What, Exactly, is the “Internet of Things”?

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One of the most popular buzzwords in tech today is the “Internet of Things” (IoT) but what exactly is it referring to? This week, we’ll explain the very basics of IoT and how it will continue to transform the way we communicate and conduct business in the 21st century.

The phrase “Internet of Things” was first coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton, executive director of the Auto-ID Center at MIT, and referred to the myriad of devices that would eventually be connected to the internet. In summary, the “internet of things” is the natural evolution of the network, whereby smart objects on the network have the ability to collect data, in addition to users having the ability to connect to those devices and issue commands, such as remotely setting a home or business’ security system or setting a home DVR to record a television show, from a remote location, miles away.

Today, the “Internet of things” includes mobile phones, tablet computers, cars, fitness trackers, refrigerators, security systems and light bulbs, just to name a few. All of these devices collect data and exchange it through dedicated sensors, over the internet. In 2010, there were over 12.5 billion devices connected to the internet, even though the worldwide population was only 6.8 billion, marking the beginning of “the Internet of Things” – where devices on the network outnumber human beings on the network.

The following are some of the ways that IoT will make our lives easier:

Medical Monitoring

Healthcare providers will have the ability to monitor patients without visiting them in person, reducing healthcare costs and significantly reducing the risk of errors and omissions. Medical devices may even, at some point, have the ability to administer medication, ensuring the patient is always comfortable, even when a doctor cannot be immediately reached. There are a myriad of ways that IoT will help modern medicine make significant advances. Google, for example, is currently working on a contact lens that has the ability to measure glucose, making life easier for diabetics.

Autonomous Vehicles

Self-driving cars may be the most cutting edge example of IoT. You can now buy a car that will drive you to and from work, suggest potential shortcuts based on real-time traffic conditions, notify you of weather forecasts and even suggest what type of music you might like to listen to on the commute. It’s only a matter of time before these vehicles are the rule, rather than the exception.

Smart Housing

Some cutting edge examples of smart housing include sensors that can detect human behavior and adjust the mood of the house accordingly by dimming lights and putting on soothing music, for example. Other examples may include the ability to draw a hot bath for the owner or brew a pot of coffee, automatically, based upon user input.

Sales Analytics and Distribution

Manufacturers can benefit from IoT by tracking their product from the initial sale to production to shipment, all while monitoring parts inventory levels and benefiting from AI that automatically orders new parts, as stock runs low, before any employees are even aware of the issue.

As is the case in every technical revolution, the “IoT” may mean that certain tasks are handled by automation, allowing businesses to prosper in an age of Artificial intelligence and internet connectivity. If you would like more information about IoT, including which IoT platforms would best suit the needs of your product or solution, we invite you to fill out the form on this page and someone from our offices will get back with you.

The Evolution of TEM (Technology Expense Management)

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Previously known as telecom expense management, TEM has evolved as telecommunications have evolved. Instead of being focused solely on managing wireline and wireless telecommunications expenses, Technology Expense Management now includes all manner of a company’s networking technologies and services spend, including managed services, maintenance, hosting and cloud services. The complexity of these technologies has also increased the complexity in managing them. As these technologies become more complicated and expensive, many enterprise users have availed themselves of third-party TEM services, such as those provided by WheelHouse Solutions, to help manage some or all of these expenses.

TEM services can help an organization to order, provision, support and manage costs of large-scale corporate communications, associated IT services and their inventories. TEM services change as often as the company’s needs evolve, with fixed (voice and data) and mobile devices increasing and the incorporation of other services and communications-related asset tracking. These offerings include inventory tracking of cloud/consumption-based services; other IT-related services, such as unified communications and collaboration (UCC); voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); and IoT expense management. They can also include software licenses, computer and Mobile equipment, desktop and mobile applications, managed services, online hosting, and cloud services.

Enterprises are seeking third party providers as the most cost-effective way of managing their technology costs. TEM Providers have structured their service capabilities in the following areas: Sourcing, Procurement and Vendor management; Ordering and Provisioning Management; Inventory Management; Invoice/Contract Management; Usage Management; and Dispute Management. These capabilities can be applied to Wireline Voice and Data, Mobile, Cloud, UCC, IoT, and other services.

Enterprises are moving toward outsourcing their TEM services to providers that use cloud-based TEM applications to provide fully managed services. They are also showing interest in vendors’ that can use a single platform to track services, costs and inventories associated with XaaS, Cloud storage, IoT and other digital technology assets. Data collected from our TEM service application can be used with advanced data analytics and business intelligence to perform strategic and tactical business decisions relating to an enterprises’ technology ecosystem. This includes investments, budgets, inventory contract negotiations, and process improvements. As more companies automate their services, this may also include Artificial intelligence and Robotic Process Automation.

Several factors are of paramount importance when selecting a TEM vendor. Among those factors are Pricing and Savings Guarantees; Performance, Delivery Capabilities and Service Level Agreements; System Scalability; Vendor’s prior experience; Service Delivery; Platform Evolution; and Merger & Acquisition.

WheelHouse Solutions is committed to providing our customers with the right mix of tools and services to, accurately and efficiently, manage their telecom and technology spend. If you’d like more information on Technology Expense Management, fill out the form on this page or give us a call at (314) 806-0622and we’ll arrange a demo to discuss how TEM can benefit your organization.

5 Tips For Reducing Expenses In Your Organization

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Technology has become an essential factor in almost every business operation and now business owners are looking for ways to reduce expenses in their IT departments, in order to achieve greater efficiency for less money.

To do that, as a business owner, the logical action would be to cut back on your IT costs, but it’s essential to avoid sacrificing efficiency when reducing expenses.  With that in mine, here are the top five tips and tricks to reduce expenses in your business without compromising its efficiency and/or destroying value:

  1.  If you’re a small business owner, try to find alternatives to your traditional telephone service; if you’re using a land-line or a regular cell phone, you can switch to VoIP service and virtual phone lines. There are many options available that provide provide great flexibility and excellent value for the money, not to mention a serious cost reduction when it comes to communications.
  2. Use open source software. This is an excellent alternative to the commercial mainstream applications, especially if you’re a small business. The software related costs may cripple your business, especially in its inception phase, and open source software is very attractive, because it’s free.
  3. Use cloud services, instead of investing lots of money in hardware/software, especially if you’re a small business. Also, you should determine what you really need, the latest high-tech services is not always necessary and it may cost you an arm and a leg. And if you decide to perform an audit of your existing computers, you may find an answer about what’s really necessary for your line of business, hence reducing your technology expenses.
  4. You can try to negotiate with your existing IT contracts because IT services vendors desire to keep their clients happy and on board for as long as possible. Keep in mind that the competition in this area is pretty tight and you can take advantage on that. You can proactively ask for discounts, freebies, cost reductions or even negotiate a customized plan. In the end, it’s important to ask if you want to get any advantages.
  5. Reduce expenses with online business training. Being a small business owner, you can’t afford to travel the world in order to expand your experience, to participate in live training /educational conferences and the like. But, in the Internet era, you can use online business training for you and your employees. There are lots of free online business training programs and you can use them from the comfort of your office or even at home. With these options available for ongoing training, the possibilities for you and your business are endless, and your costs related to training will be significantly reduced.

If your business is looking for Managed IT, Cloud Services, Consulting & Support Services, WheelHouse Solutions has a staff of experienced professionals to deliver outstanding results. We provide cost-efficient managed IT Services, backed by a professional IT Staff, with experience in multiple disciplines. Whether you’re looking to augment your existing IT staff, or if your business wants to outsource all your IT services, we have a flexible solution to meet your needs.  Feel free to contact us at 314-492-2506 or fill out the form on this page and someone will get back with you.

Business Storage Solutions and Data Integrity and Restoration

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There are increasing risks daily due to ever-growing exposure of data integrity to new technologies and devices. Recognizing this, IT professionals are devoting more and more resources, time, and effort to detecting, preventing and restoring from hackers who, maliciously or otherwise, seek to gain access to management systems and disrupt the programming. In fact, Gartner estimates that spending alone on security threats will reach $77 billion globally in 2015. That is a lot of money by any standards for storage business solutions; where are the threats coming from?

A recent article by Shelly Cramer on Dell Power More on 7/31/2015 about 4 Steps To Protect Utility Management System from Hackers, shed some light on this problem. The Global State of Information Security for 2015 reported 42.8 million security incidents for the year, an increase of 48% since 2013.  So, what is the danger for utilities? Consumers typically take for granted their access to water, electricity, the Internet, oil and gas pipelines and associated utilities. But, the failure of any one of these has a cascading effect, similar to a row of dominos that starts with the first one being knocked over. Hurricane Katrina demonstrated this in New Orleans and years later, the infrastructure is still having problems. Ms. Cramer postulated that the four key areas to evaluate to help protect against utility management failures are human failures, known weakness spots and insecurities, disaster recovery and prevention drills, and data backup and restoration.

Unfortunately, the human area is becoming more and more an insider risk from disgruntled employees or consultants or former employees who still have access and use their knowledge to bring down the systems. Recurring training and continuing evaluations can reduce this risk. Known weaknesses obviously are studied carefully and many areas can present a risk. Bring Your Own Device, online bill pay, social networks and a mobile workforce are all key places to focus. Fire drills to evaluate reactions to systems degradation or losses can really help to not only train your IT security forces to react imaginatively but also to think deeply about the processes involved. How about data recovery and backup?

The keys on data recovery involve multiple areas such as location and type of storage, methods and time of restoration, the integrity of communication networks, and the resistance of restored networks to further attacks, among others. There are so many facets to data that many organizations turn to outside experts to assist them

Storage business solutions are one of the many ways that WheelHouse Solutions can help.  WheelHouse Solutions began in 2000 and is dedicated to the premise that companies need a trusted technology partner. Over the years, we added expertise in many different technology areas. A partial list of the value-added areas we offer includes cloud storage access and technology, telecom solutions and cost reduction, training for employees, managed IT services, and much more.

We start with an evaluation of your company and organization and give to you an accurate and detailed picture of where we can help you and the savings you will accrue as a result. Our mission is to become one of your trusted partners. We continually upgrade our own technology so we can offer you the best solution for your needs.  Call us today at 314-492-2506 for more information.