Manufacturing And Warehousing IT News For VARs —December 2, 2014
By Trisha Leon, contributing writer
In the news, U.S. orders for durable goods, business spending, and gauge of manufacturing activity all increase. Also, an article gives examples of the importance of creating security solutions that are easy for employees to use. Also predictions for cybersecurity threats in 2015 include IoT, mobile app, data center vulnerabilities.
Indicators Point Toward Manufacturing Growth
According to Industrial Distribution, U.S. orders for durable goods rose 0.4 percent in October. This small increase follows declines in August and September. The same article states, “A key category viewed as a proxy for business investment spending fell 1.3 percent in October after a similar 1.3 percent September drop. It was the biggest setback since a 1.4 percent May decline.” Economists believe, however, that these declines will be temporary. Businesses increased spending on new equipment by 10.7 in the third quarter, and economists believe they will continue to invest in expansion and modernization. Additionally, “The Institute for Supply Management reported that its closely watched gauge of manufacturing activity posted a solid gain to a reading of 59 in October, up from 56.6 in September.” Readings over 50 signal expansion, indicating that this growth will continue into the coming months.
Imperative Feature Of Security Solutions: They Have To Be Easy To Use
The Computer World article, “How to create seamless mobile security for employees,” explains that security procedures can be disruptive, and frustrated employees will often find a way around them. Author Mary K. Pratt gives examples of how three organizations created a secure, seamless mobile experience along with best practices for creating a seamless mobile security strategy. Nisha Sharma, managing director at Accenture Mobility, part of Accenture Digital, says, “Security solutions need to be unobtrusive and offer the excellent user experience that people are so used to from their mobile devices — they don’t need to know how complex all the integration is at the back end, just so long as they can access what they need in as few taps as possible.” VARs can provide solutions for their clients’ mobile workforce that allow easy yet secure access.
2015 Cybersecurity Threat Predictions Include IoT, Mobile App, Data Center Vulnerabilities
In the ZDNet article, “Top cybersecurity predictions of 2015,” author Charlie Osborne details which security threats will be most prevalent in 2015. Some threats are familiar, like those to personal and medical data, inside threats, and email based phishing campaigns; others, like Internet of Things (IoT) security, threats from mobile applications, and securing data centers, are new. They will require IT security leaders to be adaptable in finding new ways to protect users from the multitude of online security threats.
How Big Data, IoT Are Changing The Landscape
An Accenture and General Electric study published this month reveals how Big Data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) are shaping the landscape of entire industries. An article in Cloud Tech, “How enterprises see big data analytics changing the competitive landscape next year,” reports, “87 percent of enterprises believe Big Data analytics will redefine the competitive landscape of their industries within the next three years,” and, “89 percent believe that companies that do not adopt a Big Data analytics strategy in the next year risk losing market share and momentum.” The growth of the industrial internet — which, according to the article is “the use of sensor, software, machine-to-machine learning and other technologies to gather and analyze data from physical objects or other large data streams” is predicted to be vast. However one key area enterprises have yet to invest heavily in is using Big Data analytics to predict outcomes and optimize processes and strategies. VARs can create solutions which aid their clients to capitalize on data captured in order to stay competitive.
What, Exactly, Is The IoT?
Many are confused by what, exactly, the Internet of Things (IoT) is and why they should care. Dave Blanchard writes for Industry Week, explaining what the IoT is and how it can best be put to use. According to Blanchard, “The IoT is expected to grow at an enormous rate throughout the decade, with analyst firm Gartner predicting as many as 25 billion Internet-connected intelligent devices by 2020, a big jump from the roughly 3.8 billion believed to be in use now.” He cites Michael Burkett, managing vice president at Gartner, who explains how the IoT can make supply chains more efficient and deliver more targeted products to consumers, giving manufactures good reason to invest in the IoT sooner than later.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Manufacturing And Warehousing Tech Center.