Ericsson Launches IoT Accelerator As a Service

Ericsson said that it has launched the IoT Accelerator, which combines horizontal, feature-rich IoT platforms with the gear maker's services and a marketplace where customers from sectors such as public safety, utilities, transport and smart cities can connect with partners and monetize their solutions. 

Available at the end of Q3 to customers globally, the IoT Accelerator will be offered as a service to enable customers to overcome the barriers of cost and complexity and rapidly develop and deploy new IoT solutions.

“We will initially focus on public safety, utilities, transport and smart cities customers, continuously adjusting to their needs and feedback, and improving ease of use and delivery speed through a DevOps approach to software development. We deliver these capabilities to our customers via the IoT Accelerator,” Orvar Hurtig, Head of Industry & Society at Ericsson, said in a statement.

The IoT platforms' capabilities include data management, billing, device management, connectivity services and analytics. Planned expansion modules include a self-service portal, developer environment and software development kit, the gear maker said.

IoT Accelerator will leverage the Ericsson Cloud System to support hybrid cloud deployments

Vodafone, Huawei Partner For World's First Narrowband IoT Open Lab

Huawei and Vodafone Group have joined hands to establish an IoT Open Lab in Newbury, UK to work on the development of products and applications relating to Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) technology.

Huawei and Vodafone are already working with a number of companies to develop NB-IoT applications. The first devices connected by NB-IoT technologies are expected in late 2016 or early 2017.

The lab will provide a pre-integration testing environment for application developers and device, module and chip manufacturers. The facility, which is the first of seven that Huawei plans to open, will also offer support to developers and partners.

Both the companies will work with both companies to explore cutting edge developments including network solution verification, new application innovation, device integration, and product compliance certification.

"As one of the founding members of the GSMA NB-IoT forum, we're delighted that the first lab is up and running. Over the past twelve months we've made significant progress establishing industry standards for the technology and the new labs will be critical to the next phase of development,

Nokia to Buy Connected Health Gadgets Firm Withings For $191M

Nokia is paying 170 million euros (U.S. $191 million) to acquire French fitness gadgets company Withings in a bid to get into the digital health market, according to a report by pcworld.com.

For the Espoo, Finland company, which sold its handset business to Microsoft two years ago, and has been since mainly in the area of selling telecom equipment, the acquisition marks a strong push into connected healthcare and home products, ranging from activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and home and baby monitors.

Nokia’s brand, which is still well-regarded in many consumer markets, may aid the company as it enters new segments and starts what it describes as a “new chapter.”

“With this acquisition, Nokia is strengthening its position in the Internet of Things in a way that leverages the power of our trusted brand, fits with our company purpose of expanding the human possibilities of the connected world, and puts us at the heart of a very large addressable market where we can make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives,” Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri

From an Internet of Things to an Internet of Everything

By Atul Jain

In 1926, soon after radio transmission advanced from a series of Morse code-esque dots and dashes to modern frequency waves, mastermind inventor Nikola Tesla was already thinking bigger – he had prophesized that “when wireless is perfectly applied, the whole world will be converted into a huge brain . . . which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole.” Tesla’s gestalt theory of the unified, hyper-connected world came decades before its time, but the future would prove the mind behind radar, x-rays and the remote control true. A decade short of a century later, a Gartner report from last November forecasted that by 2020, 20.8 billion connected things will be in sync worldwide, more than double the projected human population for the time.

Hyperbole aside, the Internet of Things (IoT) is snowballing across the material world and leaving its impression upon everything in its wake. From televisions to watches to cars and trains, a constellation of connected devices through WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, and RFID sub-systems is making human life even more intelligent and becoming the mainstream expectation of today’s consumer tech. In data-driven world where information is at our fingertips, the Internet of Things is enabling us to make insights into ourselves, with the power of embedded sensors that are revolutionizing the

How The Internet of Things Helps Build Brands

Brands are poised to benefit greatly from the Internet of Things (IoT) over the next several years, as companies are being connected with their consumers in ways they never could before.

Engagement is at the heart of IoT. It isn’t a dusty server sitting in a back office, it isn’t your laptop or even your smartphone. It is a concept built around connecting the various items we interact and engage with throughout the day in a way previously only reserved for what we would describe as computers.

This means that brands have a variety of new methods by which they can connect with and deliver value to the consumer, and to create a lifestyle around interacting with their brand and the environment around consumers.

In much the same way that Michelin generated brand awareness and encouraged use of its tires by creating the Michelin Travel Guide, brands like Under Armour are becoming all-in-one solutions for customers that want to live a healthier and more active lifestyle.

Amazon and Under Armour taking a swing

Customers are buying Under Armour apparel, fitness trackers, and in return providing a ton of

Innovation and Smart Cities in Africa

Africa it has been the mother of innovation. While the continent is huge, the level of innovation has been interesting to watch, largely fueled by the equalizing nature of technology and mobile telephony. Mauritius , the smallest country in the African country is playing a major role willing to finance startup in the Fintech, IOT and Mobile App by private initiative like the Mauritius Startup Incubator runned by Nicolas Goldstein

The Smart City Scheme is an ambitious economic development program aimed at consolidating the Mauritian international business and financial hub by creating ideal conditions for working, living and spurring investment through the development of smart cities across the island.

The development of smart cities in Mauritius & Africa is opening up a plethora of investment opportunities.
The smart city project is a new initiative to stimulate innovative scientific and technological activities, provide technology-driven facilities to the business community and create a vibrant city lifestyle.

The smart-city concept is about providing investors, nationals and foreigners, with options for living in sustainable, convenient and enjoyable urban surroundings.

Etisalat Nigeria Appoints New VP, 2 New Directors

Olawole Obasunloye, VP, Fin/Fin Controller

Etisalat Nigeria has announced the appointment of a new Vice President and two new Directors within its Senior Management team.

In the latest appointments, Olawole Obasunloye has been promoted to the position of Vice President-Finance/Financial Controller, whilst Ikenna Ikeme and Olalekan Bankole were recently promoted to the positions of Director-Regulatory & Corporate Social Responsibility and Director-Finance Operations & Support respectively.

As VP-Finance/Financial Controller, ‘Wole assumes responsibility for overseeing the evolution and integration of the company’s accounting and financial reporting functions.

Ikenna with over 20 years of  legal, regulatory and marketing experience in the banking and telecoms sectors will be responsible for ensuring that Etisalat’s regulatory and CSR interventions continue to translate into positive socio-economic outcomes in different communities across the country.

As Director, Finance Operations & Support, ‘Lekan assumes leadership for all activities related to the company’s financial systems.

Matthew Willsher, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria reacting to the appointments said: “Etisalat remains fully committed to executing its business strategies with the help of a high-performing team of dedicated, hardworking employees.

“The collective knowledge, expertise and experience that ‘Wole, Ikenna and ‘Lekan bring to the Organisation further strengthens our business and reinforces our position at the forefront of delivering excellent products and services to our over 23 million customers. These promotions continue to consolidate the leadership of our organisation and are evidence of the great career opportunities that employment with Etisalat offers”.