FEATURE
The Role of IoT in Business
Being ‘connected’ is
The Internet of Things (IoT) has been steadily fl owing into the business market for years. Driven by economic
pressures and a need to fi nd competitive advantages businesses have offi cially woken up to the power of
connecting ‘things’ to drive data driven decision making. In this feature we spoke to a couple of Channel providers
who are selling IoT
taking on a di erent
meaning for businesses
in 2019. e new phrase
becoming synonymous with
business excellence is now Digital
Transformation, but what role
does IoT play within that?
Dan Cunli e, MD of
Pangea, commented “IoT’s
core role is twofold—it both
reduces costs and drives return
on investment for the businesses
that employ it. is applies to
any and all kinds of businesses,
as IoT brings transformative
bene ts to every sector.
Beyond its core, the
role keeps growing. Even
though IoT’s current business
optimisation capabilities are
revolutionary in their own
right, the advent of solutions
such as autonomous vehicles,
predictive maintenance and
remote monitoring within the
workspace are pushing the role
of IoT even further, establishing
it as a fundamental aspect of
many business processes.”
Lee Broxson, Sales Director,
Jola says “Mobile data is an
element of most tenders these
days, either for remote workers,
as a back-up, or as a primary
solution where xed line is
unsuitable. Resellers submitting
compelling bids ensure their
suppliers o er; all the MNOs;
online asset control; and a suite
of products to enable them to
build bespoke solutions.
For customers wanting
additional security on 4G
devices, xed IP SIMs are
available, but can be very
expensive. Private APNs are
available from the carriers but
do not give the reseller control
over their assets. Jola is the
rst channel mobile supplier to
launch self-service Private APNs.
e products address security
concerns by avoiding the public
internet and o ering a secure,
remote access platform that lets
resellers seamlessly extend their
existing IT security controls
to their end users’ mobile
workforce, wherever they are.”
Where does this type of
connectivity fi t into the list of
options the partners already
sell?
Cunli e commented, “Among
other connectivity options, IoT
doesn’t just ll its own niche;
it goes above and beyond its
connective counterparts in many
ways. It’s exible—it can be used
to deliver kilobytes for small
requirements, right through to
mammoth data deliveries in
terabytes and petabytes; as such,
its pricing plans are customizable
and tailored for each individual
deployment.
As a form of intelligent
connectivity, it brings reactivity
and resilience to the table with
mobile operator switching
capabilities; and it’s unrivalled
when it comes to fully
Dan Cunliffe, MD of Pangea
capitalising on coverage options.”
Cunli e continued, “IoT
connectivity o ers signi cant
value on top of something that’s
already seen as a commodity
in today’s market. It’s a crucial
advantage to have when
discussing connectivity options
with customers—its bene ts
often solve problems that endusers
had, and its capabilities continue
to grow.”
Alistair Colam, Head
of Channel and UK Sales
Manager, Wireless Logic Group
commented “Packages such as
failover or alternative primary
connectivity via cellular are
becoming big business for
platform providers like Wireless
Logic. Managed Services
Zen.
Larger than you think.
Providers are more
and more turning to ‘end-toend’
managed solutions with
all components in a single
bundle. In the case of failover
or alternative primary comms,
we are providing pre-con gured
hardware, connectivity and
a resilient SLA across several
sectors, including construction,
retail and enterprise. is means
delivering a ‘one stop solution’
where routers simply have to be
plugged in, and are then ready to
play. It is this type of bundling
that the channel should be
looking to exploit.
“Comms buyers won’t often
have the time to purchase
solutions from multiple sources.
Our mantra on failover is ‘keep it
simple’. Identify the opportunity,
The UK’s largest
independent
network.
zen.co.uk/partnerwithus
didn’t even realise they
18 | Digital Britain 2019 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
/partnerwithus
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