Cisco and NTT are launching a new global initiative to develop and deliver IoT as a service.
At its base level, the move is meant to digitize the environment, NTT’s Group SVP Devin Yaung explained to Silverlinings on a call. From water companies to chicken farmers and factories, organizations need methods to change raw data into information that can be acted upon.
“How do you collect that data to feed these automation and analytic platforms, integrated AI and ML and start producing outcomes?” Yaung asked.
This means that NTT is supporting IoT technologies like Cisco’s LoRaWAN products. These sensors connect over a long range and use very little power to send a few packets of data back to an organization.
“When you have a sensor sending back 10 to 20 bytes of data, I hope you’re not going to send that over 5G,” Yaung joked, pointing out that the battery life of in-the-field leaf monitors, smart readers and other devices are not suited to a power-hungry connection.
Compagnie Intercommunale Liégeoise des Eaux (CILE), a public water distribution company located in Belgium is one of the first customers getting real-time insights into their production sites and distribution networks, allowing for faster detection of leaks, thanks to the Cisco and NTT venture.