Dell, Intel Open Doors to New IoT Solutions Lab

by Chris Preimesberger

The new Solution Center in Santa Clara, Calif., which Dell officially opened Nov. 18, offers its own data center to allow IT administrators and developers to test and refine new applications, as well as hardware. The data center also highlights the best ways to create a more efficient space, with the latest in power-saving and cooling technologies. In keeping with current trends, the Dell center is focused on areas such as cloud computing, big data analytics, data security and storage, networking and the data center, and issues related to end-user devices and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies.

Founder and CEO Michael Dell said at the company’s recent Dell World conference that end-user devices will be the hub of the company’s IoT strategy but that software, data center hardware, networking equipment, cloud services, systems management and big data solutions take up the rest of the IoT-oriented products the company will market. The chart here shows the high level of Dell’s strategy.

Three IoT use cases were shown to guests at the grand opening of the IoT Solution Center. This one involves a model of a building that is smart enough to know when a fire or other problem has begun, alerts everybody in the building with alarms, opens doors and elevators automatically until everybody is moved to safety, and monitors everything in one management system. The system works across dozens of separate systems to enable effective management. Smart sensors from Intel are used throughout the structure.

These small (average about 2 inches in length) sensors are more like tiny automated PCs. These examples, built onto Texas Instrument boards, contain 8GB RAM, 802.11x WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 1 Gigabit Ethernet port, USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, and single-core (double-core is in the works) Intel processors. In the Internet of things, this type of smart sensor—or others that are very similar—will be gathering data in all parts of the world.

A guest at the grand opening of the Dell-Intel solution center tries on a smart glasses accessory that beams a video of what he sees up (left in the inset) to the cloud, where it can be monitored by a manager (at the upper right in the inset). If a worker on an automobile assembly line, for example, is having a problem, what he views can be also be seen by someone with more expertise; so information can go directly to the line worker in real time. Messages also can be sent to workers with this unit.

The IoT promises many new efficiencies, reduces risk and improves customer experiences. The new center offers its own data center to allow IT administrators and developers to test and refine new applications, as well as hardware. The data center also highlights the best ways to create a more efficient space, with the latest in power-saving and cooling technologies.

The company has its own solution alliance composed of about 80 companies—mostly its trusted longtime partners from years gone by—as well as memberships in the international Open Interconnect Consortium and the Industrial Internet Consortium. Being plugged into as many organizations as possible often enables great benefits to customer solutions.

In keeping with current trends, the Dell center is focused on areas such as cloud computing, big data analytics, data security and storage, networking and the data center, and issues related to end-user devices and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies. The idea is for Dell solutions engineers to offer advice and best practices for how to implement a new piece of technology, such as virtual desktop infrastructure, or help IT managers determine how they can get the best ROI with certain products.

The three-building campus in Santa Clara, Calif., is located on a site once occupied by Palm Computing. Back in October 2011, Michael Dell spoke at the grand opening of the company’s new business center that now contains the IoT Solution Center. Guests included California Gov. Jerry Brown and Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews. Within a year, the new research center housed about 700 Dell employees and workers of recently acquired companies, including Scalent, Ocarina, Everdream and Zing.