AT&T unveiled its new IoT (Internet of Things) solution this week, dubbed Operations Center, which the company says will simplify how companies monitor and manage IoT solutions via the cloud.
The telco giant is working closely with Microsoft for the enterprise-aimed solution. The platform will run on Microsoft Azure and use components like Azure Cosmos DB and Microsoft Power BI. In addition to Azure, the solution takes advantage of AT&T IoT Platform Services, the company said. Microsoft will also have a hand in bringing Operations Center to market.
AT&T's IoT Platform
The solution supports multiple devices, communication protocols, networks and cloud environments, the company explained. It comes with a built-in dashboard to allow customers tailored visualization or users can integrate into existing enterprise systems through APIs.
The solution supports a plug and play environment for configuring devices, sensors on device, grouping of assets by location and type, rules for alerts and reporting.
The company says Operations Center is the first in what will be a series of multi-market, multi-cloud reference solutions built on the Flow platform. It’s all being done in an effort to push enterprise customers to market faster. The beta version will be available to customers later this year.
More AT&T IoT News
AT&T is busy on the IoT front. The company also announced that it’s collaborating with Mobike and Qualcomm to build mobile IoT-based smart bike sharing technology. The service will use AT&T's 4G LTE connectivity coupled with Qualcomm’s' LTE IoT modems and Mobike's smartphone app to let users locate, unlock, and securely pay for the nearest Mobike.
The company also confirmed its on track to expand its LTE-M technology into Mexico by the end of this year. LTE-M pilot projects were completed in Tijuana and Puebla over the summer. After launching its US-wide LTE-M network across the US this year, the company has plans to create the first North American “footprint for technology that promises to connect more ‘things’ than ever before,” the company said.
IoT Channel Ecosystem
The IoT partner ecosystem has been maturing rapidly, according to ABI Research. Giants like AT&T, General Electric, Microsoft and others have been trying to cash in. But IoT doesn't mean instant revenues or profits.
GE, for one, recently overhauled Predix, an industrial IoT (IIoT) platform that apparently wasn't living up to the company's brand promise. Instead of chasing all customers, GE's Predix salesforce is now pursing existing GE vertical market customers in manufacturing and other early adopter markets.
