Dragos, Inc., a provider of industrial cybersecurity software and services, announced on Monday its acquisition of NexDefense, the provider of an asset discovery and identification tool for industrial control system (ICS) networks. Upon announcing this acquisition, Dragos revealed that the NexDefense tool, Integrity, would be packaged with another Dragos tool, CyberLens, and offered free of charge as part of Dragos Community Tools. Learn more
At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, IoT products and services were less prominent than in recent years, as the spotlights this time shone primarily on 5G networks, and to a lesser extent on Microsoft’s second generation Hololens glasses for augmented reality. Nevertheless, IoT was ever-present, blending in like an accepted member of the wireless family. Read more
Every year, Nuremberg, Germany becomes the epicenter for embedded technology with all of the industry’s most influential players coming together to roll out new products, announce game-changing collaborations, and show off innovative solutions. Last week’s conference featured more than 1,100 exhibitors from 52 countries and many use Embedded World as a platform to communicate new critical developments for their businesses to the 32,000+ trade visitors and 2,200 conference participants. Read more
ServiceMax, one of the most prominent companies in field service management, has just acquired Zinc, an enterprise communications company focused on deskless workers. This comes hot on the heels of Silver Lake’s acquisition of ServiceMax from GE. However, ServiceMax’s acquisition of Zinc proves that Silver Lake is interested in growing ServiceMax and gives ServiceMax a powerful new suite of capabilities unmatched by any other field service management provider. Learn more
VDC recently concluded its latest survey of the industrial automation community, receiving more than 215 web-based responses from a worldwide panel of industrial professionals in engineering, logistics, R&D, and executive leadership roles. Learn more
Early this week, VMware announced the intent to acquire AetherPal, a mobile device management solution focused on enhancing remote support. This acquisition will follow a multi-year business relationship between the two companies and reflects VMware’s growing efforts to enhance their remote support capabilities to increase the efficiency, flexibility, and quality of their mobile device management system. Learn more
Zebra Technologies announced its intent to acquire privately held Temptime Corporation for an undisclosed sum. Temptime is an industry leader in the development of remote temperature monitoring solutions, with a particular focus in the healthcare industry. Read more
ODG and Meta, top players in the smart glasses and augmented reality (AR) space, are closing down. This is sobering news: both companies had received over $50M in funding, and ODG had been a darling among smart glasses manufacturers as recently as 2017. These companies had developed innovative and meaningfully differentiating technology, but it ultimately was not enough for them to succeed. Learn more
Chicago-based Motorola Solutions, a leading provider of technological products for government, public safety and first responder agencies, has acquired VaaS International Holdings for $445 million. VaaS (video analysis-as-a-service) is a global forerunner in AI-driven image capture and data analysis technology best known for its automated license place recognition (ALPR) technology. The company also focuses on facial recognition, ballistic analysis, firearm mapping, body camera technology, and vehicle location data services. Learn more
Cybersecurity is particularly critical for industrial systems due to the potentially life-threatening consequences of system failures as compared to other classes of connected systems. Combined with the financial and operational implications of stopped manufacturing lines—lost production, scheduling delays, scrap, overhead—the consequences of even a temporary disruption can be disastrous. Learn more
Despite its vast potential, the IIoT is still in its infancy. According to results from our 2018 survey of the industrial automation community, just 40% of respondents indicated their organization is currently deploying IIoT capabilities, as shown in the graphic below, with another 19% expecting to begin deploying such capabilities within the next year. However, approximately 80% of respondents believe their organizations will be utilizing IIoT-related functionality within three years at the latest. Learn more
Amazon Web Services (AWS) showed no signs of slowing down during its annual re:Invent conference and analyst summit, held at the Venetian in Las Vegas this past week. The company presented a “condensed” list of over 55 new services during the re:Invent analyst summit, narrowing down the announcements due to feedback that the 70+ services announced last year were tough to digest. Read more
Mature markets for voice-enabled mobility solutions see significant productivity and efficiency gains from these intuitive and hands-free technologies. Frontline workers can complete workflows such as picking, shipping, receiving and maintenance checklisting much more quickly and smoothly with voice guided and validated tasks enabled on their mobile devices. Currently, data analytics is a nice-to-have capability that complements these voice-enabled workflow solutions with an added touch of visibility. Soon, however, this will be a competitive need-to-have. Learn more
As mentioned in our blog on Apples Device Enrollment Program Sour Apple: Vulnerability Issues with Apples Device Enrollment Program firms are looking for new ways to implement enrollment programs for their mobile devices. As companies transition to devices supported by the likes of industry pillars Apple and Android, methods for large scale Enterprise Mobility Management are becoming a premium for those that wish to expedite and simplify the device configuration process. Learn more
Despite a bizarre incident, and much like the noble gas itself, smartphone manufacturers are unlikely to react. Tech publications have been abuzz over something strange at Morris Hospital in Ottawa, IL. In total, 40 iPhones and Apple Watches experienced a mysterious litany of failures including non-responsive touch screens, lost cellular connectivity, and charging problems. Learn more