Device management is part of the foundation of an IoT solution. “Device management” is also an overly simplified term in light of the IoT where preserving embedded software and security integrity means greater control throughout the lifecycle. However, enabling scalable and secure IoT device management today still requires a fair amount of engineering time and investments to build – even on top of “building blocks” provided by IoT and cloud services providers. Device management and monitoring are not functions that translate easily between connected device classes, vendors, and use cases but remain critical to all of them. Read more

In today’s world, transport and logistics are crucial to global trade, organizations have become reliant on sophisticated technologies and services to keep the flow of raw materials and finished goods constant. In this highly competitive environment, organizations have been taking advantage of a combination of cloud, mobile and satellite technologies as a way to manage demand, track assets, and address key challenges such as aging infrastructure, spiraling fuel costs, weather disruption, regulatory pressures, and complex intermodal networks. Learn more

Industrial PCs (IPCs) are evolving and gaining more market traction from the Internet of Things to enable connected applications and services. IPCs are by no means new but the growing IoT solution requirements for distributed processing, connectivity, and security are breathing new life into the device class. Beyond more traditional embedded control applications, IPCs are helping fill the gap between intelligent “things” and edge servers or the cloud. Read more

The network edge is a critical element to enabling 5G applications and services. While no one knows for certain which mix of 5G technologies, frameworks, and standards will be at the core of next generation networks, the edge is an area brimming with market opportunities today. Trends such as Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) and Fog Computing are causing OEMs, service providers, network operators, and others throughout the IoT and embedded ecosystem to reevaluate their network architectures and data models to position themselves on the front lines of competitive differentiation and services delivery. Read more

Most people probably know that Japan-based Hitachi is a large corporation, but they probably don’t realize just how large it is. In its fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, Hitachi Ltd. had worldwide revenues of 9.16 trillion Japanese yen (about US$82 billion), making it one of that nation’s 10 largest companies. Larger than Sony, Panasonic, Softbank, or many other well-known Japanese technology brands. Hitachi is also old, founded back in 1910, originally to produce electric motors. Read more

ServiceMax's eighth annual field service conference has kicked into full gear. Hosted in the Encore at Wynn, Las Vegas, 'Maximize' features three days of industry-specific sessions, a CSO summit, and session tracks encompassing service leadership, service transformation, product technology, service industry trends, and service technology. With today's opening keynote and field service vision keynote, Maximize transitions to a series of breakout sessions that will last for the rest of the conference. Learn more

Equifax, a major credit reporting agency, announced in the beginning of September that hackers had gained access to company data that included Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses, and other sensitive data for approximately 143 million people in the U.S, and about 44 million people in Canada and the U.K. This was recorded as one of the largest cyberattacks against one of the big 3 credit agencies and is the third cybersecurity threat Equifax has encountered since 2015. An astonishing 50% of people within the US were most likely affected by this breach, and practically anyone who has a credit report or has ran one in the past year most likely falls under this category. Learn more

At the inaugural Mobile World Congress Americas trade show and conference (formerly the CTIA Wireless show), attendees wound their way around the ongoing construction at San Francisco’s Moscone Center to find an event notable smaller than its MWC mother event in Barcelona. Nevertheless, IoT-related products, services, and conference sessions were prominent and plentiful. Read more

The market for security solutions serving embedded systems has grown considerably in recent years, and will continue to do so as the expansion of Internet of Things intensifies. The demand for security solutions is especially strong in the industrial space, where spending on embedded security software trailed only that of the mobile phones industry according to research recently published by VDC. Learn more

AIDC vendors today face intense competition in the barcode printer and scanner hardware markets. This has them adopting non-traditional approaches to maintain and grow their market share, and generate higher shareholder value. In recent months, incumbents and emerging participants alike have launched initiatives on the channel development front with an aim to address client and prospect engagement opportunities. Read more

VMware announced it was expanding its partnership with Google this past May to accelerate the adoption of Chromebooks (the announcement was timed for Dell EMC World). The company has now revealed the partnership has expanded since, and that its AirWatch EMM platform has achieved full integration with Google’s Chrome Device Management. Learn more

VDC’S Enterprise Mobility & Connected Devices practice is announcing the release of our report on the mobile worker population. According to our research the mobile worker population has exceeded 1.76 billion as of 2016, and accounts for approximately 59.4% of the total global employment. VDC classifies mobile workers as someone who spends the majority of their day performing tasks and responsibilities in some type of mobile capacity. These include specialized line of business workers such as sales reps, field workers / technicians, delivery drivers, registered nurses, and even telecommuters as well. Learn more

VDC recently published Interim Findings for our upcoming 2017 Mobile Barcode Scanning Solution Report. The following blog highlights some of our thoughts on this market and its potential. Handheld barcode scanning is no longer restricted to the traditional pistol grip form factor or rugged mobile devices. Mobile barcode scanners including companion scanners, sleds, ring scanners and barcode scanning software platforms saw strong demand globally in 2016 and will generate more than $150M in revenues by 2021, according to VDC’s latest research on the topic. Read more