Hacker is a dirty word. It conjures up images of someone locked in a dark basement coding into the night and unleashing digital horrors on the unsuspecting, writes Adrian Crawley, the regional director for Northern EMEA at Radware. (more…)
August 3, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
As the Internet of Things becomes a reality and revolutions such as smart cities, digital manufacturing and connected vehicles are proliferating, the number of data points that could potentially be attacked by hackers are also rising at a staggering pace, writes Pavan Singh, the vice president and business head of the Covata Data Security Platform at Covata. Indeed, Gartner predicts that by 2020 there will be 9.7 billion connected devices, all of which represent a possible entry point for an attacker. (more…)
August 2, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
In the past, warehouse workers, otherwise known as pickers, would worth with lists and manually run a warehouse. This took pickers a long time to get shipments in order just and this laborious practice soon became outdated when digital advanced, writes Suzanne Vallance, who works for Ferrari Packaging, a wholesale packaging supplies company based in Scotland.
IoE practices in warehouses
Warehouses have started to use the Internet of Everything (IoE), robotic systems which makes the working day much more effective. IoE and voice picking have improved the efficiency of warehouse practices. Sensors can now even detect everything through a robotic system and businesses can check where their pallets are, whether that is in the warehouse or en route to the shipping dock.
Progressively, businesses are adapting to IoE technology and are connecting the different departments in their organisation. These warehouses, like new technology that we use every day, are called “smart warehouses” and have increased productivity across the board.
IoT and cloud software for business
Cloud software is continuing to develop and change security perceptions. Steve Banker from Forbes Online has stated that there are benefits of using IoT in warehouses and has highlighted how pickers are management are adjusting to the change: “Most well run warehouses have a Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) that depends upon bar code data. Warehouse floor level operations personnel and warehouse managers execute their tasks based upon this data.”
This is true, figures from 2015 have shown the growth of IoT in business, especially in the use of cloud technology:
Cloud software is hosted elsewhere, virtually and businesses manage their accounts by accessing the software over the internet. Organisations will be charged a cloud fee, however, this includes hosting services.
What is a voice picking cloud?
The main method of internet picking is through a voice picking cloud solution. This means organisations can host their information remotely.
This is beneficial as it means your business does not have to obtain, install or maintain servers. This will not only improve staff efficiency in the long run but it will cut costs. In-house IT hardware can be problematic when it comes to continual security and maintenance.
Argos is just one of the UK’s multichannel retailers that have moved away from paper trail picking. This has been beneficial to the company as they claim it has boosted staff productivity and accuracy.
Getting it right the first time is now more important than ever as the fast delivery pressure from the “Amazon effect” is hitting the retail business. Thankfully for Argos, its level of accuracy is going up and accuracy error rates have decreased from just over 1% to less than 0.3%.
By adopting a voice picking system a business will become more consistent. The paper trail has become outdated, therefore it may be worth businesses looking into business improvement across the board, especially in the operational side of businesses.
Operational vs technical in the warehouse
Remember, improving the technological side of your business is vital, but maintaining the operations section of it, is just as important.
Adopting cloud technology will allow for reduced operational costs, but it’s good practice not to reply on the cloud alone to protect your goods. Amazon uses the cloud to help protect against theft, by using a system that updates every thirty minutes, however for the SME traditional methods for protecting your stored items should not be disregarded. Invest in suitable packaging supplies that will act as a secondary dimension of protection for your goods.
IoT warehouse operations
Changing your business ethic can be risky, therefore it always worth trialling different methods of IoT. By using the internet to enhance your workplace it will not only encourage your employees to work harder but they will learn new, digital skills. The beauty of the internet is that is growing and it is never too late to change, you could see the benefits of IoT in your warehouse works in a matter of months.
July 27, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
2015 brought with it much conversation around the Internet of Things, writes Brian Foster the senior vice president of information services at Neustar. The mainstream conversation around mass connectivity developed from being a personal fad to a genuinely credible approach to effective business management – but for many the idea of IoT for the enterprise is old hat. (more…)
July 18, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
It’s easy to see why Gartner predicts 2016 will be the year we see 6.4 billion connected things in use: the ability to operate devices remotely opens the door to a whole range of opportunities for businesses to bring an innovative service to their customers. The smartphone most of us have at hand almost every waking moment ensuring we never have to enter an unlit home or shiver in an unheated car are just the tip of the iceberg, writes Bryan Kirschner, a director at Apigee Institute. (more…)
July 12, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
To many people, the Internet of Things (IoT) still sounds rather futuristic. However, it is already here and improving lives on a global scale. In 2015, Business Insider reported 10 billion devices were connected to the internet, with the prediction of this figure to increase by 28% to 34 billion devices by 2020, writes Jess Thompson-Hughes, the vice president of PayGo and partner solutions at Eseye. (more…)
July 1, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
Event date: November 15 – 16, 2016
Chicago, USA
Insurance IoT USA (November 15-16, Chicago), is a two-day event bringing together over 200 insurers and IoT service providers together to talk about how to adapt to a connected world. This is the only event focusing 100% on IoT for insurance. (more…)
June 28, 2016
Posted by: IoT global network
The Internet of Things (IoT) is booming. Research released by Gartner suggests that the number of connected things will grow by 30% to 6.4 billion in the next 12 months – at a rate of 5.5 million per day. If there was any doubt that IoT is merely a product of overblown hype and speculation, this is certainly changing. 2016 is the year that IoT means business, writes Mike Laven, the chief executive of Currency Cloud. (more…)
June 23, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
At the heart of the Internet of Things are connectivity and the ability for the device to interact with other devices. Yet, so many companies out there are developing so-called IoT devices with closed or proprietary components or make them dependent on captive cloud services to provide any real value to the consumer, writes Cesare Garlati, the chief secuirty strategist at the prpl Foundation. (more…)
June 21, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
As the Internet of Things widens its wings and becomes increasingly sophisticated it is helping businesses and professionals in all manner of industries to redefine and reshape their communications and customer service models, writes Dr. Natasha Tamaskar, the vice president and head of cloud and mobile strategy and ecosystem at Genband. (more…)
June 20, 2016
Posted by: George Malim