The Importance of Managed Wireless Connectivity for Sensors

Today there are many wireless technologies and providers of managed wireless connectivity for sensors with varying experience and capabilities in the market. Enterprises have to be able to find a managed services provider that matches their IoT application, has experience in the specific markets they address and understands what is needed to meet required enterprise Service Level Agreements (SLA). In this post, we will discuss what requirements an IoT managed service provider should meet based on the enterprise IoT application.

Managed IoT Service

So, what is a managed IoT service and why do you need it in a wireless sensor environment? An enterprise managed wireless IoT service for connected sensors is more than just a configurable cloud application platform combined with alerting features. Enterprises require a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for wireless sensor IoT Solutions, especially if the sensors deployed are monitoring critical applications which if they go down or malfunction results in increased costs to service, time, effort, etc. which can quickly diminish any operational efficiencies of a deployed IoT sensor solution.

Depending on the criticality of the IoT wireless sensor solution SLAs have to be realistic and achievable based on the wireless technology deployed and the managed service requirements.

Enterprise IoT Solution Examples

Example 1: An enterprise monitors the ambient temperature of the weather at a particular remote location. The IoT application is passive, but not mission-critical. Using a wireless technology where a message is lost/skipped, or the site goes down at times it is ‘OK’ as long as the IoT application continues to function and report. In this example, a passive managed IoT service checking-in daily the health of the sensor application through a cloud application and alerting process is a sufficient lower-cost solution to achieve the SLA.

Example 2: An enterprise deploys a retail kiosk with sensors to process payments and monitor the diagnostics of the kiosk. This IoT application has a requirement to be constantly monitored to ensure machine uptime and function. Downtime and lost messages result in real tangible costs – lost revenue, potential financial penalties due to non-compliance, onsite service costs (truck rolls), and negative customer experience. In this case, an always-on/always monitored managed service, coupled with the right wireless connectivity and quick technical support is required.

There are many IoT platform providers in the market, new IoT wireless technologies popping up all the time, and managed service providers of different capabilities and experience. There is a lot of hype around IoT which results in many lingering and failed POCs (proof of concepts) in the market that does not make it to commercial deployment. An enterprise looks for service providers that can provide a managed service that matches their IoT application, has experience in the specific markets they address and understand how to provide a managed service that is proven to meet the SLAs that are required.

With OptConnect, we have the experience and the expertise to provide a fully managed IoT solution for your mission-critical applications. Our patent-pending product OptConnect ema™ is the first smart embedded modem that is fully end-user certified and equipped with onboard intelligence, edge analytics for immediate action and resolution, embedded firmware, and software paired with OptConnect’s industry-leading suite of managed services that provides “Connectivity-as-a-Service”.

OptConnect ema™ comes with our full suite of managed services, including:

• 24/7/365 technical support
• Real-time data monitoring
• Exclusive carrier relationships
• Secure private network
• Lifetime warranty