Ingram Micro this week announced an alliance with CoreKinect through which it will make it simpler for channel partners to build custom systems for Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
Announced at the Ingram Micro IoT Summit, the alliance provides partners with access to a set of building blocks provided by CoreKinect that can be combined to create an IoT platform, says John Horn, president and chief strategy officer of CoreKinect.
For example, CoreKinect is working with Cox Communications to build an IoT asset tracking solution that Cox will employ to track more 500,000 vehicles it relies on to deliver cable services.
By allying with Ingram Micro, CoreKinect wants to make it easier for channel partners to build similar custom systems using a set of what CoreKinect describes as a set of functional building blocks that make it simpler to build a specific IoT solution faster.
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“You can think of them as a set of Lego building blocks,” says Horn.
Rather than having to rely on overseas manufacturers, solution providers can combine those blocks in any way they like to quickly build an IoT platform that will be constructed in the U.S. to reduce the amount of time required to deliver it, adds Horn.
The goal is to open up IoT opportunities for channel partners by reducing the time and labor normally required to build a custom platform, says Horn.
Ingram Micro at its conference this week highlighted how solution providers can employ CoreKinect to quickly build custom sensors. Those sensors could be employed in, for example, an agriculture environment to monitor crops growing in a field, notes Horn.
Adoption of IoT platforms is just now finally moving past the experimental phase. A recent global survey of 1,758 businesses conducted by Vodafone finds that more than a third (34 percent) have implemented an IoT solution, with 70% of those respondents having moved beyond the pilot stage. The survey also found that organizations in the Americas are the most advanced, with 67% of adopters having at least one project in an advanced stage, compared to 51% in Asia Pacific, and 46% in Europe.
As is often the case with any emerging technology, channel partners need to invest early to derive the maximum benefit. The challenge as always is finding a way to minimize those upfront investment costs as much as possible.
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