Ayla Networks Forms Strategic Partnership with China’s Midea Group
3 August 2016 – Ayla Networks today announced that it was selected by China’s Midea Group, as the preferred overseas IoT cloud partner for all connected HVAC products.
Midea is a $21 billion manufacturer of consumer appliances and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and one of China’s largest manufacturers. The company will use the Ayla Networks Internet of Things (IoT) platform to develop connected products and expand into new markets.
Midea joins other Chinese top 10 HVAC manufacturers Hisense, TCL and Chonghong in using Ayla IoT technology and services for their connected products.
“The Ayla IoT platform now powers four of the top 10 HVAC manufacturers in China, which is powerful testimony to Ayla’s IoT leadership and market position,” said David Friedman, CEO and co-founder of Ayla Networks(above). “Midea is an enormously successful and future-thinking enterprise, and we look forward to helping them become a dominant player in the global smart home market.”
“Midea Group laid out its concept for the smart home a long time ago and has established Midea Smart Home Technology Co., Ltd., to focus on the development of that business,” said Li Qiang, general manager of Midea Smart Technology. “This cooperation with Ayla is a major step in the international expansion of Midea Group’s smart home business. As Midea’s third-party cloud platform partner for overseas markets, Ayla will join with Midea to create a globalized structure of intelligent services for smart homes.”
Ayla will work closely with the Midea Smart Technology business unit. The latter has been working on integrating Midea’s technologies and products lines in order to become a total solution provider for the smart home industry.
Midea Smart Technology’s M-Smart System supports diversified smart product within the nearly 50-year-old Midea Group. In addition, Midea Smart Technology is building an M-Smart ecosystem that will provide smart products and solutions to a wide range of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) enterprises. Already, the Midea Smart Technology’s ecosystem includes Ali Cloud, Amazon, Huawei, IBM, LeTV, TCL, Tencent and Xiaomi.
Source: Ayla Networks
KDDI Japan Selects Gemalto’s Connected Cars and IoT solution
30 June 2016 – Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, today announced that it has been selected to provide its LinqUs On-Demand Connectivity (ODC) subscription management solution and embedded SIMs (eSIMs) for KDDI, a leading operator in Japan with over 40 million subscribers, to enable secure connectivity for connected cars and IoT applications worldwide. As a result, KDDI can now provision any requested operator's profile on connected cars equipped with pre-embedded eSIM, allowing automakers and solution providers to offer seamless remote subscription over the air throughout the lifecycle of the car. Motorists can access optimized real-time information about traffic and nearby amenities, navigation, vehicle diagnostics, and emergency services, anytime, anywhere.
The lack of flexible and interoperable remote subscription management is a major challenge in deploying IoT. Gemalto's solution, based on global GSMA specifications, will simplify logistics for OEMs and automakers. LinqUs On-Demand Connectivity is integrated to several IoT connectivity platforms, offering utmost flexibility to KDDI.
"Gemalto has been our trusted partner for a long time, and has helped us launch many successful projects," said Keiichi Mori, Executive Officer, General Manager, IoT Business Development Division, Solution Business Sector at KDDI. "Their solution is based on interoperable GSMA standards, and will provide a common and consistent way to connect devices in the future. With long-lasting relationships with over 500 mobile operators worldwide and a strong local presence, they can help us expand our services to other IoT applications, to obtain rapid growth in the connected world."
"IoT is increasingly turning connected cars into powerful hubs for value-added services such as infotainment, real-time vehicle telematics, and usage-based insurance, offering plenty of opportunities to OEMs and service providers," said Michael Au, President South Asia and Japan at Gemalto (above). "With simplified subscription management, KDDI is strongly positioned alongside Japanese car manufacturers to take a lead in this relatively new market worldwide."
Source: Gemalto
Senet Announces Suite of IoT Product Development Services for LoRa
22 June 2016 – Senet, the first North American provider of public Internet of Things (IoT) applications based on the Low Power Wide Area standard LoRaWAN today announced the availability of The Senet IoT Foundry, a suite of services for developers of IoT solutions and services.
The offerings are designed to help developers in startups as well as established companies accelerate the commercialisation of LoRa-based products and solutions. The advent of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) connectivity enables a whole new set of innovative business cases for solving customer problems. As an early leader in LPWAN technology, Senet aims to stimulate and accelerate the growth of the LoRa ecosystem by way of these new service offerings.
The Foundry services are available now and are offered at Senet’s Portsmouth, NH headquarters. Due to its depth of expertise, Senet is in a unique position to be able to offer training, development tools, a network sandbox, and technical consulting services that help IoT solution developers create and launch LoRa compliant IoT products and applications in record time. The services can be tailored to address hardware and/or firmware development projects. Customers can choose to follow The Foundry’s four-step development program, or choose the services they need most. The Foundry’s four-step program includes:
- Introductory LPWAN and LoRaWAN Training Lab – two days
- Product Ideation and Design Kickoff – one week
- Full Product Development Consulting – two months
- Certification Readiness (LoRaWAN and FCC) – one week (each)
“As Senet has been aggressively addressing network coverage and growth, we recognized early on that we have a responsibility and an opportunity to help our partners in the LoRa ecosystem bring their solutions to market quickly,” said George Dannecker, President and CEO of Senet (above). “Startup companies and even large enterprises may not have availability of the full range of skills required to be able to deliver vertically complete IoT solutions to their customers. Senet can help these companies significantly reduce the time and effort to get to market, enabling solution vendors to solve their customers’ problems faster.”
Senet is a contributing member of the LoRa Alliance and has been active on all of the Alliance's committees since its inception. Senet was the first in North America to gain FCC certification on LoRa-based sensors and gateways. The company has compiled a range of high-level designs, best practices, and development tools that can benefit other ecosystem partners. For additional information please visit www.senetco.com.
Source: Senet
GE Executive Joins Vuzix Board of Directors
1 June 2016 – Vuzix, a leading supplier of video eyewear and smart glasses products for consumer and enterprise markets, today announced that Paul Boris (above) has joined its board of directors.
"Paul's addition to the Vuzix Board of Directors supports our plans to grow our business and coincides with the launch of our next generation Smart Glasses products. He is a leader in his field and we are thrilled to welcome him to our board," said Vuzix Corporation's President and CEO Paul Travers.
Mr. Boris, currently Head of Manufacturing Industries for GE Digital, has driven digital transformation within industrial operations for decades. In the mid-90's, he led the trend of deployment of technology within manufacturing as a senior consultant with one of the world's largest manufacturing integration firms. He was the force behind the Perfect Plant initiatives at SAP and as CIO of Advanced Manufacturing Strategy for GE, has focused on driving GE's innovative factory strategy to increase productivity and deliver asset and operations optimization. His extensive experience in driving industry initiatives and as a senior contributor at several Fortune 100 companies makes him an ideal candidate to join the Vuzix board.
"With Paul and the recent addition of another new member, Edward Kay, we have a strong advisory team to take us into the next phase of our company's development," Mr. Travers continued.
Source: Vuzix
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Uses PTC’s ThingWorx for Smart Service Across the Globe
25 May 2016 – PTC today announced Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), a major provider to the global printing industry, has selected and is using ThingWorx technology to remotely monitor and service more than 25,000 printing devices and software modules, resulting in significant improvements in service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Heidelberg produces highly-automated, and versatile high-tech machines in Germany and manufactures high-quality components in China. Heidelberg has approximately 40 percent of its sales derived from services, consumables, and parts.
Heidelberg knows that even a small defective part or a simple software error is enough to bring a printing press to a halt and with it the mass production of newspapers, books, posters, or packaging. Recognizing the high importance of product up-time for its customers’ mission-critical businesses, as well as for its own competitive differentiation, Heidelberg undertook an exhaustive due-diligence process, investigating a wide variety of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
The ThingWorx platform was selected for its connectivity, security, and completeness. Today, Heidelberg Remote Service, based on ThingWorx technology, is used in 50 countries with as many as 3,000 remote sessions per month. Heidelberg is able to resolve over 70 percent of all issues remotely, keeping costs low and customer satisfaction high.
“We have successfully connected over 10,000 machines and 15,000 systems with the new solution and as the global leader in our market, we can give our customers excellent support,” said Uwe Galm, vice president, system service and head of operations, Heidelberg (above). “With the ThingWorx platform, ongoing consultation as needed, and regular function and security updates through PTC Cloud Services, we are well positioned for the future.”
“The ThingWorx technology enables forward-looking companies like Heidelberg to iteratively innovate business processes – and to do so significantly faster than conventional methods and tools, thus accelerating time to value,” said Rob Gremley, president, technology platform group, PTC (left). “Heidelberg’s progressive strategy and vision to transform its remote service business and processes will help promote future success. We look forward to working with Heidelberg to help drive business value in the emerging IoT market."
Heidelberg has approximately 12,500 employees across the globe and serves customers in 170 countries.
Source: PTC
City of Gijon, Spain Selects PLAT.ONE Smart City Solution
12th April 2016 – PLAT.ONE, a leading enterprise-grade Internet of Things (IoT) solution platform announces the selection of the CITY.ONE platform for the delivery of Smart City capabilities for the city of Gijon, Spain. Working with partner T-Systems Iberia, PLAT.ONE is delivering Smart City capabilities for a number of cities in Europe, with Gijon the first to be announced.
CITY.ONE provides capabilities that include smart lighting, smart parking, smart waste management, smart transportation and smart security. CITY.ONE is designed to save money through optimization of resources, improved city efficiency and improved quality of life for citizens. CITY.ONE is built on the PLAT.ONE adaptive IoT platform.
Dr. John Bates, CEO of PLAT.ONE (above) said, “The goals of CITY.ONE are saving tax payer money in running a city and making the city a better place to live for the residents. We believe optimizing the way a city runs and reducing carbon emissions go hand-in-hand with these goals.” Bates continued "PLAT.ONE is proud to be selected by the city of Gijon for their Smart City initiative and to be partnering with T-Systems on this project.”
José Muñoz, Sales Manager Public Sector T-Systems Iberia said, "We’re delighted to work alongside PLAT.ONE in delivering Smart City capabilities for Gijon. This project will create a city nervous system that enables truly intelligent management of resources and services for citizens."
Source: PLAT.ONE
Ericsson Establishes IOT Patent Licensing Platform
Platform will operate as a separate company headed by Kasim Alfalahi, previously Ericsson’s CIPO and SVP
3 February 2016 – Ericsson today announced an initiative to accelerate the development of Internet of Things (IoT) by establishing a platform for licensing of standardized technology to device manufacturers. The platform, operated by an independent company, will adopt a revenue sharing model for contributing companies and receive a mandate to license on behalf of the joining patent holders, aiming to simplify access to standardized technology.
This will be an additional go to market model for Ericsson, continuing to build on its IPR & Licensing business strategy to secure a fair return on its R&D investment. Ericsson will make its patents for relevant technologies available through the platform.
The platform is intended to be an efficient marketplace for businesses' technology licensing needs, offering flat per unit licensing fees for the various verticals that reflect how much connectivity technology their devices use.
The new platform will be headed by Kasim Alfalahi (above), who will leave his current role as Chief Intellectual Property Officer and Head of IPR & Licensing at Ericsson.
Alfalahi says: "We are initiating this market place following discussions with both wireless industry players and key players in industry verticals. This platform shows Ericsson's and my personal commitment to provide a solution that works to the benefit of all parts of the ecosystem."
According to the latest edition of Ericsson Mobility Report, around 28 billion connected devices are expected by 2021, of which 15 billion will be connected machine to machine and consumer electronics devices.
Hans Vestberg, President and CEO, Ericsson, said: "Under Kasim's leadership Ericsson has established a leading position in the IPR licensing market. As more and more industries embrace connectivity and the Internet of Things, it is crucial that essential technology is accessible and that innovators continue to get fair returns on R&D investments. With his experience Kasim is the right person to drive this exciting new opportunity to accelerate market development."
Source: Ericsson
Wind River Teams with IBM for Industrial IoT
Industrial customers will be able to integrate products from Wind River’s Helix portfolio with services from IBM’s Watson IoT Cloud Platform to accelerate time to market for solutions and services
27 January 2016 – Wind River, a global leader in delivering software for the Internet of Things (IoT), announced it is collaborating with IBM to accelerate IoT deployments for industrial customers with new “edge-to-cloud” recipes that will simplify and accelerate the development of smart connected devices.
The new recipes enab.e customers to integrate services from IBM Watson IoT Cloud Platform with products from the Wind River HelixTM portfolio. Industrial customers using the recipes will now be able to connect industrial devices running Wind River software to the IBM Watson IoT Cloud Platform and access to IBM Bluemix cloud services and analytics, allowing IoT developers to more quickly and easily develop smart connected devices.
The IBM and Wind River recipes and reference architectures also provide the necessary building blocks required for a complete IoT solution, including device management and the application of IBM machine learning to IoT. The reference architectures will include capabilities to manage, and deploy devices and systems across market segments, including smart building, transportation, factory automation, and healthcare.
Through the arrangement, Wind River and IBM will be able to provide elements that may be combined for a complete edge-to-cloud IoT solution. Specifically, recipes for Wind River operating systems, VxWorks, Wind River Rocket, and Wind River Pulsar Linux, and Wind River Helix Cloud, its software-as-a-service (SaaS) family of products, will instruct customers on how to integrate with IBM Watson IoT Cloud Platform, IBM Bluemix, and IBM IoT Real-Time Insights for processing device data.
Michael Krutz, chief product officer at Wind River (above), commented, “As we have seen, the industrial sector is primed to tap into the vast potential of IoT. By providing businesses with a guide based on best-of-breed edge-to-cloud technologies, IBM and Wind River are playing a critical role in advancing IoT, and enabling a new generation of deployments for customers in this rapidly evolving market.”
“IBM recognizes that connectivity, intelligence and insight are transforming the way people use things and for that reason is collaborating with Wind River given their focus on applying the Internet of Things in industrial solutions,” said Bret Greenstein, vice president, IBM Watson IoT. “Together, we will aim to help engineers better manage connected things and enable companies to take advantage of this connectivity to gain insights that help business make more informed business decisions.”
Wind River Helix, the comprehensive portfolio of Wind River products, enables IoT advancements from the secure and managed intelligent devices at the edge, through gateways, across the network, and up into the cloud. To learn more about how Wind River is addressing the opportunities and challenges of IoT, visit
For more information on Windriver’s IOT solutions, please visit http://tinyurl.com/WindHelix.
Formore information about IBM Watson IoT, please visit http://www.ibm.com/IoT.
Soruce: Wind River
Samsung Electronics Wins Over 100 Awards CES 2016
8 January 2016 – Samsung Electronics today announced that it won more than 100 awards in key categories including Internet of things, home entertainment, and home appliances and mobile, at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
CES is one of the premier global gathering places for companies involved in consumer technologies and this year hosted more than 3,600 exhibiting companies.
Organizations and publications at CES continue to recognize Samsung as the leader in the consumer electronics, spanning the home entertainment, mobile and home appliance categories.
Among Samsung’s CES 2016 award wins are 38 CES 2016 Innovation Awards, including a Best of Innovations Award in TV. Further building on a momentous year, Samsung was also named the recipient of a number of media and industry awards, selected by organizations in attendance.
“Samsung continuously strives to provide consumers with innovations that matter to help them connect their busy lives with their friends, family, co-workers and even their appliances in meaningful ways,” said Gregory Lee, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America (above). “It’s an honor to receive recognition both from CTA and the industry and we can’t wait for the products showcased here to be part of a consumer’s everyday life.”
Samsung’s award winning products for 2016 include:
- The Galaxy TabPro S, which garnered more than 10 wins, including Digital Trends Top Tech of CES, TechRadar’s Best of CES award, Engadget’s Best of CES finalist, PCMag’s Best of CES in the Tablet category and TechnoBuffalo’s Best of CES award
- The new ultra-lightweight Notebook 9, which was named TechnoBuffalo’s Best of CES and Pocket-Lint’s Best Laptops and Tablets of CES lists
- The palm-sized Portable SSD T3, which received the Techlicious Best of CES award
- The KS9500 Series Curved SUHD TV, the World’s First Bezel-Less Curved TV, which earned Reviewed.com’s 2016 Editors’ Choice award, HD Guru’s CES Top Picks award and TechRadar’s Best of CES award
- The 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with Family Hub, which received more than eight awards, including Reviewed.com’s 2016 Editors’ Choice award, Men’s Health Best of CES, Tom’s Guide Best of CES for Best Smart Home Device and Mashable’s Best Tech of CES award
- The Front Load Washer with AddWash, which collected the Reviewed.com Editors’ Choice award
For more information on Samsung’s success at CES 2016, please visit: www.samsung.com/global/ces2016..
Source: Samsung Electronics
PTC Acquires Kepware to Boost Industrial IOT Offerings
PTC to pay $100 million, plus up to an additional $18 million based on achievement of certain strategic initiatives and financial results.
Over the past 12 months, privately-held Kepware generated approximately $20 million in revenues.
22 December 2015 – PTC (NASDAQ: PTC) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kepware, a software development company that provides communications connectivity to industrial automation environments, for approximately $100 million, plus up to an additional $18 million based on achievement of certain strategic initiatives and financial results. The acquisition will enhance PTC’s portfolio of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and accelerate the company’s entry into the factory setting and Industrial IoT (IIoT).
Founded in 1995 and located in Portland, Maine, Kepware serves customers in more than 120 countries in such industries as manufacturing, oil and gas, building automation, and power and utilities. The company’s flagship product, KEPServerEX, connects disparate devices and control systems, providing users with a single source of industrial data.
Kepware’s KEPServerEX will become a strategic component of the PTC ThingWorx® IoT technology platform. Once the companies’ products are integrated, machine data will be able to be aggregated into the PTC ThingWorx platform, integrated with a wide array of internal and external information, and then automatically analyzed using ThingWorx machine learning capabilities. The integration will allow organizations to gain tremendous enterprise-wide insight and to proactively optimize mission-critical processes – enabling them to improve operational performance, quality, and time to market.
In its June 2015 research report, entitled The Internet of Things: Mapping the Value Beyond the Hype, the McKinsey Global Institute identified the factory as one of the largest sources of potential value to be realized from the adoption of the Internet of Things. PTC has established a dedicated business segment and has formed a strategic alliance with GE to pursue this brilliant factory opportunity. The acquisition of Kepware is intended to complement the alliance with GE.
Kepware and PTC share many common customers that will be able to realize value from the acquisition. Industrial environments already leveraging Kepware technology will be able to benefit from the added breadth of capabilities available in the PTC ThingWorx IoT technology platform. The acquisition of Kepware will also provide a fast-to-value connectivity option for PTC customers to gain visibility into data from a vast range of industrial controls and production equipment, enabling them to kick-start their smart, connected factory initiatives.
“PTC is committed to helping manufacturers, infrastructure operators, and others realize the enormous value inherent in the Internet of Things,” said Jim Heppelmann, president and CEO, PTC. “With this acquisition, we will gain entry into heterogeneous factory and operating environments with robust technology, an impressive list of customers, and a high-quality, profitable company with incredibly talented employees.”
“Kepware and PTC share a common vision of helping organizations realize the potential of the Industrial Internet of Things,” said, Tony Paine, CEO, Kepware (avove). “We believe this acquisition will benefit our customers, partners, and employees – and ultimately drive software innovation for industrial automation markets. We are excited for the opportunity to become part of PTC.”
Over the past 12 months, privately-held Kepware generated approximately $20 million in revenue. PTC expects to draw on its credit facility to finance this transaction and expects Kepware to be neutral to its FY’16 non-GAAP EPS. The transaction is expected to close in early 2016, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. PTC intends to maintain the Kepware partner ecosystem and to continue developing and enhancing the Kepware technology, once acquired.
Source: PTC
