ChannelVision Magazine

EMERGENT The third-largest Pizza Hut fran- chisee in the country, the American West Restaurant Group (AWRG), is on track to achieve a significant slice of energy savings thanks to an IoT- based approach to energy manage- ment. EcoEnergy Insights developed a customized program for hundreds of AWRG’s restaurants in Califor- nia and Utah that integrates buildings across state lines. Using the intelligent CORTIX AI and IoT platform, EcoEnergy Insights deployed an energy site control strategy at each restaurant utilizing data-driven decision-making. The restaurants were also connected to EcoEnergy Insights’ Command Cen- ter, which allowed continuous bench- marking and raised the network-wide efficiency bar. AWRG is now on track to save an estimated $2 mil- lion during the next five years across 250 Pizza Hut restaurants – which amounts to about 15,000 metric tons of CO2 saved in the process. “We were convinced that the answer was in advanced analytics, not in ret- rofitting, as in, modifications to existing restaurants that may improve energy efficiency or decrease energy demand,” said Jerry Ardizzone, president, AWRG. “Our search for a technologically sound solution that would provide full restau- rant visibility and take into account the dynamics of our operations led us to EcoEnergy Insights.” Channeling Enterprise Smart Video Security Enterprise video security startup Rhombus Systems has introduced an AI-powered security camera with the abil- ity to alert users to an unidentified person, making threat detection faster than ever before. The Rhombus R1 next- generation security camera has the ability to learn, and Rhombus intends to market the system through traditional IT and MSP channels, said the company. “This channel has rarely sold video security and other physical security systems in the past, but we’re aiming to make these systems feel more like tra- ditional IT systems since IT usually gets stuck managing them,” explained Garrett Larsson, Rhombus founder and CEO. According to Larsson, the R1 can ex- amine its environment, people, objects and motion to improve its overall performance, and users have the power to trust or flag certain faces, giving it the ability to preemp- tively detect potential threats. If the cameras identify an individual or object that is pro- hibited from a school campus or business, for instance, the system can provide their location and alert the appropriate personnel with real-time notifications, all without hav- ing to monitor a video feed. The system also can count and record the number of unique people, measure foot traffic and pull quan- titative data to help businesses understand how their space is being utilized. A major advancement to outdated CCTV systems that can be bulky and dif- ficult to replace, the Rhombus R1 camer- as can be setup, taken down and moved in a matter of minutes, said the company, and is entirely cloud managed. End-to- end encryption and automatic firmware updates come standard. Seamless IT in- tegrations, such as single sign-on (SSO), Office 365 and Slack, are included to make managing the system easier. The Rhombus Systems is now on sale for $250 per camera and software subscrip- tions start at $6 per month per camera. o Pizza Hut Expects Millions in Savings via IoT Enterprise IoT Adoption Update Nearly half of enterprises responding to a recent 451 Research survey said they currently use IoT in production environments. Another quarter are still in the discovery phase and another one in five will implement IoT during the next two years. Less than one in 10 are considering IoT but have no plans to implement. 42% 34% 63% 22% 62% 20% 72% 17% Percentage of IT Assets On-Premises Today Source: 451 Research On-line only etailer Security dealer Broadband service provider Direct from manufacturer Other 250-999 employees 1-249 employees 1,000-9,999 employees 10,000+ employees Company-owned or leased data centers Off-premises hosted/managed environments Channel Purchase Locations - N Source: Parks Associates Companies Are Moving to a Hybrid Cloud Envir ment Source: 451 Research Q. Which of the followig best describ s your organization’s verall approach and strategy around cloud based IT? We are moving to a hybrid cloud environment that leverages both on-premises and off-premises cloud resources in an integrated fashion We are building on on-premises cloud and leveraging off-premises public cloud/SaaS, but the two will be separate Cloud does not feature in our IT strategy We are moving to off-premises public cloud and SaaS environment only We are building an on-premises cloud environment only 44.4% 17.3% 16.0% 12.0% 10.3% Enterprise loT Adoption Source: 451 Research Q. Which of the following best describes your organization’s adoption of Internet of Things (loT)? In use (not including pilot projects) In discovery/proof of concept Plan to implement in next 12 Months Plan to implement in next 24 months Considering, but no current plan to implement 46% 25% 15% 5% 9% U.S. broadband households that own a net True Private Cloud Spending Source: Wikibon 2018 2019 11.6 13.9 20.4 37.5 32.0 51.3 0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0 300.0 Revenue $B Hosted Tr Hosted True Private Cloud True Private Cloud On-Premises All TPC Channel Vision | September - October, 2018 12