being close to a number of large fibre interconnections. Other US-based incumbents to move into Frankfurt over the past few months include IBM (which also partners with Equinix) and AWS.

The facility is DigitalOcean’s third datacentre in Europe and tenth globally.

Acronis, Appointment, Crenshaw, Infrastructure as a Service, News & Analysis, Rackspace, Red Hat, VeriSign

Rackspace taps former VeriSign, Red Hat exec to lead strategy, product engineering

Scott CrenshawRackspace has appointed Scott Crenshaw to the role of senior vice president of strategy and product. Crenshaw, who formerly hails from VeriSign, will oversee the company’s corporate strategy, business development and product and engineering portfolio.

Crenshaw most recently served as senior vice president of products at VeriSign, where he led the development of the company’s new products and services. Before that he served as vice president of strategy and chief marketing officer at Acronis, a data backup and recovery solutions provider, and spent a number of years at Red Hat, where he served as vice president and general manager of the cloud business unit.

He also holds a number of patents related to subscription service provision and monitoring.

“We are excited to have someone of Scott’s caliber and experience joining our team,” said Rackspace president and chief executive officer Taylor Rhodes.

“Throughout his career, Scott has established a strong track record of developing winning strategies, managing and growing unique product offerings and working collaboratively with colleagues and customers. Scott will work closely with our marketing, sales, support and other critical functions to drive compelling product offerings and the best customer experience in the industry.”

Crenshaw said: “I am thrilled to be a part of this talented team at such an exciting moment in the company’s history.”