Intel has found one more partner to work with on the Internet of Things (IoT), and that is Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The PC maker has announced it will work on products for computing at the edges of networks.
HPE product to save network connectivity and storage
Intel’s Silicon Valley rivals use mobile-friendly ARM architecture, while Intel has come up with the Intel IoT Platform, which supports building and running networks of connected things, with the intent of taking on the competition. It is inclusive of the software and security components that do not need Intel chips to work.
The products that HPE will manufacture will act as gateways to collect, process and analyze data from a vast variety of connected sensors and devices. Intel’s Core i5 processors and Atom families will be used in those systems. The first of its purpose-built IoT systems will become available as early as December.
It is believed that so-called edge computing will play a growing role in IoT because there are many devices in the field that send too much information to a data center. In another approach, a number of small computing systems lay close to the source of the stream, and they will reduce the data down to only the most important. This will help in saving network connectivity and storage.
Intel, HPE vs. Cisco
HPE will have to face competition from Cisco that has come up with an architecture – Fog Computing – with the intent of making a big push into the sector. It is still an open question how the vast array of devices, gateways and software platforms will work together in the Internet of things. HPE says that all its products will be standard-based, and that many systems today have the ability of ensuring interoperability because of their level of maturity.
The two companies have set up labs together, where they can experiment with IoT applications and devices, according to the announcement they made on Tuesday. Three IoT Discovery Labs have been set-up (Houston, Singapore and Grenoble, France). New technologies from Intel, HP and third parties can be tested by users at the labs.
Late last year, when Intel announced the IoT platform, it said that it will receive help from partners that include Accenture, SAP, Dell, Japan’s NTT Data and other companies in the building and deployment of industrial IoT systems.
