Verisae Platform Connects IoT Puzzle Pieces
(Source: Shutterstock - Tashatuvango)
To derive full value from the Internet of Things (IoT), organizations must integrate existing networks, databases, and applications with new sensors, field management systems, and related technologies. Solutions tying all these systems together must be secure, backward compatible, and open, working with multiple vendors' offerings with little or no customization required.
After all, IoT is expected to surge to $1.7 trillion by 2020, according to IDC, triple its 2014 value of approximately $656 million. Devices, connectivity, and IT services will represent two-thirds of the IoT market in five years, the research firm said earlier this month.
"While wearable devices are the consumer face of the Internet of Things, and where recognition of IoT appears to begin, the real opportunity remains in the enterprise and public sector markets," said Vernon Turner, senior vice president and research fellow (IoT), Enterprise Systems, in a statement. "The ripple effect of IoT is driving traditional business models from IT-enabled business processes to IT-enabled services and finally to IT-enabled products, which is beginning to disrupt the IT status quo."
Looking to help enterprises lasso the potential of IoT and meld it with other powerful systems, on Monday developer Verisae unveiled vx Exchange, a platform that incorporates these technologies in an effort to improve enterprise operations, increase efficiency and cut costs. The SaaS-based platform gives organizations visibility into facility and workforce operations, according to Verisae.
Vx Exchange consists of multiple components that customers can use to unite IoT with existing systems. Multi-site retailers like Tesco and Carel, for example, can use vx Maintain, vx Conserve, or vx Observe to improve monitoring and managing equipment, building information systems, utility billing information, financial systems, and work order notifications with vx Exchange, Verisae said. Likewise, utilities and service providers – including Globema and Cyient – use vx Exchange's vxField solution for insight into contractor availability, equipment information, geo location points, rebates and incentives, outage management systems, and inventory, according to the developer. And original equipment manufacturers such as Siemens and DimOnOff rely on vx Exchange to connect directly to customer or end-user technology so they can manage and send work orders, remotely monitor systems for predictive maintenance, view technician availability, and access financial systems, said Verisae.
"If a client has the same control systems, refrigeration systems, monitoring systems, etc., across every one of their sites we have less of a hurdle because in that case we only have one API and one interface. But nine times out of 10 there are multiple systems, and where vx Exchange comes in is a common place for standard APIs to demonstrate the value of our rules engine and everything that we do that enables the IoT," Jerry Dolinsky, CEO of Verisae, told Enterprise Technology. "Vx Exchange provides a network of APIs."
Fixing equipment like refrigerators before they break saves supermarkets money. (Source: Shutterstock - ANFR)
One European retailer, for example, uses Verisae to manage 73,000 refrigeration units. With vx Exchange, the retailer uses predictive analytics across more than 1,000 stores to figure out which refrigerator is most likely to break or need repairs, thereby avoiding costly spoilage. Repair technicians come out within two weeks, and the system runs at 98 percent accuracy, according to the retailer.
These open APIs allow Verisae to advance further into industries – like healthcare – that have published standards, he said. The company can team up with the information provider, share its open APIs, and write to each other, thereby evolving from what the client already created, said Dolinsky. The platform also integrates with clients' big data or siloed information to enrich the IoT environment, he said. When a supermarket tracks dairy products, for example, it monitors siloed information such as whether the transportation company stored goods at the correct temperature as part of the quality and safety assurance process, said Dolinsky.
In addition to improving quality, constant access to so much information from so many sources increases margins.
"Knowing that all of our customer’s data is constantly monitored, managed, and acted upon in a timely manner through multiple connected technologies is not only beneficial to our customer service and satisfaction, it has a significant impact on our customer’s strategic business decisions and bottom line," said Robert Gerdes, director of energy sales at Franke in a statement. "Vx Exchange has empowered our organization to move beyond day-to-day operations and bring our customer service to the next level through this integrated network of technologies."
Today, Verisae's network manages more than 370,000 sites in 97 countries, the company said. This release of vx Exchange marks the company's foray into the enterprise marketplace, said Dolinsky.
"Vx Exchange is not new for us but what is new is making it publicly available and publishing it to the marketplace. For example, today we're integrating with service providers for work order information," he said. "At [supermarket] Sainsbury’s we have 80,000 devices that we’re connected to. At Ecova we take the data in for energy utility bill service. All we’ve done with vx Exchange is package it up in a consistent manner and offer it through an entire connected facility suite."
