INDUSTRIAL

From shipping terminals to mines to the factory floor, companies are implementing transformational technologies to help keep workers safe and assets secure.

One global transportation company, for example, uses an IoT edge-to-cloud platform to secure automated cranes across 70 shipping terminals around the world. The company deployed an extended network to monitor the cranes as they move goods on and off vessels.

Another example is a mining company that uses wearable badges fitted with IoT sensors that can detect exposure to hazardous gases in the mine’s harsh environment. Real-time alerts are sent to a command center enabling operators to intervene immediately—proactively preventing incidents and protecting workers.

And for manufacturers, there’s a real drive to digitize the operational side of the business. Industrial IoT solutions such as real-time quality control and predictive maintenance help streamline operations, lower costs, improve energy efficiency, and increase overall business agility.

But IoT applications can be a challenge to deploy because many companies don’t have the tools, resources, or even the knowledge on where to start.

Global Thinking, Local Actions

Logicalis Group, a digital transformation solutions provider, is making applications like these possible—across industrial, transportation, smart city, and other markets. The company provides customized solutions and services for its global customers—from upfront consulting, to local implementation, and ongoing support. Logicalis sees itself as architects of change for its customers as they face the challenges of digital transformation.

“We have a long history of driving business value through innovative technologies,” says Richard Simmons, Group Technology Strategist at Logicalis. “And we are able to have a very close working relationship with our customers, to understand their culture and to make sure we’re aligning with it.”

A key part of the Logicalis value is helping customers deploy globally, and install, support, and manage locally. They bring together a focus on cloud, connectivity, and IoT devices.

The Eugenio platform underlies the end-to-end IoT solutions that Logicalis delivers. The platform abstracts connectivity, management, device security, storage, and data processing challenges. This enables asset visibility and performance analytics for applications such as predictive maintenance, worker safety, and energy efficiency.

At its core Eugenio is a set of integrated building blocks that enable customers to connect, securely collect and process #data, and turn that data into insights. @Logicalis via @insightdottech

Building Blocks for Edge to Cloud

At its core Eugenio is a set of integrated building blocks that enable customers to connect, securely collect and process data, and turn that data into insights.

Eugenio comprises three elements:

• A modern data warehouse foundation that provides the data, analytics, and AI elements—needed to turn the data into useful insights
• An extended network component based on Cisco technology, which provides secure connectivity for IoT and other devices
• An IoT module that brings together Azure services, which provide the IoT functionality

“Under the covers, the platform is Azure, which allows us to provide managed services using the platform’s IoT AI, and other functionality,” says Simmons. “But even though Azure provides SaaS and PaaS services, there’s still complexity for our customers. You must use multiple services and then you need to manage and keep them up to date. And then there are the templates you provide over the top.”

On top of the product platform, Logicalis employs a three-step model to align, transform, and scale. The company engages with its customers in many ways. From running workshops, to upfront maturity assessments, identifying the devices needed, and how to leverage the connectivity they already have in place.

“We can identify any network, security, and cloud majority concerns before we even start,” says Simmons. “We don’t want to get partway through this process and find out they need to invest $1 million in their network and have their business case fall apart.”

Relying on Trusted Partners

To deliver these solutions Logicalis turns to its trusted partners. In particular, the company works with three global strategic companies: Intel^®, Cisco, and Microsoft, whose products and technologies power the Eugenio IoT platform from the edge to the cloud.

“These are really strong partnerships for us. Intel provides the processing power that bolsters everything that we do, especially at the edge, while Cisco underlies the secure network connectivity.” says Simmons. “Azure is critical to delivering solutions, underpinning what we bring to market. In fact it’s driving our own transformation as a managed services provider.”

The pace of change is only going to increase as technology innovations continue to grow at full tilt. An ecosystem of partners allows Logicalis to work more holistically with its customers—building a foundation for continuous transformation. Partnerships enable the company to take a modular and service-oriented approach.

“Agility and innovation are our two key areas of focus,” says Simmons. “We have a history of driving with new technologies and supporting our customers as they deploy and drive value from the groundbreaking technology. We are the right size to support our customers to build in scale, but also have flexibility and agility.”

This article was edited by Georganne Benesch, Associate Editorial Director for insight.tech.