Presented here are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations: GlobalPlatform, Murata Manufacturing, Quuppa, Confidex, Comparesoft, Itemit, RedBite Solutions, the Zigbee Alliance, and the Digital Illumination Interface Alliance.
GlobalPlatform Supports SESIP Methodology for IoT Device Security Certification
GlobalPlatform, a provider of secure digital services and devices, has announced that it will help device makers and certification bodies adopt the Security Evaluation Standard for IoT Platforms (SESIP) methodology. According to the company, this will bring consistency and trust to the Internet of Things (IoT) device security certification process, thereby reducing complexity, costs and time-to-market for IoT stakeholders.
An estimated 75.44 billion IoT products will be in the marketplace by 2025. These products are made up of multiple components developed by multiple players, many of which are new to security. SESIP addresses the scale and complexity of the IoT ecosystem, the company reports, with an approach to security evaluation designed specifically for the IoT platforms on which these products are based.
GlobalPlatform will support certification bodies in setting up certification schemes based on the SESIP methodology, and will align them with laboratories to drive consistency in product evaluations and certifications across the IoT ecosystem. Device makers can work with the firm to enhance the security of their devices and ensure readiness to achieve certification in line with any schemes using SESIP.
“The volume and complexity of IoT products combined with varying regulations and certification frameworks make it challenging for IoT stakeholders to validate the security of their products in a cost-efficient way,” said Kevin Gillick, GlobalPlatform’s executive director, in a prepared statement. “As part of GlobalPlatform’s work to bring greater trust to the IoT ecosystem, we are pleased to support the implementation of SESIP. The methodology will standardize security certification for the IoT sector and give device makers and solution vendors the ability to demonstrate alignment with market requirements, use cases and regulations in an optimized way.”
“SESIP addresses the compliance, security, privacy and scalability complexities of the IoT ecosystem,” added Gil Bernabeu, GlobalPlatform’s technical director, in the prepared statement, “with an evaluation approach that is mappable to other methodologies, reusable across IoT platforms and adaptable to the evolving needs of the IoT environment. This makes it an ideal foundation to deliver an effective solution for IoT device certification.”
Murata Launches New Website to Foster Tech Innovation
Murata Manufacturing has announced the launch of its Open Innovation website to create collaborative relationships with startup organizations developing solutions in the mobility, energy, healthcare and wireless markets. With a focus on startup companies and universities, the site provides an opportunity to explore go-to-market plans leveraging Murata’s R&D capabilities, manufacturing support capabilities and financial resources. According to the company, the site will include RFID, NFC and IoT offerings, since those are among its target markets.
Murata teams up with customers, universities and strategic partners to enable technology development and accelerate revenue generation. The new website includes case studies that provide examples of the firm’s collaborations, offering an overview of the support that a startup organization can receive through partnering with Murata. Depending on their stage of market readiness, organizations are encouraged to submit inquiries relative to Murata’s R&D resources, channels to market, mass production, financial backing and market access.
“Murata is committed to our role for advancing society as a global innovation leader in numerous applications sectors across various eco systems,” said Mehul Udani, Murata’s senior director of strategic marketing, in a prepared statement. “We are excited about the prospects for the Open Innovation site to provide increasing possibilities for a broad range of innovation by combining startup technology with Murata’s R&D capacity and overall strengths.”
Quuppa Certifies Confidex Tags to Support Its Industrial RTLS Offering
Confidex, a designer and supplier of short-range wireless identification solutions, has announced that its Viking Industrial Bluetooth tags have reached full certification on Quuppa‘s proprietary channel for the CE, FCC, IC and Japan regions, to support the Quuppa Intelligent Locating System. Confidex’s Viking tags are designed to track the locations of assets and individuals, with optional sensors for capturing environmental data. The tags are integrated with passive RFID for the purpose of asset management and tracking, the company reports, and are designed to support integration with Quuppa’s real-time location system (RTLS) technology.
The Quuppa Intelligent Locating System is an engine for various location-based services and applications. It provides real-time positioning data using Bluetooth technology, the firm explains, as well as a direction-finding method and proprietary algorithms. The combination of the Viking tags and Quuppa’s RTLS, according to Confidex, is intended to create a customizable and scalable RTLS solution for industrial environments.
Since 2005, Confidex has partnered with systems integrators and end users of short-range wireless products to enable Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies. The company offers solutions for asset management, traceability and authentication applications involving the tire manufacturing, supply chain and automotive sectors. More than 200 million assets currently utilize Confidex tags and labels, according to the firm. Quuppa, a provider of RTLS solutions, has carried out more than 2,000 integrations worldwide to date. The company is headquartered in Finland, with offices in other countries.
“Confidex is known globally for manufacturing rugged industrial short-range wireless products for various industrial applications,” said Timo Lindström, Confidex’s CEO, in a prepared statement. “With Confidex Viking tags, we combine our experience of both best-in-class RF design and optimized end-to-end volume production with Quuppa’s unique angle-of-arrival (AoA) advanced proprietary algorithms supporting challenging industrial environments.”
”In the past few years, Quuppa has focused on building a large ecosystem of tag partners, and we are excited about strengthening the cooperation with Confidex,” added Fabio Belloni, Quappa’s CCO and co-founder, in the prepared statement. “The certification of Viking tags opens new business opportunities for us in many of our focus markets.”
Comparesoft, Itemit Form Referral Partnership for Asset-Tracking App
Comparesoft, a U.K.-based platform for software comparison, has announced that it has signed a referral partnership program with Cambridge-based asset-tracking software provider Itemit, which offers an asset-tracking software app developed by RedBite Solutions. The company’s solution is intended to help customers determine what assets they have, where they are located, who has them and their condition, Comparesoft reports, and to drive collaboration between busy teams, enabling them to track and update assets.
Comparesoft’s platform utilizes artificial and human intelligence to help businesses choose software suited to their business needs. Software buyers can outline their requirements, receive personalized recommendations and shortlist suppliers, the company says, thereby simplifying the process of finding B2B software. “We are proud to form our partnership with Itemit,” said Josh Barrow, Comparesoft’s digital product manager, in a prepared statement. “It continues our mission of providing a platform for innovative providers, like itemit, to connect with businesses that need their software.”
“We trialled Comparesoft before forming this partnership,” added Charlotte Ellarby, Itemit’s cofounder and RedBite Solutions’ associate director, in the prepared statement. “During the trial, we received good quality leads from the team and were able to convert these leads into customers. The trial period experience allowed us to gauge the strength and uniqueness of Comparesoft leads. We are delighted to form a referral partnership with Comparesoft, supporting the growth of both businesses and helping more businesses to find the right solutions to their problems.”
Prasanna Kulkarni, Comparesoft’s founder and CEO, added in the statement: “Comparesoft’s unique product matchmaking service and business model allows software vendors to acquire more customers, cost effectively. We are pleased to form this referral partnership with itemit, they have a really good product. We will continue to connect them with the right buyers.”
Zigbee Alliance, Digital Illumination Interface Alliance Collaborate on IoT Gateways
The Zigbee Alliance, an organization of companies that create, maintain and deliver open, global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), and the Digital Illumination Interface Alliance (DiiA), the global industry organization for DALI lighting control, have announced that they are working together to provide standardization and system interoperability to the IoT sector.
According to the organizations, this development will help stakeholders realize the benefits of combining wired lighting-control systems with wireless Zigbee networks as the IoT progresses. DiiA and the Zigbee Alliance are collaborating on the development of a gateway specification to support a forthcoming certification program. The combination of low-power Zigbee technologies with DALI’s digital-lighting solution will provide users with intelligent illumination systems, the organizations indicate.
“Our liaison agreement with the Zigbee Alliance is part of DiiA’s commitment to address different options for combining wireless communication links with DALI lighting control,” said Paul Drosihn, DiiA’s general manager, in a prepared statement. “Developing specifications and testing requirements for gateways between Zigbee ecosystems and wired DALI networks will ensure interoperability that’s backed by certification.”
“The intersection of wired and wireless is where industry can work better together during this IoT transition to benefit those invested in both technology camps as well as consumers as they embrace connected devices,” said Tobin Richardson, the Zigbee Alliance’s president and CEO, in the prepared statement. “Pairing DiiA’s wired control solutions with Zigbee wireless standards brings more choice to markets that rely on these technologies for various use cases and as a springboard for future innovation.”