As the Internet of Things (IoT) expands to all types of devices and business sectors, construction equipment manufacturers will face a key challenge.
Cranes and equipment must become compatible with IoT services, but software development is not part of their core business. A viable option is following the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) approach, which has been highly successful in the automotive and computer industries.
Crane manufacturers and other equipment suppliers can partner with a company specialised within Internet-enabled electronics and cloud software who becomes their OEM technology provider.
Although each manufacturer could develop their own hardware and software in theory, it can also be complex, consuming large amounts of capital, time and skilled labour and a distraction to core business. Outsourcing that aspect to an OEM provider is, in most cases, a smarter business decision.
Another advantage of working with an IoT and cloud computing partner is utilising the software as a service (SaaS) model. The platform is hosted and managed by the OEM software partner which means the client does not have to worry about investing in expensive servers, software licenses and their respective strict data backup and security standards.
Simplified, a complete IoT platform is composed of various core services of Device management, Connectivity management, Data management and Applications. Having all of these capabilities available from a single source with a single supplier/partner relationship provides manufacturers with access to tried and tested technologies in a way that enables them to scale up, launch new services to customers quickly and do so in a very cost effective manner.
Device management is an essential capability on any platform because it provides over the air (OTA) or remote access to upgrade hardware and software on site. Monitoring signal and battery/power are also beneficial capabilities.
Connectivity management. Reliable network connectivity is vital to any IoT enabled device and service. Manufacturers can use their own network provider supplier but this can be counter-productive and very time consuming. Most IoT device and platform providers have already established relationships with carriers and manage this function via a central portal, seamlessly linking with their device management functions and offering a service to support all connections.
Capture, organise and convert the data into something meaningful. An established end to end platform service will always have a robust data management function, allowing vast amounts of data to be logged and analysed simultaneously from thousands and hundreds of thousands of connected devices in real time.
Applications are the core of any IoT service, enabling the data collected from sensors to be turned into something of value and displayed in a format that makes sense of the information. An IoT platform should be flexible enough to enable smooth integration directly between applications, analytics and any other software.
Part of our OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) service is to bring our expertise in wind and remote monitoring solutions to your products and services.
Please contact us if you would like to arrange an informal, confidential discussion around what services we can provide.
info@windcrane.com
www.windcrane.com
+44 141 585 6496