Software systems in a typical enterprise environment are quite complex (& grows more complex over time).  It becomes a humongous task to coordinate different activities such as code & configuration changes especially when a large team is involved in development and operations. DevOps in software is seen as a cultural movement to ease out operational challenges related to integration and deployment. Continuous Integration (CI) is an underlying technique for DevOps. According to the CI principle, if a task takes a lot of time and energy, it should be done more often, making it significantly less painful at each step. Continuous Deployment (CD) is the last leg to make software releases available to staging/production environments. Enterprises are finding it crucial to employ a CI/CD pipeline in a software project(s) to ensure quality and timely deliveries.

As cinema halls take a back seat, there is an unprecedented boom in the OTT Market across the globe due to the pandemic situation. Just like it is with the rest of the world, OTT viewership in India is at an all-time high now. While OTT platforms were making a mark for themselves in the Indian market, the COVID crisis accelerated the process. From just two OTT platform provider in 2012 to about 40 players now, the OTT revolution has come a long way in India

The rise in subscriber base due to COVID is not an advantage that will last for long. Life will get back to normalcy as conditions improve. As per the Research & Markets report, while the global OTT streaming market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 55% from $104.11 billion in 2019 to $161.37 billion in 2020, this growth is mainly attributed to the COVID-19 outbreak. The market is expected to stabilize and is estimated to reach $169.4 billion in 2023 growing at a CAGR of 14.0% from 2021.

The unexpected rise of the COVID 19 pandemic has been the harbinger of unprecedented growth in the global OTT market. Even before the lockdown started the OTT market had grown by 15% in 2019. With the pandemic on a rise and lockdowns being extended, people are afraid to venture out. Most of the cinema halls, malls, adventure parks have been shuttered for a good part of this year, and consumers are left with very few entertainment options. They invariably seek to find means to entertain themselves in the safe confines of their homes. And this is where OTT platforms have come to the rescue.

The ongoing pandemic has indeed accelerated the demand for certain technologies/trends that will either help various industries in maintaining the “new” standard operating procedures at the workplace or transforming the way business is done in order to generate new sources of revenues

Let us pick up some industries and evaluate how the pandemic has made way for certain technologies/trends:

Industry reports predict the mixed impacts of COVID-19 on the IoT market. From the technology perspective, enterprises are looking at CAPEX reduction over the short term and automating processes to make supply chain and manufacturing more flexible over the long term. Specific IoT applications like remote asset tracking, drones, healthcare, smart cities with easy to install IoT solutions will have an uptake over the coming weeks.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the automation of repetitive, rule-based manual tasks (performed on windows) by the use of automation agents that can run attended or unattended without making any errors. The RPA technology integrates smoothly with the existing IT infrastructure within an organization and does not require any large installations.

 Today, enterprises seek a lean setup for a new branch/office. The SD-WAN solutions available today are easy to deploy and have the ability to grow gradually based on need. SD-WAN is a technology that has evolved as a solution to address the numerous challenges related to architectures and routers. Software-defined networking is a centralized approach to network management. In SD-WAN, the Data Plane forwarding, and Control Plane are segregated to centralize the intelligence of the network. This architecture allows for centralized provisioning, monitoring, and troubleshooting, better network automation, and operations-simplification.

Enterprises like Hotels, Retail Malls, Restaurants, Cafes, etc. that have built their Guest Wi-Fi networks with MAC addresses as unique user identity will now struggle to provide a seamless experience to their guests. Using MAC reauthorization such enterprises identify and provide seamless wi-fi connections to their returning guests or even allow them to roam between multiple venues. With this new update, guests will now be forced to re-authenticate their devices via captive portal every 24 hours as their device MAC address will change. This will not only disrupt the connections of guests every day during their stay at any hotel but also returning customers will not be recognized automatically and would need to verify themselves every time they visit the venue.

The tokenization server needs to give back the original data to authorized applications. For this, it either needs to maintain the tokenized to original data mapping or at least tokenized data to key (the key from which the original data was tokenized) mapping. This imposes security issues on the tokenization server itself for the stored data. Currently, most of the applications store this as encrypted data to protect it. Steganography can come to help here and can make the tokenization server free from storing any such data.

The fear unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic has shuttered retail stores across the globe. This has led to retailers looking for ways to ensure business continuity and make up for losses that have happened over the last few months. As governments mandate people to stay indoors and the chances of stores re-opening is still a matter of contention, it is natural that consumers will turn to online shopping. It is imperative for retailers therefore, to give serious thought to digital channels as the dominant distribution channel for the next few months until the pandemic subsides. Based on secondary research and customer sentiments gleaned first-hand, here are some of the technology trends that are expected to unravel in retail in the near future.

The Global Database of the WBA OpenRoaming participants is also in progress to facilitate the validation of the participant organizations during the authorization of users. The framework has the potential to fill the gaps of Wi-Fi roaming challenges concerning the interconnections, security, and service assurance in visited networks and avoid the connection requests from unwanted users. By addressing the major issues in existing roaming frameworks and promoting Passpoint to steer the network selection policies, the OpenRoaming ecosystem would prove to be a pathbreaking solution in the near future.

IT security has evolved over several decades through trial and error, having acquired adequate knowledge, tools, and processes to handle the traditional IT security challenges, with seemingly good accuracy. Whereas evolution in OT introduced the ability to monitor and control physical devices remotely. The injection of IT-based technologies such as big data and machine learning in OT, along with the evolutions in machine-to-machine communication and the IoT, enabled several innovations towards managing physical devices in industrial scenarios.

The hype around open source solutions in the networking world is probably a decade old but the open-source history dates back to as the 1970s. This blog article details out some of the challenges that the industry foresees in accepting open-source solutions in building big/complex systems and how the consulting/services industry, offering system integration services, is helping out in product evaluation, integration/augmentation of open-source solutions as per the business use cases of their customers and curation/maintenance of the customer solutions as these open-source solutions move towards maturity.

Traditional PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) systems, with their reliability and effectiveness, have been successful in securing the IT ecosystem till date. It also makes them an inevitable candidate for securing the IoT ecosystem as well. Many existing IoT ecosystems are using PKI for achieving the CIA as it enables an organization to establish and maintain a trustworthy digital ecosystem (people, systems, and things) by managing keys and certificates.

Technology has become a critical facilitator for today's businesses.  It has a highly profound role in driving optimization and efficiency across all sectors today, including the public and private sectors. CIOs from Government & PSU's have adopted niche technologies to drive innovation and transformation within the country. Tech-adoption is seen as an investment in keeping the country competitive in an ever-evolving global economy.

Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized the field of inventory management. The availability of real-time and accurate data about the assets has changed the outlook of the game. With real-time data trickling in from the attached IoT devices, it is helping businesses to make more informed decisions, thereby, translating into bigger profits.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought life and economic activity to a virtual standstill. Extensive lockdowns to stop the viral spread has shaken the way business used to be conducted, requiring changes in overall business operations, from how people commute to how people communicate. Anticipated as the new normal, the ongoing COVID-19 situation demands new business processes to reduce human touch-points and maintain social-distancing for business continuity. And that makes learning even more important to ensure employee awareness and knowledge transfers. Organizations, globally, are relying on technology solutions to transform their daily business operations. Similarly, in the space of learning, technology will be playing a very crucial role in making learning accessible to all within an organization.

ITIL is the acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library, which is a framework that encompasses a set of best practices for delivering IT services. ITIL provides a standardized approach to build and manage stable IT Infrastructure that offers lesser risks, higher efficiency, and scalability for growth. As one of the most popular and widely accepted framework for IT service management today, organizations use the best practices laid down by ITIL for increasing operational efficiency and IT service improvement.

The world is currently battling with the unprecedented effects of the COVID-19. The severe situation had stalled travel plans for the majority of the people around the world but it is expected that hotel bookings will see a recovery after September 2020. However, it is also predicted that people will be more inclined towards traveling domestic rather than international. Thus, it is imperative for the hotels to be prepared before the business starts to ramp up and use this interim period as an opportunity to overhaul their legacy systems. In a post COVID scenario,  technology will have a big role to play in furthering the digital transformation journey of the hotels. Digital solutions that can identify touchpoints and ensure minimum physical contact among the guests and the employees at each point of contact will take the center stage.

Retailers all over the world are trying to provide a personalized experience to end customers and grappling with store optimization concerns. They are in a quest to gather more insights into customer demographics, identify returning customers and devise cross-selling and upselling strategies to increase profitability and order value. They also want to mitigate the frustration that customers face as they wait in long queues at the billing counters or kiosks during checkout. In order to enable store optimization, retailers want to minutely track a customer’s journey in the store to get a better idea of their buying patterns. Read HSC's key takeaways from NRF 2020 with regards to the trends in the retail industry.

IT infrastructure has become a significant backbone for the digital transformation framework in the industry today. Irrespective of the nature of the business, be it Financial Services, Software, Hospitality, Shipping, Logistics, etc. the only way to gain a strategic edge over the competition is through transformation and optimization. Automation and Innovation in IT infrastructure are the keys to achieve success and competitive advantage. To achieve higher efficiency in business, organizations automate their IT networks to deploy existing or new innovative applications. All new deployments and incorporation of the latest networking technologies inadvertently contribute towards growing network complexity.

Network security today holds foremost importance to IT departments today and there is a need to encompass security methods that go far beyond just blocking unauthorized access to predictive modeling of these malicious attacks. Network-based intrusion detection systems offer highly effective protection against all intruder activities, malicious traffic, and con artist masquerading. Various machine learning techniques such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Naive-Bayesian (NB), Random Forests (RF), and Self-Organized Maps (SOM), etc can be used to develop a NIDS. A combination of signature-based and anomaly-based systems can best secure the enterprise network as it ensures the detection of both known as well as Zero-day attacks.

DevOps is essentially a transformative methodology that encompasses culture, innovation, and technology in one single frame to efficiently organize workflows to achieve faster GTM at optimum costs and subsequently driving more value to customers. In the last one decade, this is the thought that has drove multiple companies to wholeheartedly imbibe DevOps into their corporate DNA. Infact, the early adoption of DevOps (albeit in their own versions) in larger tech companies like Google, Salesforce, Facebook and Netflix, has helped them scale their operations and at the same time continue to give excellent customer service.

The proliferation of smartphones and exponentially increasing internet penetration have enabled the world-wide democratization of education. As any information we seek is just a click away and truly at our fingertips, learning is not restricted to classrooms only. OTT VOD services will further revolutionize education by virtualizing the classroom where students can learn anytime, anyplace, on any device of their choice at their own pace of learning. OTT plays a vital part in the digital transformation of the education sector by shifting from the physicality of the classroom-based education delivery to a virtual environment that is augmented by immersive video lectures, interactive quizzes, real-time knowledge sharing in the form of webinars etc.

Gone are those days when a visit to a brick-and-mortar travel agent was mandatory every time one needed to plan a family vacation. Fast forward to now, in the era of digital transformation and next-gen mobility, travelers today, are playing a much larger role in building their holiday experiences.

Technology has revolutionized the way we travel, and with an exclusive focus on customer experience today, it is only set to get better in the following years. Let us look at a typical customer journey through their travel itinerary from holiday planning to its completion.

Today, with many service providers in the ecosystem delivering a high quality of user experience, streaming consistency & seamless delivery of content is critical. However, a wide range of OTT devices used to access the available content is becoming a challenge to the OTT service providers. It has, thus, become essential to test an OTT service before layout to ensure multi-platform support and other important OTT service parameters.

The testing of OTT media services applications with the associated network components is called OTT testing.

Would you still watch YouTube if you had to pay for every single video that you watched there? Do you think Netflix or Amazon Prime would offer the same amazing spread content if you could watch them all for free? In all probability, the answer is an emphatic NO.

Welcome to the various OTT video monetization models. In this age of streaming wars, where incumbents like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon etc. are facing tough competition from new entrants (the most recent one being Disney+), customer stickiness is paramount to stay in business. And that means OTT video service providers should not just produce great content but also offer lucrative options to viewers to keep them subscribed to their services. In this article, we will put forth the various available options for OTT video monetization.

Technological advances have been instrumental in driving change in human lives and in steering the digital transformation journey of several industries. The hospitality industry is one such industry that has been reaping rich dividends by the application of technology. Right from enhancing the customer experience to streamlining front-end and back-end operations, technology is helping hospitality service providers conduct efficient resource utilization, optimize costs and improve customer experience. The introduction of over-the-top content has transformed the hospitality television landscape. Guests prefer the interactive and content-based OTT services to the linear content that was once the norm. Guestroom TVs have evolved from mere devices that help watch movies and shows to comprehensive interactive systems that entertain, inform and control guests thereby elevating the customer experience.

Open-source software has evolved as an important component of the development strategy of Hughes Systique, a global technology solutions provider. Open Source Software (OSS) during its development journey has garnered many scrutinizers, critics, followers, and adopters. Nevertheless, a wide range of OSS can deliver high quality, feature-rich solutions that address specific business needs. OSS offers many compelling advantages for businesses—from radically lowering costs, faster to market, to boosting productivity and enhancing competitiveness.

Mobile Edge Computing is an evolution in computer architecture, whereby computing power can be moved to the ‘edge’ of the system, to where the ‘eyes and ears’ of the system are active (Hu, 2015). Primarily used in the context of mobile cellular networks, it portends a network of mobiles, supported by a network of computing nodes, tethered close to the mobile and equipped with the ability to off-load computation needs from the mobile over high-bandwidth, low-latency wireless links (Mao, 2017). It has been argued that MEC is a natural corollary of the ‘cloudification’ of software development; the tendency of software developers to expect the scalability and on-demand resource deployment of the cloud as part of the platform (Dinh, 2013) (Othman, 2013). MEC extends this to the mobile application development arena, by providing an equivalent ‘mobile cloud’.

The hospitality industry must deal with ever-evolving customers’ tastes every single day. Major advances owing to digital innovation has enabled the market entry of brand new segments which are also performing wonderfully. What were once fledgling private accommodation and ride-hailing brands in 2009 are already at par with the Goliaths of travel.

Quite obviously, technology has brought in an unprecedented revolution as guests now demand and judge the premises based on the level of personalized experiences they get. It is no mean feat, therefore, to satisfy the trifecta of expectations that the modern customer has. This includes hyper-personalized services, seamless user experience and availability of technology that helps bridge the gap.

In the last few decades, there has been a humongous growth in the number of Internet users, devices, and connectivity-everywhere. All these factors, coupled with digital transformation across all industries globally & growing consumption of bandwidth-demanding applications, have contributed to the requirement for faster and ubiquitous wireless connectivity. To address these, the Wi-Fi Alliance- the organization responsible for conceptualizing, developing, & certifying Wi-Fi standards- announced the next generation of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6. This next generation of wireless networks based on 802.11ax is a development over the current fifth generation of Wi-Fi, known as Wi-Fi 802.11ac (standardized in 2014).

A lot of the ‘video as applicable to Travel and Hospitality Industry’ articles focus on brand new experiences that are not mainstream today. Most of the focus here is on Augmented, Virtual or Mixed reality. Virtual Reality (VR) is primarily focused on giving potential customers a view of their ‘target destination’ in the first person. In this use-case, they put in specialized VR headsets and they see themselves in target destinations. In other words, this is very similar to the VR gaming industry, just applied to a different ‘end user experience’. Augmented Reality (AR) on the other hand is becoming more mainstream and is actually offered by many vendors today. For example, Amazon today allows you to shop for items, then ‘place the item anywhere in your house’ to see how it would look using your phone camera and AR. Similarly, several fashion brands allow you to try on catalog items on yourself using AR.

Growing adoption and evolution of smartphones has had a significant impact on the sports and entertainment industries. A recent study by Cisco revealed that 57% of the fans prefer to watch sporting events at home as opposed to the real venues. At a time when millennials are leaning towards mobile and digital technology as their preferred channel for almost everything little and big, stadiums still offer something stimulating and non-replicable that can be leveraged for good – “A total fan experience”.

IT infrastructure requirements for trending applications are significantly different from those needed to support traditional applications. Application developers are re-architecting their solutions to move from monolithic architectures to microservices-based architecture. These applications, also known as Cloud-native applications, require a complete redesign of provisioning, deploying and managing strategies. This article focusses on leveraging micro-services architecture for upcoming applications, challenging requirements they pose in their provisioning/deployment/management and how latest trends in virtualization and cloud-computing space can help in resolving these requirements.

GDPR moves the data ownership back in the hands of the data subject by providing them the fundamental rights to access, rectify, and erase their data stored by the businesses (or data processors). Even automated decision can be contested. Data processing needs consent as a foremost requirement. The individual has the full power to withdraw his consent anytime. In fact, if we look at the basic premise of GDPR, it is evident that the law is all about empowering ‘Data Subjects’ to have full control of their personal data.

And that is where Blockchain comes in.

While a lot of innovation is currently going into driving analytics, driver quality and apps, there is another area that is of significant interest to fleet operators: Accident/Infraction management. The annual accident rate for commercial fleets is about 20%. Fleet accidents have the most expensive injury claims for business with an average cost of about $70,000 per accident (with other reports sighting up to $500,000 per incident). In North-America alone, in 2016, more than USD 700 million in claims were recorded against trucks and other commercial vehicles. This is turn skyrockets the cost of insurance cover for this industry.

The latest next generation of wireless technologies, 5G networks, promise an era of ubiquitous, secure, and high-capacity radio networks. With extremely low latency levels, high energy efficiency, and a comprehensive Gbps capacity, the applications of 5G technology extend to a plethora of industries and fields beyond traditional telecom. Some of the exciting 5G applications include self-driving vehicles, VR/AR, smart manufacturing, telehealth services, smart cities, and many more.

Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy is hardly a novelty these days as enterprises now allow employees to access sensitive business data on their personal mobile devices. Hence, a large percentage of users utilize the same mobile devices for both business and own purposes. Also, they store a variety of personal and business data on their smartphones, tablets, or phablets. With the recent WhatsApp security breach fresh in our minds, it is not incorrect to say that mobile apps are vulnerable to critical security attacks. This, in turn, makes security testing of mobile apps imperative.

A supply chain consists of a network of interconnected businesses, right from procurement of raw materials to the delivered goods, in the hands of the consumers. This also entails the suppliers of raw materials, manufacturers, transporters, warehouses, retailers etc throughout the chain. To maintain a healthy and effective supply chain is a challenge, considering the myriad factors affecting it and the complex topology they present. As the hops in the supply chain keep on getting more and more dispersed, it becomes increasingly difficult to track and trace supplied goods.

The primary beneficiaries of Wi-Fi offload are the MNOs and subscribers. Carriers can optimize available MNO network resources and increase overall capacity by offloading mobile data traffic from an MNO network to a WiFi hotspot network whereas the customers enjoy a better quality of service from the carriers.

As the digital and in-store experiences blur and become more consistent, digital innovations are opening exciting new possibilities for retailers. Point of Sale systems or POS has changed the face of the retail sector making purchasing and maintaining the count of products more accessible. The emergence of digital/mobile POS has had a significant impact on enriching customer satisfaction and shopping experience. 

In today’s connected world, access to Wi-Fi is a necessity.  Players in the hospitality industry are expected to offer Wi-Fi access to their guests during their stay at their facilities for a connected experience. There are several technology companies across the globe that are enabling digital transformation in the travel and hospitality sector with numerous offerings that help design, develop and deploy an effective WiFi services management solution.

In today’s world, guest Wi-Fi is ranked among the top desired amenity across the globe and therefore it is a critical component of the digital experience for many companies. A frictionless Wi-Fi experience is defined by various factors which play an important role in the end-user experience such as accessibility, speed, coverage, and security of the network. Though much has been done for improving the speed and coverage part, however when it comes to providing seamless guest access to Wi-Fi there is still a long way to go.

5G has an ambitious goal to increase the network capacity by 1000x, reduce network latency for URLL (ultra-reliable and low latency) applications and support ultra-dense deployments to meet IMT-2020 vision. Although it meets many of such requirements, in order to comply with all the requirements, it will still have to exploit the opportunities in the unlicensed spectrum, especially Wi-Fi.

There is another element to analytics that isn’t as glitzy but equally (and some would say, more) important: “How do we improve operational efficiencies” using analytics? Operational efficiencies relate to an inward-looking improvement, focused on workforce employees, how they work, what they do and when, to be able to reduce revenue leakage, be at the right place for maximum impact and more. Obviously, improving operational efficiency results in customer experience improvements as well.

One of the most effective ways to reach the consumer with targeted messages is to deliver it to their mobile devices. And being able to deliver it at the right time increases the effectiveness manifold. After all, would you remember to use a pharmacy discount coupon for 20% mailed to you 2 weeks ago, or would you remember to use if that coupon magically popped up when you are at CVS Pharmacy shopping?

That is the power of proximity marketing!

Running an e-commerce portal can be frustrating especially if your website is vulnerable to glitches and doesn’t perform up to the mark. So, you have an e-commerce portal with payment gateways and shopping carts. Not to forget, you are looking after an extensive set of features like product catalogs, customer data, market automation and lots more. This calls for some stringent software testing!

The Internet of Things is based on a centralized system of interrelated devices that are equipped with computing abilities. These devices have inbuilt UIDs, a set of unique identifiers that can transfer data through a network without requiring human interaction. The sensors in devices and appliances will collect different types of data and communicate, analyze or even act on it. With IoT, businesses can develop new ways to connect and increase value by building new businesses and channels of revenue. It is no secret that implementing solutions that involve the use of the IoT would provide seamless connectivity across all platforms, but at the same time, there’s a raging security issue that risks shutting down the entire set up.

We are currently at the forefront of developing new and amazing systems by leveraging what Blockchain has to offer. The decentralized nature of Blockchain means higher levels of security. While it initially seemed like an excellent opportunity to improve financial institutions, Blockchain is showing growing potential in the healthcare sector, government, and now, the Internet of Things.

The world has come to a point where automation is not a fancy word anymore. Often, automation can bring visuals of robots in your mind. However, look around, and you will find plenty of automatic devices that you use every single day. In fact, many of the things your smartphone does are automatic as well. For example, once you have the Wi-Fi option on, it connects to an available network automatically. A simple example like this shows how beneficial automation can be. Apply the same concept to buildings, and the benefits increase by manifolds.

Digital Transformation is much more than a disruption or technology. A case in point is the retail giant Walmart. Amazon's epic takeover of the online retail market has compelled companies like Walmart to adjust or perish. Toys R Us is a good example. Toys R Us was one of the world’s most famous toy brands which buckled under due to growing online competition. They filed for bankruptcy last September and are now shutting down their stores. Walmart, however, is clearly trying to up the ante as it plans to add 500 more pick-up towers to its already existing network of brick and mortar stores and 200 pickup towers. It is trying to blur the line between online and offline sales by allowing the buyer to pick-up online ordered products from any of its pickup towers. In the process it gives buyers discounts for picking up their stuff, thereby, saving delivery cost. With an employee base of more than 2.3 Mn, retail giant Walmart has a good insight on purchasing habits of people. Recent retail industry reports suggest that they are now prioritizing the extraction of client data. With data being the new currency, they have realized that to continue succeeding in their game they will need to transform how and what they sell. Such a paradigm shift in their way of doing business has enabled them to maintain a thorough catalog, while providing significant value to their customers.

Virtual Network Functions are a new trend in the architecting of network services. In VNF terminology, a single network function is decomposed into multiple modules or services, which are then deployed using a combination of virtual machines and cloud deployment, under the control of an orchestration solution such as Openstack, typically deployed over an SDN networking infrastructure. By disintegrating the service into micro-services and then using sophisticated mediation, orchestration and scaling services, the network operator can have optimal allocation of both computing and networking resources.

Software defined networking (SDN) is one of the key technologies driving the transformation of the next generation networks. To begin with, SDN was just a mechanism to “separate out control from data”. The logic to control the network was moved to a centralized controller. This allowed the operators to program the network on demand, from one point of control. Further, it allowed them to set rules/configurations across devices, from different vendors in a unified way, without manual intervention. These flexibilities proved to be a huge improvement over traditional networking where provisioning/configuration was done on individual basis and a single failure in the network could lead to huge downtimes. The notion and scope of SDN applicability in networks has considerably transformed since then. Traditional networking using distributed routing protocols are focussed on the needs of the basic network; route discovery, link failure recovery, etc. However, these services by themselves don’t fulfil the requirements of emerging technologies like IoT and MEC – handling multi-vendor devices, heterogenous networks (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, LTE), huge amount of data, faster deployments, management of services etc. SDN promises to deliver an agile and flexible network infrastructure, to handle varying user-demands and diverse network scenarios. 

Communication technology has been evolving at a fast pace for past two decades. During this time, wireless technology has also gone through many changes. From 3G and 4G, now we have companies expecting and preparing for 5G wireless technology. It’s the fifth-generation technology that might not have arrived yet, but OEMs have already started to make 5G enabled equipment.

History continues to repeat itself, constantly affecting those who don’t want to make adjustments. Video killed the radio stars, CDs killed cassettes, and downloadable content somewhat put DVD sellers in jeopardy. TV service providers are fighting a hard battle against the advancing technology. They are in the same position where technological advancements are making their services obsolete, and unless they make quick adjustments to the changing trends, they are bound to end up losing this battle. The biggest challenge for cable and satellite services providers is OTT.

A 2010 study that compared the results of teaching using augmented reality vs. mouse and keyboard-based learning revealed that students who learned with the help of augmented reality showed considerably better academic performance than those who learned using the traditional methods. It is essential to learn the concept of augmented reality here before going into the details of how the modern education system can benefit from it. Simply put, augmented reality is when you introduce elements of the virtual world into the real world. Here is how augmented reality can help teachers and students in transforming the learning experience.

Over the years, thanks to technology and world wide web, retail marketing has undergone a sea change. It has given consumers many different options in which they can shop apart from physically going to a store. However, for a customer, shopping is an experience, so the expectations from an online … read more

There is no standard approach to IoT security as it is not just about the device, or the network, or the clients, but a combination of several of these. Providing a solution that caters to the security requirements of participating entities i.e. the device, cloud, mobile application, network interfaces, device firmware and the ecosystem at large is a challenge.

Blockchains are transforming many industries beyond just revolutionizing digital currencies. While a large part of our focus is on how blockchains can empower a new form of “digital currency” that avoids the pitfalls of our existing currency system (namely, reliance on a central authorities like banks, avoiding expensive transaction fees and money fraud due to double-spending (Double Spending, n.d.)), many other industries are leveraging other unique benefits of blockchains to help them digitize their B2B processes of automatic audits, verifiability and contractual agreements. This brief note will describe some of these industries and how blockchain is helping them transform.

The importance of anomaly detection is due to the fact that anomalies in data translate to significant (and often critical) actionable information in a wide variety of application domains. This paper discusses the use of Machine Learning based Network Traffic Anomaly detection, to approach the challenges in securing devices and detect network intrusions.

This brief paper will talk about how blockchains can be effectively used in IoT Networks and focuses on how it can help solve common issues of scalability, trust & cost. The paper also discusses some of the disadvantages of blockchains for this purpose and how they might be overcome.

Machine learning enables computers to make intelligent decisions using data. The computer acts without being particularly programmed such as self-driving cars, speech recognition software, and web search. Self-driving cars, for example, use GPS, navigation services and an array of sensors to create a 3D model of the environment around them. Data collected is then augmented to make the best judgment of traffic and route. This judgment is precise and very reliable that it is believed using the self driving car will reduce the number of road accidents to a great extent.

Both virtual and augmented reality is influenced by similar technologies. The purpose of this innovation is to provide users with an immersive and enhanced experience. The advent of AR and VR has provided tremendous opportunities for growth and development in a slew of facets both commercial and private.

There is a very common confusion regarding the mechanisms of these two concepts. With all popularity garnered by AR and VR, a majority of people have begun confusing one technology with the other. In light of this, here is a brief analogy to understand both their functionalities

The advent of OTT services has been the answer to all the consumer's prayers who wanted to watch any content, anytime, anyplace and on any device of their choice. This has led to a major surge in the OTT services adoption rates (much to the dismay of satellite broadcast industry). There is no … read more

According to a WHO Report on Road Traffic Injuries, approximately 1.25 million lives are nipped every year owing to ghastly road accidents. About 94% of these accidents have occurred owing to the driver’s fault. And that is the reason why so many companies like are investing in the research and development of Autonomous vehicles

There are several reasons why a test-driven methodology to create IoT technology and its software is needed. When considering traditional methods of testing, programming codes were built and tests were conducted more on a production level. However, the modern approach requires any bugs and glitches to be captured at an early stage. In a test-driven development approach, human interaction for manual testing is minimized, making it possible to capture errors faster and earlier.

There is a dire need for quality Wi-Fi services, all over the world. As wireless technology continues to escalate, an estimated 200 billion wireless devices will be operational by 2020.  In addition to that, carrier Wi-Fi hotspots are likely to reach 13.3 million by the same year. Both businesses and individuals are searching for secure and reliable wireless internet access. The quality of Wi-Fi service will have to conquer many challenges as the major focus shift towards of Internet of Things.

The limitless combinations of device, network, content, and places suggest that the stream reaching you at a given point may be navigating through uncharted territory. This means that the QoE of your online video stream depends on a number of factors.

To overcome challenges in the OTT (Over-the-top content) environment, offering an outstanding quality of experience (QoE) is crucial. Viewers desire the same level of quality for online streaming as they get with the conventional cable or satellite services.

Network slicing is a type of virtual network architecture that allows various networks to be created on top of a mutually shared physical infrastructure. These virtual networks are then personalized to meet the particular needs and demands of devices, applications, services, operators or customers. It uses the same principles as those behind network functions virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN). The greater flexibility brought out by network slicing will help address the efficiency, cost, and versatility requirements levied by the future.

The Internet of Things or simply IoT is believed to benefit the consumers and at the same time, improve the productivity of industries and enterprises. The IoT uses wireless devices that connect to each other and with the help of internet and minimum human intervention helps deliver services that would meet the needs of a variety of industries. The IoT sector is relatively new and is still in development stages. However, experts believe that the impact of IoT will be considerable.

Drones, also referred to as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), are non-crewed and pilotless aircraft that can fly either using onboard computers or remote control. They are a primary component of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and commonly used by the military. Their idea first became known on 22^nd August 1849, when Venice was attacked by Austria with unmanned balloons full of explosives. During and shortly after World War I, the first drone was invented with the intention of taking down Zeppelins but was never flown. Several successors were developed and with each try, there was an improvement in the technology.

An inclusive and constantly evolving cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is another milestone achieved by the retail giant. Web services, popularly termed as cloud computing services, are facilitating millions of users across the globe. The first AWS offerings surfaced in 2006 and offered online services for client-side applications and websites. Amazon Web Service was initially nothing but the company’s backend technology.

Cloud computing will soon be a norm for hosting software applications catering to a variety of use-cases in different verticals. Cloud Computing refers to Internet-based services that provide access to managed IT resources; these resources are managed by experts and are available on-demand on a pay-per-use model. This enables the application developers to focus on the use-case and come up with an MVP (minimum viable product) in a shorter period.

Today's consumers are no longer dependent on their local store to shop. With a world of retailers and brands on their palm, customers have literally become a ‘point of sale’ with their preferred devices. Consumers today, no matter wherever they are, shop from their computers, tablets, and smartphones. They are free to make choices and choose their desired methods of payment. Whether a customer would like his order to be shipped to his home or picked up from a store, all depends on his will and convenience.

When retailers aim to collect more data about their customers, they follow larger sources of market information. These vast pools of analytics, facts and figures are known as Big Data

In 2016, the Go world champion lost to the AlphaGo algorithm designed by Google, and it became obvious that machine learning had successfully emerged and would contribute majorly in shaping the future. Machine learning will continue to serve a new class of software that is able to learn without … read more

An infrastructure where processing and data storage takes place outside mobile devices can be referred to as a ‘mobile cloud’. By utilizing the computing and storage capabilities of the mobile cloud, computer applications can run on low resource mobile devices.

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The technology market is constantly evolving, often in an evolutionary way. But every once in a while, technology takes a giant leap in a short period of time, crossing barriers that might have been impossible to break just a year or two ago. The ability for vehicles to 'self-drive in assisted … read more

Optimizing Service Agility Because of NFV – What to Virtualize

Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) lets you turn network functions into virtualized functions, thereby allowing you to run them on less-expensive server hardware rather than on high-cost network hardware … read more

Self-Optimizing Networks (SON) in cellular networks have evolved from a concept to a vital component of modern day HetNets. Major cellular vendors have built and are busy deploying SON solutions as a key differentiator for their network offerings. On the Wireless LAN side, SON implementations … read more

The 5th generation of networks is going to be built around the seamless integration of multiple different types of radio technologies; LTE, LTE-U, WLAN. Operators want to deploy a combination of different network infrastructure and then use the most appropriate among what is available to provide … read more

The progress from initial 2G and 3G networks to mobile broadband technology has changed the entire dynamics of our society and the business industry. If 5G becomes a reality, you can expect even greater levels of transformation. A good number of engineering R&D services companies have made considerable inroads into 5G application development.

 Executive Summary

Over the Top TV has become a necessary Value-Add service, not only for the Telco / ISP giants but also as a “prime” focus for other distinguished players such as Direct-to-Home Service Providers, Cable Network Distributors, Content Owner Companies. … read more

There are many ways to implement AR in the dashboard. We believe one of the early deployment technologies will be to leverage the power of the smartphone and its sensors/accessories to augment overlays on traditional head units. Standards such as CarPlay, MirrorLink, and Android Auto already exist that allow for phones and dashboards to interact over well-defined protocols.

While implementing an IoT application, the user needs to address a variety of challenges including lack of globally accepted standards, and concerns related to data privacy and application security. The enterprise users must explore efficient ways to collect, store, analyse and exchange huge volumes of data securely. At the same time, it also needs to implement a complete strategy to protect all components of the IoT solution from emerging security threats.

September 11, 2016 will go down in history as the day ESPN’s Fantasy football site became the hottest topic of discussion for all Fantasy Football aficionados. And the unpleasant part is, it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. On that eventful Sunday, as excited fans logged into their accounts to know the scores of their teams, they were in for rude shock. The site was just not working. Some people took to Twitter to vent their frustration saying, “Congratulations to @ESPNFantasy for ruining the greatest day of the year for all of America.”

So what could have gone wrong here?

As the virtualization technologies (related to compute and networking resources) are gaining wider acceptance, the telco operators are becoming even more open to adopt architecture based on read more

Social data analytics helps Hoteliers to get a clear understanding of segment behavior, needs, and expectations. It helps them identify profitable customer segments, their buying preferences: personalized methods can be devised to target profitable segments. Right Positioning for these segments helps to encourage repeated visits, increase sales during their stay by upselling profitable services like fine dining, exotic wines & cocktails, gyms, spa services, golf theatre, local site trips etc.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the next buzz word and its presence is being felt almost everywhere. IoT is basically inter-networking between physical devices (with different levels of intelligence), enabling them to communicate with each other in order to realize some business … read more

With the proliferation of smart devices such as phones, TVs, tablets etc., media viewing is not restricted to the Television only and is being watched everywhere on every type of device that supports media viewing.

The audio-video content is delivered via OTT to these multi-screen devices over a communication service provider’s network. The availability of media ‘Anywhere’ has resulted in the peak bandwidth utilization of the CSP. Customer sensitivity is high because of comparison with regular HD broadcast.

OTT differs from the traditional way of viewing video in many ways. However, primarily it is the network bandwidth, access network, delivery network, compression and the capability of the video playing application that affects the user’s viewing experience. Identification and measurement of the metrics related to the QoS of streaming service is termed as QoE or Quality of Experience.

The statistical measurement of the QOE metrics, and subsequently acting on the analysis would enable service providers to find ways to improve subscriber engagement, enhance monetization opportunities and optimize viewing experience.

Today's world of software is all about delivering large number of quality product with fewer resources and limited time. With this paradigm shift, Test cycle needs to repeat numerous times to achieve the following:

• Improved test effectiveness
• Improved quality
• Increased test coverage
• Reduced time to run repetitive tests
• Cost Saving

The Internet of Things (IoT) in its broader definition, is the interconnection of many heterogeneous devices ñ ranging from desktop computers, embedded systems, small sensors, among others. This network collects and exchanges data to enhance the process of decision making. It is also used to … read more

It has long been the trend that modern wireless networks have been getting denser as time goes on; where, by the term dense, we refer to the gap between network nodes (the ‘points of presence’ of the network) and the average area intended to be covered by the single node. Till now, this has primarily been driven by the increasing demands for bandwidth for users, exponentially increasing numbers of users and the deployment of networks in higher and higher frequencies. The last point is important because scattering increases (and hence, the effective radius decreases) as the network node uses a higher frequency.

This trend was predicted well in advance by (Gupta, et al., 2000), (Gastpar, et al., 2002)and others; that the capacity of the different types of wireless networks (cellular, relay, local area, mesh, etc.) network increases O(N^(1/2)); where N is the number of network nodes or points of presence in a given area. In recent times, one of the driving factors is also the miniaturization of digital and RF hardware (which allows lower footprint deployments) and the development of new types of architectures, such as the centralized ‘cloud RAN’ for cellular networks.

The hospitality industry is going through a digital transformation and industry players are using multiple channels to increase their market reach. The services in this industry are being offered on the e-market place and e-commerce transactions are facilitated via on-line booking systems … read more

Brillo OS is Google's offering for the newly emerging IoT space. Last year in May, Google announced this new operating system in their annual developer conference event, Google I/O 2015. Essentially, Brillo is an Android based OS, meant … read more

Enterprises are going through an era of Digital Transformation where consumers are demanding immersive mobile applications that offer a much richer experience than just a mobile web portal. With smartphones, tablets, programmable watches as well as a plethora of sensors avialable today, … read more

Wi-Fi as a technology is nearing two decades and the Wi-Fi alliance itself is 15 years old. With the ubiquity of smartphones, Wi-Fi has made impressive strides as the transmission technology of choice for Internet data; it is reported that fully 40% of Internet mobile traffic is carried on Wi-Fi … read more

Introduction

The case for mmWave in 5G networks is rather strong (Rappaport, Sun, et al. 2013). Given the continuous demand for spectrum and the recent progresses in mmIC fabrication technology, we can reasonably expect to see mmWave migrate from the existing point to point backhaul links … read more

Introduction

The 5th generation cellular networks have set an explicit target to improve the performance of cell-edge users. This is widely acknowledged in the industry as being a challenge; multiple studies [ (1), (2)] have modelled cell-edge channels and UE performance in representative … read more

While both Spark and Hadoop are fault-tolerant, one of the basic and yet a major difference between the two big data computing frameworks is the way they do data processing and computing. While Hadoop stores data in disk, Spark stores data in-memory. Due to this in-memory processing, Spark is 10-100 X faster than Hadoop.

With the proliferation of IoT devices in the market the the recent surge of DIY as well as cloud-based "plug and play" home security solutions such as those from Dropcam, Simplicam, D-Link (and the resurgence of DIY solutions using Motion or ZoneMinder), many solution providers are looking at powerful mobile clients to monitor as well as control their home appliances, be it cameras or home lights as well as be notified of motion detection activities while away. This article will discuss how one can (and should) leverage modern hybrid frameworks such as Ionic, Meteor or similar solutions to develop a common code base that works across multiple platforms and yet not compromise on speed or performance. Specifically, this article will focus on Ionic, a very powerful MIT licensed framework based on AngularJS that sits on top of Cordova and bring out the advantages of such a solution.

Positioning is the process of determining the geographical location of a device such as a mobile phone, laptop or tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or navigation or tracking equipment. Positioning technologies are gaining importance every day in mobile systems, demanding … read more

The term 'Building Automation System' (BAS) often brings in an impression of heavy duty equipment, convoluted procedures and monotone grey shades in the mind of many. Unlike incredible advances in the Home Automation space, what with intelligent controllers like read more

Need and Ability to Organize Self

Cellular networks have seen continuous growth in size and complexity over the last few years. This growth can be attributed to multiple factors; the explosion of content being delivered via the internet, the explosion of social media, the growing … read more

This article describes how Android is fast becoming a platform of choice for the Test and Measurement industry, primarily driven by lower costs, better features and upgradability for Android based tablet solutions compared to proprietary devices. HSC presents trends as well as tips on how to approach adopting Android for your next Test and Measurement product.

Apache Storm provides a stable and robust framework for a real-time analytics solution. The framework provides base classes for spouts and bolts. Spout class inherits class BaseRichSpout and bolt class inherits BaseRichBolt. One is required to just implement nextTuple() method in spout class such that it reads data from an incoming data stream and emits it inside the storm topology. Similarly, one has to write the implementation of execute() method in bolt class to provide business logic to process the data passed on by the connected spout. Multiple spouts can be defined for different sources of data. For example, one spout for tapping into charging data, second to tap performance data from the access network and third spout for accessing data from incoming order requests.

Android Labs is an internal R&D activity within the HSC Connected Devices CoE where our amazing engineers implement proof of concept solutions showcasing our depth in the Android and Linux software stacks.

In this edition of "Android Labs", we bring you an innovative implementation of … read more

Radio access technology has changed the way we go about our business, both at work and at play. With increasing demands to stay connected, we cannot rely on just one type of technology to keep us online. The good news is, today’s wireless environment is possible because multiple radio access technologies can co-exist, many working seamlessly on a single device. With all of these technologies working simultaneously, there are some challenges presented by the ever-changing world of wireless technology. The development of new connected devices, new types of RATs, and increasing demand for data means that we’re nowhere near the end of this evolution. HSC is committed to staying on top of industry trends, standards, and progress in the wireless technology development industry. To help explain the current state of radio access technology, as well as where it looks like things are headed, we’ve created an infographic that illustrates the co-existence of multiple radio access technologies as it stands today. Check it out below!

Cellular wireless technology moved from the 3rd generation (3G) to the 4thgeneration (4G) with the release of the LTE standards. One of the fundamental changes brought by this technology was the use of Orthogonal Frequency … read more

Big data technologies have made it possible to manage and process data-volumes and data-velocity of the order that was considered impossible earlier. Big data technologies have been used in several domains like social-media, retail, advertising and finance. Here we will discuss about its application in telecom segment.

This technical article describes the essential components and features of a commercial OTT solution. While focusing on OTT Client, it shall also cover the challenges that are involved in designing, implementing and running a full featured client.The Television industry has so far been dominated … read more

Android Labs is an internal R&D activity within the HSC Connected Devices CoE where our amazing engineers implement proof of concept solutions showcasing our depth in the Android and Linux software stacks.

In this edition of "Android Labs", we bring you demo of how Android can be customized … read more

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is being keenly followed by the telecom industry and proof of concept implementations are already in process. NFV is an engineering approach of building telecom systems (Network Entities or Network Functions) by making effective use of commodity … read more

Security when it comes to Android has always been a hotly debated topic in the industry. As OEMs try and adapt Android to new devices,security (or the lack of it) is a big concern to them. This is especially true for OEMs using Android to develop Business IP phones, medical devicesand other such devices that have a greater need for security than consumer-grade home entertainment devices.

With innovation comes frustration.

Introducing a new idea or technology innovation is exciting, but every once in a while there comes an idea so big, consumers aren’t quite sure what to do with it.

If you’ve ever sat in gridlock when you have somewhere to be, you understand the feeling of wanting to rip the steering wheel from the console and start walking. It seems like the Jetsons were able to solve the problem, what is taking us so long?

When it comes to innovation in the automotive space, infotainment systems and smart dashboards are quickly becoming the next big thing. And while there are many different ways to build these systems using embedded technology, Android is proving to be a strong contender for the top OS. Why is embedded Android ideal for telematics development? How does it differ from other operating systems? We answer these questions and more in the infographic below.

It’s truly an exciting time to watch the landscape of wireless technology expand. As the demand for wireless connectivity continues to increase, this demand is pushing the capacity and efficiency of wireless technologies to their limits. There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel.

ANDSF, which stands for access network discovery and selection function, is an entity within the EPC (evolved packet core) with the purpose of assisting UEs in the discovery/selection of access networks, such as WiFi, WiMax, and LTE, in their vicinity; providing them with rules policing the connection to these networks.

The famous fictional astronaut Buzz Lightyear once said: to infinity and beyond! Wise beyond his years, Buzz saw the potential for toys. In what’s become a disruptive innovation for traditional hard plastic dolls and board games, embedded toys are true game changers for the toy industry.

Most Android-powered devices have built-in sensors that measure motion, orientation, and various environmental conditions. These sensors are capable of providing raw data with high precision and accuracy, and are useful if you want to monitor three-dimensional device movement or positioning, or if you want to monitor changes in the ambient environment near a device.

An introductory article on the different technologies emerging in the wireless space can feel like an introductory article how to speak a foreign language. For some, the language makes sense; they’ve been around it, taken a couple classes and maybe even traveled to a place where that’s the only language spoken. For others, it can be intimidating the first few times you hear the words and phrases.

Wireless technology is ever-evolving, and there’s no end in sight. But where did it all begin? How did we get to where we are now? We’ve put together an infographic illustrating the transformations of wireless technologies from 1G in the 80s to the latest developments, to projections of connectivity in 2020. It’s been quite a journey, with many steps along the way – check it out!

Intelligent toys are not something of the future – they’re already here! Today’s version of smart toys though, is very different from what we can expect to see in the coming years. Recent updates to Android have made the OS ideal for developing interactive, smart toys that not only change the way we define “play,” but foster interactive learning like never before. Why are Android toys different? What are the benefits of using Android over any other OS in smart toy development? How does the future of intelligent toys differ from where we are today? Check out the graphic below for the answer to these questions, and more!

The phrase, “I’ll try you on your cell,” is quickly becoming obsolete when it comes to messages left on landline answering machines. Not only are most American households turning away from landlines in general, but those remaining that still use them are starting make the switch to modernized versions of the now-archaic, traditional home phone. Some are even combining their home phone and mobile phone into a single smart device. But what’s all this about? Why does anyone care about having a home phone anymore? There have been a lot of developments recently in this realm…

Your grandfather probably remembers a time when men’s razors had just one blade. It was sharp and it got the job done…but with some scrapes and cuts along the way. Saturday Night Live famously mocked the addition of more razors saying “the 6th blade gently removes the 1stlayer of skin.” But all mocking aside, this is the age of more. In a world of innovation from analog to digital to 3G and to 4G, the next logical progression is a 5G network. Innovation, however, does not always care about logic or what makes sense. It made sense for Apple to develop their own mapping applications right? The buzz surrounding a 5G mobile network is real, but the question is, is it something to get excited about?

For those tracking the evolution of Android, it is evident that the future of the Android based ecosystem goes far beyond just phones and tablets. The OS is already making its way into a host of other smart devices, like Google Glass for example, in a movement toward what’s being called “the internet of things” or IoT.

Six hours? Eight hours? Ten hours?! We all have our number. How many hours of sleep does it take for you to fire on all cylinders the next day? How hard is it for you to get out of bed in the morning? It’s amazing, we spend a good percentage of our lives sleeping and yet, how often do we look for ways to maximize and improve that time? Well, technology isn’t only meant for use on-the-go, and more and more we’re seeing the market for sleep tech grow. So here are some great cyber-slumber technologies to help you feel well-rested, and make the most of your time in the sack.

The massive consumption of data combined with the growing popularity of “anywhere access” is putting a strain on mobile network operators. How will technology respond to this change? How will operators offload enough data to meet the increasing demand for service in increasingly remote areas? The answer is small cell technology.

With the advent of IP capable smart devices e.g. mobile phones, tablets etc. and easy internet access, there has been an exponential growth in data traffic. Cellular network operators have been trying to cope up with this ‘tsunami’ of data traffic by adopting new technological innovations like … read more

If we track the evolution of wireless technologies, cooperation (as a way of improving network capacity and performance) stands out as one of the key movers of this evolution.

In January of 2014, Google acquired DeepMind Technologies for more than $400 million (according to MIT Technology Review) to become Google DeepMind. Google does a great job of picking up companies in the advertising, search, and other services as assigned space without much of a splash, but the purchase of DeepMind Technologies reverberated a bit more than most. Sometimes a Google acquisition is more than just the usurping of a company, but rather a validation of an idea – that there’s something to see, something worth getting behind more than just getting it out of the way to make room for your own project.

The MySQL cluster demands at least 4 nodes to be present for deploying a High Available MySQL database cluster. The typical configuration of any enterprise application is a 2 Node solution (Active-Standby mode or Active-Active Mode). The challenge lies in fitting the MySQL Clsuter Nodes in the 2 … read more

Believe it or not, there are some college campuses in the United States that do not offer WiFi in their residence halls! There’s something about connecting an Ethernet cord to your laptop to research a paper about the future of nanotechnology or another innovative science just doesn’t gel. And while some college campuses are slow to adapt, there are plenty of industries looking beyond routers (also known as access points – which can refer to either a wireless AP or a standard AP) and central hubs to explore the up-and-coming world of WiFi mesh technology. The next generation of WiFi is here, and it’s not just about hotspots.

To survive, businesses must find innovative ways to stay competitive in their market. Not only is this true for their products and services, but also for the technology used internally within a company. When many people think of Android technology, they might think of the app store, some project management sites, and a means for checking email during an extended lunch. But embedded Android technology wields so much more power than a productivity checklist app. And if you don’t already know about it, you definitely should. So here are just a few waysbusinesses are leveraging the value of Android to operate smarter than their competition.

Lately, the Android OS has been experiencing phenomenal success. The most recent reports from IDC show that 81% of all smartphone devices sold in Q3 2013 are running Android. If you’re familiar with the industry, this may not surprise you. But what might surprise many people is that Android is being actively used in devices beyond smart phones – and the adoption rate is exploding in these areas as well. The operating system has already been deployed in business IP phones, medical devices, set top boxes, gaming consoles, car dashboards/rear-end systems and a variety of additional vertical markets with new ones coming up every month. Those who have been tracking our coverage of the benefits of using Android beyond phones (see our articles on IoT and Android vs Linux) already know that for any system currently based on Linux that has a need for a rich UX and networking options, Android makes a lot of sense.

While UI test automation is well understood for the desktop market, with a plethora of good tools available, the mobile market is different. Due to platform fragmentation and restrictions imposed by mobile device OSs, UI automation is a harder problem to solve. Over time, several tools have … read more

The healthcare industry is a tough nut to crack when it comes to innovation. Sure new medical developments and discoveries are happening almost every day, and there’s a constant push for more understanding, better tools, and faster results. But the reality is that there’s a lot of red tape when anything new comes on the scene – especially when it comes to technology. Reasonably so, there are regulations that need to be followed when developing a new medical device, in order to keep patients safe, test results reliable, and medical professionals accountable. But even given the strict nature of the environment, the medical space is still transforming (however slowly) thanks to the use of embedded Android technology. Currently, there are three major trends that are paving the way to a better-connected medical industry. Check out our graphic below for more information on where embedded healthcare technology is headed.

When we start thinking about wearable technology, it’s easy to think about Star-Trek. Wearable technology came out of the engineering closet looking clunky, sci-fi-in-a-bad-way-y, and uncool. Luckily, wearable tech has made some strides in the fashion department. Here are a few devices that get us excited about a little skin to tech contact.

Marissa Mayer recently brought the Yahoo workforce back to the office. For years, Yahoo let their employees work remotely, as long as the job was done and done well. This all changed in 2013 when Mayer stated in a memo to staff: “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important so we need to be working side-by-side.” But while Yahoo-ers have returned to the office setting, many others are doing the exact opposite. According to globalworkplacestatistics.com, the percentage of workers based in a home office has grown around 4% each year since 2009.

Last week, Austin Texas hosted SXSW. Thousands of people converged to discuss everything from start-up companies to trending music. It’s a great example of just how fast technology moves and ideas spread. Remember your first smart phone purchase? That feeling of holding all that powerful technology in your palm? The feeling of being un-tethered as you’re surfing the web on the subway…or in the stall. We’ve gotten so used to having this technology, that we forget how amazing it really is. Programmers and tech-like-minded individuals aside, most consumers take smart devices for granted. In the classic Louis CK bit on cell phones and flying, he points out “we have this beautiful device and we hate it! I’ve never seen a person say look at what my phone can do. They are always like, this piece of [expletive]” followed by a lot more colorful language. We get angry when downloads take longer than a few seconds because we forget that really, we’re waiting for signals from space!

Looking for the scoop on next season’s must haves? Well, maybe not next season, but the idea of smart devices as fashion accessories is definitely on the horizon. Sure, we’ve all heard about Google Glass by now, but what about the Sony SmartWig? Wearable tech is on the rise; helping us get things done, and look good while doing it. Here’s a sneak peak at what you can expect to see in the not-so-distant future.

Starting 2007 (launch of the venerable iPhone), Smart phones have changed the way we look at mobile communication. The erstwhile ‘mostly voice phone’ device suddenly transformed into a computing device and opened a new world of possibilities for mobile users.

Amazing User Experience (UX), … read more

As the adage states: the customer is always right. Companies like Zappos, Dillards, and probably even your local “ma-and-pa” grocery store have built their reputations on remarkable customer service. Zappos, for example, stands out from the clutter by encouraging website visitors to call their headquarters with any questions, 24-7. They’ve provided a unique personal touch in an increasingly person-less internet. Companies with attitudes like the Zappos team are rare, yet data shows that customers react positively to their approach. By investing more in customer service, they are able to generate more word-of-mouth referrals and decrease the amount of push advertising.

When we talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) we are talking about connecting everyday objects to the internet via low power signals. Kevin Ashton is credited with coining the phrase and being one of the first to write about the concept. He discusses how humans are great at doing many things, but capturing clean and accurate data about events happening in real time in the real world is not one of them. This ability to capture large amounts of data about everyday usage of everyday things is what makes the IoT such a powerful innovation.

When you hear the phrase “embedded system,” it’s easy to tune out and think: that’s tech talk. But the truth is, the concept of an embedded system is actually pretty easy to understand. Simply put, an embedded system is a computer system built within a larger mechanical system. Think of the alien controlling the larger human robot from Men In Black. The alien is the embedded system of the larger mechanical system (the human). Okay, so that’s not a real-world example, but you get the picture of small operating system under a larger umbrella.

While Android and Linux are relatively new to the scene, the concept of an embedded operating system is not as recent of a development as you may think. In fact, the history of embedded systems dates back to the 1960′s. But the technology has come quite a long way since then, and the evolution is likely far from over. Check out the graphic below for a quick rundown of how embedded technology got to where it is today, and where we see it going in the near future…and beyond!

Big data makes it possible to track and record information in ways George Orwell only dreamt…nay…night-terrored about. The “big brothers” in this digital age are the people behind the scenes taking billions and trillions of data points and making decisions based on the analysis. But fear not – this kind of information can be used for plenty of good! Big data is what makes Google more accurate in predicting flu-outbreaks than the CDC. Big data is what the Obama campaign team used to purchase undervalued television advertising times in highly valued swing-state zip-codes. And big data is what marketing professionals, supply chain managers, and decision makers at all levels are clamoring for more of.

It’s no secret that Android is transforming everything from turning on the television to higher education. More and more, Android-powered devices are found on the roads, the schools, and even in your kitchen. But Android is doing more than just making daily life more convenient; in the medical industry embedded Android technology is helping save lives.

Over the past 18 months, bare bones, mini-computing has surged in popularity due to low prices and high customization. These ARMs average roughly the size of a credit card and are great for those tinkerers looking to develop specialized, low-cost/no frills desktop replacements. They’re also perfect for building customized embedded solutions.

Home entertainment has come a long way since the days of strategizing with aluminum foil-topped black and white boxes. Embedded systems have made it possible to create a gaming, TV watching, and internet browsing experience in your home that rivals most movie theaters.  Shopping for televisions used to be easy. Did you want a 13, 15, or 17 inch? Now, consumers are faced with decisions about adaptability, connectivity, and smart technology, not to mention many more size options. With literally thousands of decision points, not to mention ongoing development of new smart TVs and set top boxes, how is the average consumer supposed to prepare for the tech-talk their likely to experience in the electronics store? This is a quick guide to help make sense of the options.

When the Internet powerhouse Google purchases a company, it makes news. Funny that a corporation so visible to hundreds of millions online every day, can keep such suspense over their next move. Technology newsfeeds like Techcrunch and Mashable instantly predict “what this move means” for the future of the company and for the future of innovation. Let’s take a look at some of the more notable acquisitions as it relates to their current Android Operating System and the technology team they’ve produced.

The world of Android open source is helping ideas everywhere go from scratch-paper to product. From applications to video game consoles, open source encourages innovation and the destruction of the phrase “that’s impossible.” Here are open source canvases:

If you thought Android OS was just for smartphones and tablets, you’re in for a surprise. The use of the OS in other embedded systems and devices is growing exponentially, and it’s all because of the many benefits Android has to offer. To put it plainly, the developer community is using Android for embedded projects due to its flexibility, ease of customization, and compatibility. Want some technical insight into how Android stacks up against other operating systems? Check out the graphic below for a breakdown of the benefits of Android as an embedded platform:

The new year! A time for reflection, a time for celebration, and when it’s all over… a time to get back in shape. And while some of us will receive new toys and gadgets during the holiday season, most of those devices make it easier to be immobile. Smartphone controlled ovens, smart TVs, and other home automation systems make it easy to take the path of least movement. But there are some products looking to curb the lucrative lure of laziness. Using a remarkable combination of bio-analytics and embedded Android technology; individuals now have insights into their physical health that just might motivate them enough to head to the gym…or at least take the stairs!

Most of the server side applications are database driven these days i.e. they store the configuration in database so as to support on the fly changes without a need of restart. But this requires monitoring of all the configuration tables at regular intervals. Most of the monitoring cycles are a … read more

The sheer notion of open source coding might paint an image of the Wild West where maverick, renegade hackers swoop in to steal passwords and social security numbers. While the Internet and open source software has provided the world with plenty of good, there is the unfortunate reality that we have to take the good with the bad. In this case, the bad are people who steal our information, property, and identities. Protecting yourself or your business from technology breaches is just as important, if not more important than remembering to close and lock the front door of your house.

Google Glass has arguably become the most talked about use case for embedded Android to date. The ambitious hardware project is powered by Android 4.0.3 – Ice Cream Sandwich. Until recently however, developers were only able to build apps for Glass using the Mirror API which basically exposes web applications to Glass but doesn’t really install an Android application on the device itself.

There was a time when using a map meant going to the drawer, pulling out a piece of paper, and manually locating street names and highways to find the quickest route, by yourself. Fast-forward to today and you have devices that can tell you how to walk, bike, take public transportation, or drive to just about anywhere in the world, and roughly how long it will take you to get there. We all know how to punch an address into our phone and hit start, but fittingly, this is just the beginning of what is possible with navigation technology. Welcome to the Android-age of mapping and directions.

Walking out of his job, Tim is psyched that it’s Friday. He steps into his car and uses his Android stereo to “call Shane.” Using Bluetooth technology, the infotainment system connects to his smartphone and dials his friend.

When it comes to supply chain management, there is no such thing as business as usual. The modern day supply chain is experiencing exponential innovation. Companies like Wal-Mart have fine-tuned this process to place their efficiency levels at competitive advantage heights. You might be thinking, but it’s a supply chain: raw materials, manufacture, ship, sell…everyone knows what to do so how can some be so much better? The same reason we all know that eating healthy and exercising is a good idea and yet many of us still neglect to do it; it’s hard work.

With the exception of mobile phones, Linux has long been the standard for embedded devices, such as gaming consoles, smart TVs, set top boxes, ECG, monitors, and other medical devices. However, for the past year or so, there has been a strong indication that Android could potentially replace Linux as the platform of choice for the next generation of connected devices.

Say goodbye to the traditional work environment. With embedded Android technology now powering so much more than just smartphones, many industries are leveraging the OS to increase efficiency, productivity, and security. The flexibility of Android as an embedded platform gives businesses the freedom to customize the system to meet their exact needs. Integrating Android with everything from conference room displays to X-ray machines, adoption of the OS at the enterprise level is trending steadily upward. Here’s a look at how Android is changing the nature of the workplace:

Some things never change…but most do. With advances in embedded technology, many of the items we use today look and feel like the products we’ve been using since their inception, but are actually hard-wired quite differently. Here are some products and procedures we regularly encounter that have come a long way thanks to Android operating systems.

Classrooms provide many of us with our first exposure to a new technology and innovation. It’s in these classrooms where we feel safe to experiment, explore, and sample. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that many K-12 school districts across the country are adopting new Android technology not only to engage students, but to make the school system more efficient and connected.

A disruptive innovation is one that improves a product in ways the market does not expect.  For consumers, the disruption is welcomed by early adopters and quickly becomes the norm. Think of Cirque du Soleil as a disruptive innovation to the Ringly Bros. Circus.  While change at Ringly Bros. meant deciding between one more elephant or two more elephants, Cirque du Soleil revolutionized the entire concept of a circus; using people instead of animals to create a highly visual performance

In the book Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson, Johnson explains the adjacent possible as a series of rooms and doors. Growing on the idea that innovation takes time and great entrepreneurs often stand on the shoulders of the technology that came before (think YouTube using Adobe and internet connection). He uses the metaphor of rooms and doors to show what is possible right now: if you are in one room, you open a door to get to the next room and expand your world, but you cannot get to a room five doors down without first opening more doors and building more rooms in between.

Data connectivity in mobile terminals has taken asset tracking to a different level. Now, asset tracking is not limited to inventory management, rather we can have online location tracking of moving assets based on their GPS fix. All we need to do is to install a mobile terminal on the asset … read more

Embedded systems are not just for business environments anymore. The technology is coming home, and Android OS is coming with it. When it comes to home automation, Android is the #1 operating system of choice for developers of smart appliances and devices. The idea of a smart home encompasses much more than just a phone or tablet available for communication/entertainment; these devices are becoming full-blown command centers for the house. Need to switch on the lights or monitor the status of your laundry? No problem. And it doesn’t stop there;embedded Android can be found in TVs, baby monitors, ovens, and even exercise equipment. We’re heading down the road to a fully-integrated smart home, but there’s already plenty of great devices and appliances available in today’s market. Here’s a look at how Android OS is changing the home life experience.

According to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, the new digital age is upon us. Pointing to futures in virtual reality, innovations in health sciences, and transportation breakthroughs from here to there, the world will soon be even more connected than it is today. So how do we get from here (modern technology) to there (new digital age)? When it comes to transportation, we’re closer than you might think. Below are four embedded technology trends gaining traction in the automotive industry.

Android’s quick manipulation interface makes gaming more fluid and lifelike than ever before. From Kickstarter projects to heavyweight R&D, the Android-embedded gaming products hitting the market are lean, affordable, and innovative. Here is a quick list of some major league players in world of video game systems.

When you hear the word “Android” you might only think of mobile phones, but the general perception of the operating system is about to change, and fast. Android OS is quickly emerging as the top choice for powering smart devices, and many are already available in today’s market. You may not know it (or maybe you do, you savvy reader you) but embedded Android OS is all around you; perhaps even in devices or appliances you already own. Looking for a quick rundown of some of the popular embedded Android products around? Read on…

In the today’s market scenario of intense competition, the organizations face the challenges of low price and high quality. The traditional model of separate teams for delivery puts additional burden on these factors adding to additional pressure. The key to success is knowledge re-use wherever … read more

Wi-Fi Direct is a new technology defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance wherein capable devices can connect directly to each other quickly, securely and conveniently to do tasks such as printing, synchronization, and sharing of data. In this article we provide a thorough overview of the functionalities … read more

While the market is hugely accepting REST based architectures due to their light weight nature, there is a strong need to secure these web services from various forms of web attacks. Since it is stateless in nature, the mechanisms of securing these services are different from standard web … read more

Wireless LAN technology is an indispensable part of the enterprise network. As the network increases, managing tens of thousands of Access Points (APs) becomes an issue. This leads to the requirement of self-configuring, self-managing and self healing networks. SON (Self optimizing networks) is … read more

A traditional asset tracking solution which could barely support tracking 10,000 assets, can be re-engineered to track millions of assets, by using bigdata technologies.

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As expected, the major groups handling the inner-workings of the internet had announced on Thursday, 3 Feb 2011, that the final unassigned IPv4 address blocks have been handed over to the five regional internet registries (RIR) [ARIN]. This marks the official, albeit symbolic, end of IPv4 and the … read more

Other than understanding the organizational and cultural aspects related to application of Agile methods, modification and adaptation of Agile practices to suit the organization’s business context and existing systems and processes is imperative for making Agile work. For companies in the Indian … read more

The concept of 'Internet of Things' or IoT in short is not new at all. Infact, technologists and visionaries have been postulating this concept since the beginning of the Internet. While the idea has been around for decades, some attribute the credit of coining the term to Kevin Ashtonread more

Femtocell access points [H(e)NBs] are close-range, limited-capacity base stations that utilize residential broadband connections to connect to carrier networks. The use of such distributed base station architecture improves reception and allows the operators to deliver fast, seamless, … read more

Every equipment manufacturer requires a solution for the element management of the equipment. Traditionally, an EMS is built custom to the requirements of the network elements that it has to manage. When the equipment manufacturer builds a new product line or upgrades the existing one, the cost … read more

For efficient Operations, network elements of a Telecom Network (e.g. Cellular Network) are integrated with Operations support Systems (OSS). Typically the OSS comes from the vendor supplying the key Access and Core network nodes of the network as these nodes are well integrated with the … read more

Cloud computing has lately gained a lot of interest for the advantages it deliver s from a price to performance ratio based on the principles of multi-tenancy, distribution  and  scalability  that forms the core principles of cloud computing. Specifically, companies such as Amazon  and others … read more

Broadband IP is a great leveling ground when it comes to converged services being offered by multiple providers. For example, with the availability of Broadband, companies such as Vonage could offer IP based phone replacement solutions threatening the turf of established phone operators. … read more

SNMP Trap is a message initiated by a Network Element to notify the Management Station of a significant event. Trap Receiver play a very crucial role in Fault Management Applications, by receiving and parsing the bytes into meaningful messages. In this article we shall discuss the implementation … read more

Recent years have seen a phenomenal growth in demand for residential broadband. With the advent of small form-factor high performance integrated SoCs (see, for example, the TI) and short area broadband wireless technologies (Wi-Fi and the upcoming WiMAX/LTE), the broadband access point or Base … read more

The traditional OSS/BSS (Operational and Business Support Systems) enterprise systems and architectures currently deployed with most of the telecom service providers(TSP’s) are unable to satisfy the TSP’s need to introduce new value-added services or bundles of services at a fast pace to fight churn and ensure higher average revenue per user (ARPU).

This document outlines the techniques used and assumptions made to provide a rough estimate of the downlink budget of the Complementary Ground Component (CGC) portion of a DVB-SH system. The reader is assumed to have some understanding of the DVB-SH system as well as knowledge of satellite link budgets.

With the continued tightening of expenses, IT organizations are forced to do more with less. The emergence of open source software has given IT organizations the opportunity to reduce their development cost without sacrificing quality. Software applications such as Apache web server and Open … read more

In general terms, VoIP (Voice over IP) refers to a technology domain that specifies protocols which enable users to utilize an IP network for transmission and reception of voice. Specifically, it was originally conceived as a cheaper alternative to dedicated circuit switched lines between calling … read more

TCP is transmission Control Protocol, the Layer4 protocol for communication over both wireline as well as wireless links. It is one of the most widespread of protocols in usage today. All key applications defining the web today, http, email transfer, file transfer, etc. use TCP as the backbone … read more