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Tag: IT

SOTI integrates tech with ProGlove

Posted on by Keith McKinley

SOTI, a leading provider of mobility and IoT device management solutions, is now offering an integration of SOTI MobiControl and SOTI Surf with ProGlove, the provider of wearable industrial barcode scanners. SOTI Surf and ProGlove’s Insight Mobile App are installed on Android devices that already have SOTI MobiControl implemented. After the device and the ProGlove scanner are connected by scanning a QR code, SOTI Surf communicates with the scanner via the Insight mobile app. This ensures that the alerts or notifications received on the ProGlove wearable scanners correspond to the scanned data transmitted to SOTI Surf.

The integration of SOTI Surf and ProGlove is simple. Companies use the JavaScript functions provided by SOTI Surf in their web applications. Once the connection between ProGlove and the device is established, employees can start scanning. SOTI Surf for Android is a secure web browser that can be managed through SOTI MobiControl. It allows users to access corporate data via encrypted connections on their Android devices. The wearable ProGlove MARK Display Scanner enables hands-free scanning and provides employees with important information efficiently.

Using the ProGlove-MARK series of wearable scanners, users can save up to six seconds per scan while avoiding up to 33% of the common picking errors. With erroneous data entry costing over $600bn annually in the transportation and logistics sector alone, these are mission-critical benefits.

Stefan Spendrup, VP of Sales in Northern and Western Europe at SOTI, said: “To stay ahead of the competition, companies need to continue their digitisation journeys while implementing fast solutions that provide accurate data in real time. With our platforms integrating with ProGlove, the perfect condition is created for our customers to be able to optimise their logistics and production processes, to increase their efficiencies.

“Making supply chain processes more effective and efficient reduces the number of errors, meaning our customers can increase their revenues. Ultimately, by working with ProGlove, we can help businesses automate their assembly, warehousing and distributing, and packaging processes so they can offer a far better customer experience.”

“This partnership is based on our shared mission to reduce the cost and complexity of business-critical mobility and IoT,” said Dunja Riehemann, Chief Marketing Officer at ProGlove. “By integrating SOTI MobiControl and SOTI Surf with our wearable scanning technology, organisations can more easily secure, manage and support their mobile processes. This is more important than ever and a critical step in driving workforce growth across global supply chains and manufacturing facilities.”

Nokia launches Core SaaS for 5G

Posted on by David Priestman

Nokia has introduced its pioneering Core SaaS for 5G to provide communication service providers (CSPs) and enterprises the option of running the heart of their network through a highly flexible, fully automated, scalable software model that enables greater business agility and faster time to value for delivering and monetizing network services.

Nokia Core SaaS allows operators and enterprises to move away from the legacy practice of deploying customized software that runs on private infrastructure; and to consume Nokia’s Core software, including 5G Packet Core, on demand through a more cost-effective subscription service that eliminates large up front capital expenditure and avoids the need to perform on-site software maintenance and updates.

Nokia Core SaaS begins with 5G Core services; trials are expected to commence shortly, and commercial availability is expected in the first half of 2023.

Nokia Core SaaS is the first complete 5G core solution to market with all core cloud-native network functions available through a SaaS delivery model.

Nokia is leading the 5G Standalone Core market, with over 70 CSP customers around the world. In addition, 25 of the top 40 CSPs by revenue rely on Nokia Core network products.

Roberto Kompany, Principal Analyst, Service Provider Networks at Omdia, said: “As telecom SaaS goes more mainstream, we are seeing more solutions offered in the marketplace that provide operators with much needed options for getting the most out of the network. Nokia’s launch of its Core SaaS offering through a subscription model today is a new dimension to telecom SaaS and I would expect to see more of this into 2023, as the marketplace more closely examines the potential benefits of going down this path.”

Fran Heeran, SVP & General Manager of Core Networks, Cloud and Network Services, at Nokia, said: “Nokia Core SaaS changes the way core networks are built, deployed and run, with important customer benefits that include Network on demand, speed to market, and easy and fast scaling, in an affordable way. Nokia Core SaaS is not the core network we’ve known for decades, but something entirely different. And this reflects the technology leadership Nokia continues to deliver to the market.”

FourKites partners with Sony Network Communications

Posted on by David Priestman

Supply chain visibility company FourKites has formed a partnership with Sony Network Communications Europe. The partnership will integrate data from Visilion — Sony’s real-time cargo and asset tracking solution — with FourKites’ real-time, end-to-end supply chain visibility platform. This collaboration will help enterprise customers solve their most complex use cases. Now, customers will be able to view FourKites’ real-time data for shipments in transit and in the yard, together with Visilion’s granular real-time data on cargo location and condition to provide best-in-class estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and enhanced end-customer experiences.

Faced with ongoing global supply chain disruptions — including port congestion, port and rail strikes, global conflicts and more — businesses need more meaningful insights to mitigate preventable delays and damage, and to keep goods moving to their final destinations. Real-time visibility and actionable analytics regarding the location, temperature and status of shipments is critical, particularly for those in the Consumer Packaged Goods, Food & Beverage and Pharmaceutical industries, who ship products that require specific in-transit conditions to maintain quality.

“Businesses today require more high-quality, real-time supply chain data,” said Nimesh Patel, vice president of global alliances and partnerships at FourKites. “The Visilion solution from Sony provides an extra layer of granular data about the contents of containers and status of sensitive and/or temperature-controlled shipments. Our partnership will ensure that this data becomes more accessible than ever to businesses around the world.”

Visilion, Sony’s real-time cargo and asset tracking solution, offers industry-leading shock, tilt and temperature detection capabilities, among others, to ensure that goods are handled properly and maintained at the right temperature and humidity during transit, thereby mitigating losses. This functionality, combined with FourKites’ market-leading Dynamic ETA across all modes, provides shippers with complete visibility into potential disruptions and product loss for goods in transit. In addition, FourKites’ international tracking capabilities, together with Visilion sensor data, provide an added dimension of granular visibility into ocean containers that often move through complicated, multi-stop journeys.

“FourKites’ shared commitment to industry-leading innovation, product quality and industry collaboration made them the obvious partner for us,” said Erik Lund, Head of Tracking Division, Sony Network Communications Europe. “We look forward to working together to provide our mutual customers with integrated supply chain data to fuel better decision-making and, ultimately, more efficient supply chain operations — in Europe and around the world.”

Over the last year, FourKites has experienced record growth in the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) markets, achieving 97% growth in shipments YoY as of October 2022. The number of customers tracking loads with FourKites in EMEA grew 40% in the same time period, while the number of carriers tracking shipments grew by 50% in the same period.

 

 

Tive wins innovation award

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Tive, a global leader in supply chain and logistics visibility technology, has been ranked 18th in FreightWaves’ 2023 FreightTech 25 list, which recognises the most innovative and disruptive companies in the freight and transportation industry. This is the first year Tive is included on this list.

Each year, the top 25 companies are selected from the FreightTech 100 by a handpicked group of CEOs, industry leaders, and investors actively investing in the freight space.

“As relentless innovators, we are extremely proud to be recognised by FreightWaves on this impressive list of companies working to advance the freight technology space,” said Krenar Komoni, Tive CEO & Founder. “At Tive, we are constantly seeking new and innovative ways to make end-to-end supply chain visibility available to everyone in the transportation industry, and this award clearly demonstrates that our hard work is successfully advancing our mission.”

Among Tive’s recent contributions to make end-to-end supply chain visibility an affordable reality for everyone in the supply chain logistics space are the following:

  • Introduced the first single-use and multi-use 5G-ready tracker
  • Introduced the first non-lithium based 5G-ready tracker
  • Introduced Tive Tag, the thinnest, easiest-to-use label for end-to-end cold chain monitoring of temperature-sensitive shipments
  • Co-founded the Open Visibility Network—a consortium of supply chain, transportation, and logistics technology providers on a mission to optimise global supply chain efficiency via open visibility and collaboration
  • Tive trackers provide global visibility coverage, with high reliability in more than 186 countries

The FreightTech 25 companies and their ranking were determined by a hand-picked peer group of CEOs, industry leaders, and investors actively investing in the freight industry. The companies were among the FreightTech 100 companies, previously determined by a panel chosen by FreightWaves.

HHLA Sky receives cybersecurity certification for drones

Posted on by Keith McKinley

HHLA Sky‘s drone system has been certified by the German technical inspection agency TÜV in accordance with the IEC 62443 cybersecurity industry standard. The entire system was tested, including communication between the drones and the Integrated Control Center. The Integrated Control Center is a scalable IoT platform that enables the active, intelligent and simultaneous monitoring and management of more than 100 automated drones, autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and their tasks.

TÜV NORD certifies the excellence and well-protected system integrity of this mobile robot management solution. Both the system architecture and the multi-layered security design, its defined procedures, the software and drone hardware meet all the requirements for this cybersecurity standard.

HHLA Sky’s product development process also meets all normative requirements in each of the eight areas. These are: managing development, defining security requirements, designing security solutions, providing a secure development environment, testing security features, dealing with security vulnerabilities, creating and publishing updates, and documenting security features.

This is the first time that an industry-standard IoT drone system has been cybersecurity-certified.

“Our customers often operate in critical infrastructures. An IoT strategy that embeds security and cybersecurity from the outset is just as important to them as the efficiency gains from using automated drones. Our customers will only deploy an adequately cybersecure product that supports their business continuity – and we must ensure that the level of protection remains permanently high. We are proud that TÜV Nord has now certified the standards we have established for our Integrated Control Center as cybersecure,” says Matthias Gronstedt, Managing Director at HHLA Sky.

“Our requirements for a cybersecure product go somewhat beyond the actual requirements for certification,” adds Lothar Müller, Managing Director at HHLA Sky: “We also see cybersecurity as a management task and therefore have a holistic approach to our own security strategy. For example, we foster a corporate culture in which it is clear to all team members that cybersecurity touches on the responsibility of each individual. This, too, enables us to design enormously resilient cyber-physical systems such as the Integrated Control Center, to provide our customers with the highest level of security.”

Real risk

“Cybercrime will cost the world $8tr in 2023,” predicts Cybercrime Magazine. “If it were measured as a country, then cybercrime would be the world’s third-largest economy after the US and China.” The magazine expects “global cybercrime damage costs to grow by 15% per year over the next three years, reaching $10.5tr annually by 2025, up from $3tr in 2015.”

According to Bitkom, the damage to German companies last year due to cyber attacks amounts to around €223bn. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), there were 12% more cyberattacks in Germany in 2021 than in the previous year, with a total of around 146,000 attacks reported.

On a global scale, Moody’s registers that risks are rising for many sectors, while at the same time remedial and defensive measures are gaining in importance.

In a global study, the rating agency Moody’s classifies critical infrastructures such as energy, gas and water as sectors with very high cyber risk. The agency also includes the technology industry among the high-risk sectors.

Mobile Robot Management systems for drones heighten the possibility of attack due to their complexity and interconnectivity. Intelligent firewalls must therefore be raised to meet the increasing degree of automation in drone operations and the deeper the mobile robots are networked with the production systems.

Secure UAV operation

Cybersecurity is also one of the decisive factors for the safe operation of automated UAVs and, in the future, autonomously flying UAVs: for example, during missions in critical infrastructures, generally in urban areas and in all airspaces that drones share with manned aviation.

High protection against hijacking, manipulation, data theft

HHLA Sky’s drone system is cybersecure protected. Even the transmission of often sensitive sensor data is encrypted end-to-end. Access is only granted to authorised persons. Human errors, which offer additional areas of attack, are ruled out as far as possible by standard operating procedures, such as those used in civil aviation.

As a result, the system provides companies and authorities with the highest level of protection against mobile robot hijacking, the manipulation of routes and clearances, as well as against the interception or manipulation of video streams, other sensor data or the activation of functional elements on a logistics drone, such as enabling the cable winch or the opening the holding device for transport goods.

Milestone for the drone industry

HHLA Sky‘s rigorous architectural approach was fully validated by the reputable TÜV NORD and put to the test by proven experts. HHLA Sky has achieved a globally unique milestone for the UAV industry with the first cybersecurity certification for drone standards, making it a pioneer in its field.

Vector.ai rebrands to Raft

Posted on by David Priestman

Vector.ai is rebranding under the name Raft. The name change to Raft emphasises its evolution to a comprehensive operational platform for freight forwarders.

Since 2017, when launched as Vector.ai, the company has delivered industry-leading AI to automate document and email processing for freight forwarders. While AI for automated document and email processing remains at the core of the company’s technology, the rebrand to Raft points towards the greater need for forwarders to have a single platform for their day-to-day workflow.

“Raft’s purpose is to help forwarders optimise their whole shipment process, across the entire lifecycle,” said James Coombes, CEO, Raft. “Yes, we use the industry’s leading AI implementation in our platform, but we now provide much more capability on top of each shipment, like emissions visibility, which allows our forwarding and brokerage customers to provide ever-better service to their end-customers on the back of the standardisation we already provide. It’s a really powerful concept that has resonated with our customer-base.

“Our global ambition is to understand every event of every shipment, to automate everything, and this rebrand – and the mindset that goes with it – is another step towards that mission.”

On average, Raft currently saves forwarders over an hour per shipment across its platform’s product offerings, helping its customers save in excess of $2.1m in net workforce productivity every year. Multinational forwarders naturally achieve far greater savings. It says this meaningful impact is helping to carve out its position as the foremost – and only – intelligent operating platform for the industry.

To celebrate the successful evolution from AI-provider to intelligent platform for forwarding excellence, Raft has also fully re-branded with a new design, logo and website.

Cop27 climate goals “won’t be met”

Posted on by Keith McKinley

As Cop27 begins, Rashik Parmar MBE, Chief Executive of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: “World leaders must understand we can only achieve Net Zero with the help of digital technologies and – crucially – scientists, engineers and managers with the right skills.

“We need a global talent pool of data science professionals to help us understand what the data is saying, supported by universal data standards that build trust and confidence.

“In addition to these specialists, all organisations need people with the digital skills to commission, build and manage carbon accounting and carbon removal systems and embed them into everyday business practice.

“IT Leaders should continue to do everything they can to minimise the environmental impact of IT and use frameworks like responsiblecomputing.net to do that.”

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is at the climate change summit in Egypt, will announce a further £65.5 million for the clean energy innovation facility which provides grants to researchers and scientists in developing countries working on clean technologies – from biomass-powered refrigeration in India to lithium-ion batteries in Nigeria.

He has urged leaders assembled Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh not to “backslide” on commitments made at last year’s Cop26 summit in Glasgow intended to limit global temperature rises to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels.

A BCS survey of technology professionals before Cop26 found that 64% believed the workforce lacked the digital skills to achieve Net Zero; 61% were not confident digital technologies were being used effectively in the fight against climate change.

According to The Royal Society’s 2020 report, Digital technology, and the planet: Harnessing Computing, ‘to achieve net zero nearly a third of the 50% carbon emissions reductions the UK needs to make by 2030 could be achieved through existing digital technology.

As part of the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC), BCS has called for an economic recovery that pivots the UK towards net zero, rather than one that locks us into a high-carbon future.

 

Wiliot makes COP27 debut

Posted on by David Priestman

Wiliot, the Internet of Things pioneer whose IoT platform is enabling trillions of “things” to gain intelligence, has been selected to attend COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from November 6th-18th. At the event, Wiliot will be showcasing its pioneering ambient computing technology – the Wiliot IoT Pixel and Cloud platform – and educating global leaders on the ways in which it’s enabling an ambient IoT poised to create more sustainable, cost-efficient supply chains.

Wiliot’s vision for the future of the ambient IoT brings intelligence and internet connectivity to every single ‘thing’ in the global supply chain, enabling products to transmit item-level information about their location, temperature, carbon footprint, and more. With this information, businesses are – for the first time – equipped with the real-time data they need to make more sustainably-minded decisions that reduce their carbon footprint.

Furthermore, the real-time delivery of this carbon data offers an effective alternative to today’s annual reporting cadence, which is proving insufficient for businesses looking to make a material impact on their carbon footprint.

Wiliot is attending COP27 as part of an Israeli delegation that includes nine other climate-tech innovators that were selected at PLANETech World, Israel’s first-ever clean-tech conference that recently took place in Tel Aviv.

“While much of the world is justifiably focused on reducing fossil fuel emissions, converting to electric vehicles, and carbon-offsetting projects, we applaud the UN and the COP27 for now also recognising supply chain efficiency as a fundamental lever in advancing global sustainability,” stated Steve Statler, Wiliot SVP of Marketing & ESG. “Trillions of things flow through our supply chains every day – a number that will only increase as billions of new people enter the middle class, with more disposable income and purchasing power. The UN recognises the urgent need to fix our supply chains, and that real-time item-level carbon data is fundamental to the regeneration of the environment.”

Wiliot IoT Pixels are stamp-sized computers that cost pennies and feature a fundamental breakthrough in ambient computing technology – or computing that’s self-powered, harvesting radio waves that are all around us. These battery-free IoT Pixels can attach to any product or packaging to connect it to the internet; not just expensive things like cars, appliances, and shipping containers, but the things inside them: fruits, veggies, vaccine vials, clothes, crates, and just about everything else.

The benefits of this technology are vast. Produce stays fresher longer, reducing the amount wasted due to rot and spoil; delivery routes are more efficient, requiring less fuel and emitting lower greenhouse gas; stock-checks transition from daily to real-time, resulting in supply chains with lower carbon footprints; and so much more.

“It’s going to take trillions of connections to solve the climate crisis,” continued Statler. “Every single thing in our global supply chain – veggies and vaccines, crates and skates, airplane parts and toy airplanes – all connected to the internet and transmitting real-time, item-level data about their location, temperate, fill rate, carbon footprint, and more. It’s this data that’s going to enable businesses to make better, more sustainably-minded decisions – and ones that make a material impact on the climate crisis today.”

Wiliot is currently working with many of the world’s largest companies, helping them transition from supply chains that often include glut, excess, and delays to demand chains that are fully responsive to real-time to consumer demand. Furthermore, the Wiliot platform is equipping employees across organisations with this real-time data empowers them to take action every day, which is proving to have a profound impact on corporate sustainability and profitability.

In a recent project with a large retailer, the temperature of a pallet of berries rose precipitously when it was mistakenly left out on a store floor, threatening the fruit’s freshness. However, rather than spoil, the temperature rise was flagged and an alert was sent to store employees, who addressed the situation in the moment.

Concluded Statler: “The ambient IoT grows the market from billions of expensive things to trillions of everyday things, and in the process totally transforms our global supply chains. We’re honoured to have been selected to attend COP27 to debut the concept of the ambient IoT, which is poised to have a profound impact on our planet.”

Ambient IoT support is being added to the wireless standards that enable the world’s phones, smart speakers, and access points. Industry analyst ABI Research predicted a total addressable market for ambient IoT of over 10 trillion devices at the recent GSMA MWC event in a presentation it co-delivered with Wiliot and Deloitte.

 

Handheld launches new ultra-rugged tablet

Posted on by David Priestman

Handheld Group, the manufacturer of rugged mobile computers, has announced the release of the all-new Algiz 10XR, an ultra-rugged 10-inch Windows tablet that it says combines durability with robust field performance, 5G and future-proof features.

It describes the Algiz 10XR as a smaller, lighter, 10-inch Windows tablet that achieves more even while taking up less space. It brings two times better graphics and measurably faster performance. Future-proof 5G communication can handle live video streams and bandwidth-heavy tasks like mapping. The Algiz 10XR was developed for field work or other challenging environments within logistics, mining, public transport, public safety, waste management or GIS and has also been designed with modulisation and customisation in mind.

Other key features of the Algiz 10XR ultra-rugged tablet:

  • Intel Elkhart Lake x6000 platform for reliable performance
  • Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC (64bit)
  • High-resolution, sunlight-readable 10-inch touchscreen with super-hardened glass and rain-and-glove mode
  • Future-proof 5G capabilities, 4G/LTE high-speed data, Wi-Fi, BT
  • Dedicated multiband GNSS u-blox NEO-M8U receiver for accurate positioning.
  • Untethered dead reckoning (UDR) to provide accurate positioning performance under even weak GNSS conditions.
  • IP65 and MIL-STD ruggedness
  • Full-day, hot-swappable battery
  • Optional, integrated barcode scanner and NFC
  • A broad ecosystem of accessories for field professionals; carry cases, vehicle cradles, pole mounts, extended batteries, as well as a vehicle dock with antenna pass-through for both GPS and Wi-Fi
  • Possibility for customised extensions via backpack

“The Algiz 10XR will bring some great performance gains for our partners and customers who rely on Windows tablets in the field,” says Johan Hed, Handheld chief product officer. “We’ve worked with this segment for decades now and are confident that we’ve developed a device with not only great specs, but a complete accessory package to help our customers with their fieldwork.”

Fortna and MHS Global unite under one brand

Posted on by David Priestman

The merger of MHS Global, a global provider of material handling automation and systems integration, and Fortna, a software and solutions provider for warehouse distribution, has resulted in a single combined entity that will be known henceforth as FORTNA. The companies bring together decades of experience in the design, development and delivery of omnichannel and parcel distribution solutions, offering customers a uniquely versatile end-to-end path forward to optimise operations in the face of continual upheaval.

The new company enters the market with the size, scale and capabilities of a global leader in the category. In a world where increasing consumer demands continually face off with supply chain disruption and other challenges, FORTNA says the newly combined company offers customers partnership and solutions they can count on to outpace the demands of tomorrow.

Rob McKeel, CEO, FORTNA, stated: “The decision to retain the legacy Fortna name was the result of careful consideration. We chose the name FORTNA not only for the great reputation the name already has in the market, but because of the strength and resilience embedded within it.

“The notion of fortitude. Of resilience and strength. It speaks to what our customers need in today’s climate and what they can expect from our partnership – the ability to weather the ever-changing market conditions and come out thriving.”

Customers will increasingly see the new FORTNA brand as it is rolled out globally over the coming weeks and months. Alongside the new brand identity, customers will access the advanced performance unlocked by the combined capabilities of two industry leading omnichannel and parcel distribution solutions providers.

McKeel added: “At the end of the day, our customers need to know they are ready for anything. That means operations that run at the speed of change – and the intelligence to anticipate what is next. We are thrilled to be able to provide the ability for our customers to create scalable, cost-efficient operations through automation.”

 

 

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