Smart Connect Technologies, Inc
Capturing Data from the Edge -Enabling the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

Businesses view operations data, although often inaccessible from non-IP-enabled equipment, as a prize asset that is key to survival in today’s hypercompetitive environment. SmartConnect Technologies efficiently enables companies to derive value from their legacy investments, capturing data from virtually any sensors or machines on the edge of the network, eliminating data silos and providing optimal access to information. “SmartConnect captures, aggregates, and normalizes the data without requiring custom programming or conventional integration, and delivers this information to the cloud for analytics, or to a customer application, enabling companies to leverage it as operational intelligence,” says Jeff Knapp, president and CEO, SmartConnect. He further adds that the intelligence helps companies improve machine efficiency, implement predictive maintenance, enhance operational response and, as a result, boost productivity and optimize resources.

SmartConnect’s core offering, the SmartConnect Gateway™, securely captures data from virtually any device, equipment, or appliance. With a plug-and-play architecture, the company’s proprietary software is preloaded on off-the-shelf x86 hardware. The collected data can be uploaded to the IBM Watson IoT platform, or other cloud-based analytics or application solution; Maximo, the asset management tool from IBM, is also integrated with the SmartConnect Gateway™. These integrations facilitate the delivery of specific dashboard presentations and solutions to the customer.

If need be, the company also helps clients add more sensors to legacy systems, and can seamlessly capture data in the hybrid environment. “Our ability to deliver data without any programming dramatically reduces the cost of implementation and the time for deployment, and our ability to easily accommodate new devices or updated manufacturer releases reduces the total cost of ownership,” remarks Knapp.

The SmartConnect Gateway™ enables the facilitation of comprehensive operational intelligence in a single system, such as with effective facility and security management where video data can be integrated, not only with access control data, camera surveillance, and motion detection, but also with HVAC equipment and other devices to provide an integrated view for command operations centers.

At a laboratory of the Department of Homeland Security in Northern California, the California Department of Public Health’s Environmental Health Laboratory (EHL), the SmartConnect Gateway™ enabled EHL to easily set up an early warning system that integrates weather equipment, air quality sensors, and IT so that it can pro-actively guard against the potential hazard of ammonia discharges and leaks. The facilities management staff (FMS) gained the ability to remotely monitor and respond within seconds of an ammonia release, safeguarding the safety of more than 1350 staff members.

SmartConnect has implemented a smart transportation proof-of-concept with IBM for a bus transit application, enabling predictive maintenance. The SmartConnect Gateway™, deployed in each bus, will relay telemetric data in virtually real time to Watson Analytics in the cloud, or directly to Maximo. The control center is alerted when the values of various criteria exceed the designated parameter thresholds, (set at the client’s direction). Predicting bus maintenance requirements, preventing bus breakdowns, eliminating false alerts, and optimizing maintenance resources will significantly reduce maintenance costs as well as improve customer satisfaction.

Moving forward, Knapp says that SmartConnect strives to establish itself as the ‘edge’ interface for several industry verticals, and function as a key enabling component in the delivery of comprehensive IoT solutions for smart transportation, smart water (utilities), smart infrastructure, and smart manufacturing. “We plan to partner with other players in the IoT space and, through efficient data capture at the edge of the environment and facilitating the desired analytics, help customers derive the best intelligence from their operational data,” mentions Knapp.

With its focus in the right areas, SmartConnect is bound to set a new benchmark in the IoT space.