The on-ramps from IoT devices to networks and clouds have been under construction, under wraps, for quite some time at HARMAN, a connected technology company with global reach and over $7 billion in revenues last year. The company has been systematically accumulating software, and integration companies, rolling up the IP and talent pool that goes with it, in order to spin up sales. The strategy seems to be working. Over the last twelve months, HARMAN’s stock price rose from the mid-seventies to over $110 per share.
So why develop yet another IoT Gateway (News - Alert), in an already crowded market? According to Postscapes, the market is broken down into software and edge analytics, hardware and end-to-end providers with six companies included in the end-to-end category, where HARMAN will play.
In a recent release, HARMAN described its gateway as “a complete end-to-end solution with modular software architecture and hardware flexibility that integrates protocols, manages storage and analytics and facilitates data flow securely between edge devices and the cloud.”
HARMAN is in a strong position to drive adoption as the gateway is just the latest in an expansion of its existing IoT solution portfolio, which is delivered as products and as a managed services solution.
The company’s success has been earned in asset management, operational efficiency improvements, inventory management, and consumer experience innovations, stretching across the spectrum of IoT offerings (from consumer to industrial) and implemented in a number of industries, including automotive, helping bridge “the cars” and “the roads” on the IoT information superhighway.
Part of its story is bridging legacy equipment with connected devices – equipping companies with sensors and beacons that collect data using a number of network types (WiFi (News - Alert), Bluetooth, 3G/4G, spectrum and more).
The company reportedly worked with a number of large customers in the building management, transportation, manufacturing, energy, retail and health care industries on the gateway solution, including around the data and analytics gathered that can enhance decision making, in addition to security and control of enterprise facilities, equipment and systems. The gateway has been tested and matured enough for global general availability starting March 1.
The solution also “gathers streaming data, correlates with Office 365 calendars and provides heat maps on floor plans that analyze real-time utilization,” making interactions between things and people – machines and humans – easier and more intuitive than in the early days of IoT deployments.
Jim Nolan, EVP, IoT Solutions at Interdigital, said, “The introduction of the new HARMAN IoT Gateway and its integration with our horizontal oneM2M standards-based IoT platform will enable the delivery of innovative smart building and smart city solutions and IoT applications and services across all industries.”
Sanjay Dhawan, president, HARMAN Connected Services added “Many companies understand the true potential of IoT platforms, but they lack the right solution to integrate into their overall business strategy. Based on the IoT deployments that HARMAN Connected Services has managed for forward-thinking enterprises, we saw the need for an IoT Gateway that offers a superior level of device interoperability, security and analytics for our customers to gain competitive business advantages.”
HARMAN’s team will be discussing the gateway and sharing their vision for the future of the connected enterprise at IoT Evolution Expo, next week in Fort Lauderdale. Register now.