Category Archives: Automation

As an industry, we are continuing to learn from our collective experience with COVID-19, which raised awareness of everything from the hidden vulnerabilities of the supply chain to the importance of having the right mix of forklifts for your operations.

For many, the pandemic has also increased interest in automated material handling equipment as a way to reduce labor costs, increase throughput, enhance facility flexibility and generate operational savings.

The number of supply chain professionals who question whether automation technology has yet to become a viable option is shrinking. Numerous successful projects and applications across the industry have shown that there can be benefits to incorporating certain types of automation into warehouses and distribution centers.

The question is no longer should we implement automation technology? but rather where or how should we start?

Supply chain managers are often presented with case studies showing new, fully automated facilities that can make it feel like the technology is still somewhat out of reach for those with manual operations. Building a new, completely automated facility may not be possible in the short term. The significant upfront investment and infrastructure requirements of a fully automated approach typically involve long-term strategic planning and preparation.

So, if youre one of the supply chain managers trying to determine which automation strategy and technologies are right for your operation, what should you do? You can start by ensuring you have the right mix of automated and manual processes that can help position your operation for consistent performance enhanced by productivity gains. The mix will depend on your priorities, operations and business objectives.

The data gathered from a telematics system, such as a forklift fleet and operator management system, can help you identify those tasks and equipment that are ideal candidates for automation. Prioritize those opportunities based on metrics that make sense for your business and develop a clear path for tangible ROI. Having the right data enables you to quickly and strategically grow and evolve your automation efforts, adding diversity and flexibility to your forklift fleet.

A flexible automation solution gaining a lot of attention is dual mode technology that enables both automated and manual operation.

Dual mode technology enables warehouses to take an incremental approach to deploying automation solutions with minimal or no supporting systems or infrastructure. It can be an ideal approach for companies that may not have a warehouse management system (WMS), but would still like to realize benefits from automation technology. Some operations that utilize a WMS that may have avoided automation because they experience a small percentage of process exceptions can leverage dual mode vehicles to implement automation while retaining manual operation to help manage these exceptions.

Forklifts with dual mode automation technology are capable of switching between manual and automated operations, depending on the needs of the facility. The technology is based on automated equipment that can be operated manually; it is not a piece of manual equipment that has been engineered to operate autonomously. The equipments automation features are fully integrated into the vehicle as they typically are in a fully autonomous vehicle. The difference is that the dual mode technology allows the equipment to be used as any other manual equipment would be used when the application calls for it.

For instance, consider a tow tractor used to pull carts on a prescribed mission from point A to point B in a facility, with material being loaded and unloaded at each point. Using a tow tractor with dual mode technology, the travel between the two fixed points can become automated, freeing up an employee to focus on other tasks. If the dual mode tow tractor encounters an obstacle in its set path, such as a pallet in an aisle, it will come to a complete stop and an alert will appear on the telematics systems mobile dashboard, which can also be used to locate the tow tractor.

A typical trained forklift operator can then be dispatched to the tow tractor to switch the vehicle into manual mode and navigate it around the obstacle. Once it is back on its set path, the operator can return it to automated mode so it can continue to its destination, maintaining the flow of the system and uptime.

A dual mode system doesnt require the specialized staff that may be required to move or manage a fully automated solution. For one thing, the familiar controls used for manual operation means a shorter learning curve for traditional forklift operators to interact with it and switch between automated and manual modes. One employee can often manage multiple dual mode vehicles, stepping in only when manual operation is needed.

This is just one example of a process that could be streamlined with dual mode automation, and the possibilities will only increase as dual mode technology continues to evolve. By enabling a scalable approach, dual mode automation technology offers the flexibility companies need to develop their automated processes at their own pace. It can mitigate some of the risks associated with integrating automated solutions into your operations.

As you explore options for dual mode technology, an experienced material handling partner can help determine how best to integrate the technology into your processes in a way that enables the benefits of the technology to be fully realized and ROI to be generated with each deployment.

Jim Gaskell is director, global automation & emerging technologies with Crown Equipment, a manufacturer of forklifts and material handling products.

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Productive Pairings: How Automation and Manual Operations Can Work Together - Material Handling & Logistics

Robots are stealing our jobs, youll hear people say. This blanket statement fails to capture the nuances of robotics and automation. If you take a shower after work, youre probably going to be just fine. The two industries with the least amount of digitization right now are construction and agriculture. Ironically, both industries cant find competent labor unless they import it from south of the border.

If you take a shower before work, you may be in for a world of hurt. Ideally, youre the person in the office who automates themselves out of a job so you can climb to the next rung. Robotics process automation (RPA) is what white-collar workers should embrace, not fear. Its what will allow them to move on to more value-added activities. That or youll just get canned, but in either case, you can probably hedge any future misfortune by investing in RPA stocks. The first thing we need to do is come up with a list of all publicly traded robotic process automation stocks.

In order to come up with a universe of RPA companies we should be watching, we can turn to those people whose entire job is to figure out which leaders are emerging. Here are the names to watch according to the MBAs over at Forrester:

And here are the leaders and challengers according to some other MBAs over at Gartner:

While these quadrants change over time, they do give us all the names we should be watching in the RPA space today.

We previously looked at 7 Startups Using AI for Robotic Process Automation and one of those was UiPath which is now publicly traded. The only other name to make an appearance today is Kryon. Here are the private RPA companies we should be watching (according to Gartner and Forrester) along with total funding if relevant:

Automation Anywhere is the only unicorn on the list with a current valuation of $6.8 billion according to CB Insights unicorn farm. Along with WorkFusion, these two companies seem most likely to pursue an IPO, hopefully not by using a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Until then, theres not much to talk about, so lets move on to the RPA stocks in the list.

Heres a list of publicly traded companies we plucked from both lists the leaders, the challengers, and the strong performers (were leaving out Microsoft because RPA is a small part of what they do and SAP for much the same reason.)

Lets take a closer look at each of these five RPA stocks.

In last years article on The Best Robotic Process Automation Stock, we noted only two publicly traded RPA companies at the time Blue Prism and Pegasystems. Lets start with the latter.

We first wrote about Pega three years ago in a piece titled Pega Using AI for CRM and Process Automation. At the time, we couldnt really understand what the company does, and we still dont today. Their website adds to the confusion as they ramble on about crushing business complexity. Perhaps the clearest picture of what they do can be found in their latest earnings deck:

It then proceeds to talk about microjourney-centric delivery and situational layer cake, both of which mean nothing to the average investor trying to understand whats under the hood. There is no breakdown of revenues by segment except for their current focus on moving to recurring revenue from the cloud the highly desired software-as-aservice (SaaS) business model which the market places a premium on.

The last time we looked at Pega, revenue growth appeared to be stalling. Thats not the case anymore, and they seem to have weathered the pandemic quite well.

Since we first looked at Pega three years ago, the stock has returned +95% compared to a Nasdaq return of +89% over the same time frame. It hasnt been hyped, which is great if youre looking to open a position. Heres how Pega is valued compared to the other four RPA stocks were going to talk about next:

The only RPA stock we own right now is Blue Prism, a tech stock thats traded in the U.K. and consequently doesnt get the love it deserves. American investors value subscription software companies more highly, Blue Prisms CEO told The Sunday Times, and his company is said to be exploring a listing in America. When the company announced their 2020 annual results, shares plummeted for reasons nobody can discern. Revenues seem to be plateauing in 2020, but everyone gets a pass last year because of The Rona.

U.K.-traded tech stocks get a bad rap, but if youre a buyer, that shouldnt dissuade you from opening a position. Would you rather wait until they trade in the U.S. and shares are more appropriately valued? One company thats probably too appropriately valued is recent market entrant UiPath.

We featured UiPath last August in a piece titled UiPath From RPA to Hyperautomation, and then again when they had their IPO several months ago in a piece titled UiPath is the Latest Robotic Process Automation Stock. We dont have much to add to those research pieces, only to say that we believe UiPath shares are too richly valued right now. More on this in a bit.

The next stock on the list is an Israeli firm thats been flying under our radar. NICE shares have been listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since 1991, and NICE ADRs have been listed in the U.S. on NASDAQ since 1996. The majority of the companys revenues (81% in 2020) come from Customer Engagement or whats now referred to as Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). And apparently, theyre the leader to watch in this space:

The idea behind CCaaS is that companies can conduct call center operations using cloud software which allows them to utilize the latest and greatest technology on a pay-as-you-go plan which can be scaled based on changing demand.

Says Forrester, the NICE Process Automation Platform focuses on voice- and text-analytics-related use cases, a solution dedicated but not limited to contact center automation. Since over 80% of NICEs revenues come from CCaaS, we would need to better understand that space prior to investing in the stock.

Last and also the least desirable of the RPA stocks weve looked at is Datamatics, a company thats pretty much blacklisted from the start. Thats because their miniscule market cap of just $118 million places them way below our minimum market cap cutoff of a billion dollars. Yes, we do profile smaller companies, but theres another red flag here. Datamatics only trades on Indian stock exchanges of which we dont dabble in. Were risk-averse investors, and consequently, we avoid getting involved with emerging market stock exchanges.

We cant tell you what the best RPA stocks to invest in are because every investor has a different risk profile, a different existing portfolio, and a different way theyll want to approach the problem. If your mandate is to invest in all RPA stocks, well theres your five. If its to invest in one RPA stock, thats a much more difficult decision.

All we can tell you is what weve invested in thus far. Back when we first wrote about RPA, there were two pure-play RPA stocks Blue Prism and Pega. Were passing on Pega today for the same reason we did back then. We dont understand their business very well because they cant properly articulate it. This is similar to Alteryx and their analytics process automation offering. Since were presently long Alteryx, were trying to avoid any other stocks out there we might not fully understand.

Of these five stocks, Blue Prism is the only one were holding, a position that happens to be the smallest in our entire tech stock portfolio. It also happens to be the one with the lowest cost basis. Were presently (checks notes) down more than -30% on the position. Now is the time to double down or leave the table. (Nanalyze Premium annual subscribers will be the first to know what we decide to do here.) The advantages of holding Blue Prism are the diversification effects were getting country, currency, and some protection against the ARK effect.

UiPath is just too richly valued with a valuation ratio of 68. Whats a fair valuation? Thats a good question, and something our research team has been looking into. Based on some back-of-the-napkin calculations weve been doing thus far, 40 could be the upper limit of what wed be willing to pay for a company we really wanted to hold. (Thats an example, because we havent finalized this yet.) At a valuation ratio of 40, UiPath shares would be trading around the $47 range compared to the $79 a share theyre trading at today.

That leaves us with NICE and Datamatics, the latter which we wont touch because theyre too small and they trade on an emerging market stock exchange. As for NICE, weve added this as a to-do for our research team to take a closer look at.

Going forward, well look to keep this article updated based on new entrants, M&A activities, and the like. If something has changed and we havent caught on yet, drop us a note in the comments section below and one of our overworked MBAs will assure you were all over it.

RPA is just one segment of the fast-growing enterprise AI space. Nowadays investors need to take a more holistic look at how AI is being used to create value for large enterprises outside of just automating away white-collar jobs. The biggest selling point for RPA is that it cuts costs dramatically, something that becomes even more in vogue when theres an economic downturn.

UiPath estimates that for every dollar a customer spends on their solution, they can return $15 or more in the first year. Thats an ROI just about any company can get behind, regardless of what the economy is doing.

Tech investing is extremely risky. Minimize your risk withour stock research, investment tools, and portfolios, andfind out which tech stocks you should avoid. Become a Nanalyze Premium member and find out today!

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The 'Best' Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Stocks - Nanalyze

SAN FRANCISCO, June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ElectroNeek, a leading robotic process automation (RPA) platform for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT teams, has announced that it raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Baring Vostok with participation of AICPA and existing investors - YellowRockets.vc, Dragon Capital, I2BF, Angelsdeck, Gokul Rajaram and others. Following the new funding influx, ElectroNeek's valuation now exceeds $100 million.

ElectroNeek offers a comprehensive suite of software solutions to help companies of all sizes automate repetitive tasks, which simplifies IT processes and reduces costs. ElectroNeek has democratized complex RPA technology making it accessible and affordable to all businesses. It has done so by using a unique approach to deployment and scalability of RPA workflows.

MSPs use ElectroNeek to build and deploy RPA bots for their customers while retaining full control over the pricing of their RPA projects for end users. They can also take care of bot development and administration and offer RPA-as-a-Service subscriptions which can provide a source of recurring revenue for them.

Enterprises use ElectroNeek to replace legacy RPA vendors, save on costly bot licenses and automate a myriad of routine business processes so that they can focus on more high-priority IT tasks.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has forever reshaped companies' priorities. Optimizing costs and reducing unnecessary mundane work to shift focus onto key issues has become top of mind for business leaders. This is exactly what ElectroNeek has been created to help with.

Partnering with Baring Vostok and the continuous support of our existing investors will enable us to bring more MSPs and companies of all sizes to the ElectroNeek hyperautomation ecosystem. This will put us at the forefront of accelerating adoption of RPA technology, allow us to create meaningful change and provide real help to companies of all sizes," said Sergey Yudovskiy, ElectroNeek's CEO and co-founder.

ElectroNeek now has 250 customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies and global consulting firms to smaller size MSPs in more than 40 countries. It has established technology and go-to-market partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle and Nvidia.

"ElectroNeek is a great example of a company using a unique product and distribution strategy in an already established market. Its founders are set on democratizing access to RPA technology which has already proven its bulletproof value in more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies.

ElectroNeek significantly lowers entry barriers for the whole market and supports new RPA developers by building an easy-to-use low-code platform, which is a mission we were drawn to from the start.

As a fund with a long history of betting on underdogs turned industry trailblazers, we hope that with this new funding ElectroNeek will now be one step closer to fulfilling its vision of bringing much needed innovation into the RPA industry," said Maxim Loginov, Partner at Baring Vostok.

ElectroNeek plans to use the proceeds of the funding round to significantly expand its engineering, product and support teams in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and India.

About ElectroNeekElectroNeek is a leading robotic process automation platform for managed service providers and IT teams. Founded in 2019 by RPA industry veterans, ElectroNeek became the fastest-growing RPA platform in 2021. It now has 250 customers ranging from Fortune 500 companies and global consulting firms to smaller size MSPs in more than 40 countries. ElectroNeek has been named Market LeaderinG2'sMarketMomentumReport for two consecutive quarters alongside UiPath and Automation Anywhere. ElectroNeek is an alumnus of Y Combinator, Plug and Play, a preferred partner of Sage, and has established technology and go-to-market partnerships with Microsoft, Oracle and Nvidia.

About Baring VostokEstablished in 1994, Baring Vostok is the most successful and well-known investment advisory firm focusing on investing in companies with founders who have roots in emerging countries. It invests in companies across geographies that span Europe, North America and Asia. Today Baring Vostok has invested more than $3.7 billion in 87 trailblazing companies across these regions. They include leading multi-category e-commerceplatform OZON, fintech company Kaspi, food retailer VkusVill, off-price retailer Familia, pharmaceutical company Solopharm, edtech company Skyeng, global communications company Viasat and many others.

Contacts:Alex Astafyev (co-founder, CIO) - Eastern EuropeEmail: [emailprotected]

SOURCE ElectroNeek Robotics, Inc.

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Robotic Process Automation Platform ElectroNeek Raises $20 Million in Series A Funding Round to Democratize Access to RPA Technology - PRNewswire

DUBAI, U.A.E, June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global subsea multiphase flowmeter marketis forecast to expand at 8.5 % CAGR for the forecast period of 2021-2031, finds Future Market Insights (FMI) in a new study. Exquisite functionality of subsea multiphase flowmeterin maintaining the inflow and outflow of oil and gas drives the market growth. Introduction of subsea multiphase flowmeter in production management and monitory along with usage in deep reservoir will aggravate the market demand, evaluated by ESOMAR-certified consulting firm Future Market Insights (FMI) in this study.

According to the study, Establishment of sales and servicing centers in developing economies and forming alliance with regional distributing channels is proving a profitable strategy for long term market expansion. COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the world economy directly affecting the subsea multiphase flowmeter market, but is expected to recover with resuming of trading and economic activities post lockdown.

"Market players are concentrating on delivering premium performance products to satisfy end users and are proposing competitive price structure to expand their global foothold and strengthen their sales channels," remarks the FMI analyst.

Request a report sample with 233 pages to gain comprehensive insights at https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-11893

Key Takeaways

Prominent Drivers

Key Restraints

Discover more about the subsea multiphase flowmeter marketwith figures and data tables, along with the table of contents. You will also find detailed market segmentation on https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/11893

Competitive Landscape

Leading players profiled by FMI operating in subsea multiphase flowmetermarket include Weatherford, AMETEK Inc., ABB Ltd, Emerson, Peitro Fiorentini S.p.a., Tokico System Solutions Ltd, Baker Hughes, Schlumberger Limited, TechnipFMC plc, KROHNE Japan KK, Haimo Technologies Group Corp among others.

According to FMI, leading players are heavily investing in product innovation and modern technological advancement. Strategic collaborations and partnership can also been seen among market players to enhance their production capacities and pool their technical prowess to gain edge in this competitive landscape.

For instance, stimulation, well testing and production optimization contract was awarded to Baker Hugh by Saudi Aramco in 2018.

Emerson developed new embedded software for digitalization of oil and gas multiphase flow measurement along with automation features to fuel the adoption of Roxar 2600 Multiphase Flow Meter (MPFM) and promote boost process automation in the oil and gas industry.

For any Queries Linked with the Report, Ask an [emailprotected]https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-11893

More Insights on FMI's Subsea Multiphase Flowmeter Market

The latest market study on global subsea multiphase flowmetermarket by future market insights gives a detailed segmentation for the forecast period of 2021-2031. in order to gain a better perspective of the global market potential, its growth, trends, and opportunities, the market is segmented on the basis of pipe size (2"subsea multiphase flowmeter, 3" subsea multiphase flowmeter, 4" subsea multiphase flowmeter, 6" subsea multiphase flowmeter, 8" subsea multiphase flowmeter,10" subsea multiphase flowmeter), application (subsea well testing, production monitoring, production measurement), construction material (stainless steel subsea multiphase flowmeter, duplex steel subsea multiphase flowmeter, corrosion resistant alloys subsea multiphase flowmeter, titanium subsea multiphase flowmeter, etc), and across major regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, South Asia and Pacific).

Explore FMI's Extensive Coverage on Oil and Gas Domain

Subsea manifolds market:The global subsea manifolds market report by FMI gives an in-depth insight on the future expansion prospects, trends and challenges that market is likely to face in the upcoming decade. Key statistics regarding key segments have been presented across prominent geographies, along with a detailed assessment of the market's competitive landscape.

Oil and gas seals market:Future Market Insights gives a detailed segmentation on the global oil and gas seals market with upcoming market trends, challenges and future growth dynamics across key geographies and prominent segments. The report provides a holistic approach, mapping the competitive landscape with detailed analysis on established players, new entrants, and opportunities likely to prevail across the 2021-2031 decade.

Global gas leak detector market:The global gas leak detectormarket study published by FMI offers a comprehensive analysis and focused views on major trends expected to provide shape to future growth prospects. The report provides detailed analysis of the significant drivers, trends, challenges and opportunities prevailing for the forthcoming decade across key geographies along with competitive landscape of the upcoming decade.

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai, and has delivery centers in the UK, U.S. and India. FMI's latestmarket research reportsand industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized andsyndicated market research reportsdeliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

Contact:

Abhishek Budholiya Future Market Insights, 1602-6 Jumeirah Bay X2 Tower, Plot No: JLT-PH2-X2A, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates For Sales Enquiries:[emailprotected] For Media Enquiries:[emailprotected] Website:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ Report:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/subsea-multiphase-flowmeter-market Press Release Source:https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/press-release/subsea-multiphase-flowmeter-market

SOURCE Future Market Insights

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Digitalized Subsea Multiphase Flowmeter Gaining Traction from Oil and Gas Industry; Automation Features Elevates Market Growth: Future Market Insights...

2020 saw major strides for Open RAN as more operators started to trial and deploy the technology across the globe and more radio, server, and software vendors joined the ecosystem. With wider adoption, it also became apparent that disaggregation of previously tightly coupled radio, hardware, and software presented both some initial integration challenges as well as some ongoing challenges regarding how the disaggregated components would be managed and upgraded.

The good news is that Open RAN follows the enterprise disaggregation path as seen with data centers. Once hardware and software were disaggregated in the enterprise sector in the 2000s, two similar challenges needed to be addressed:

1. How to integrate software and hardware from different vendors.

2. How to automate the upgrades to that software.

This is where cloudification, ZTP (Zero Touch Provisioning), AI (Artificial Intelligence), and ML (Machine Learning) coupled with Analytics come in to enable automation in Open RAN, and these elements are becoming more and more important to mobile operators.

Cloudification with microservices and containers brings operational agility, enables automation and elasticity. To manage secure network operation, ML provides intelligence and response to take different action on the network - for example, scaling. This delivers operational efficiency, 24x7 operational assistance and a means to harness Open RANs flexibility. Analytics is a means to understand network goals.

Lets dive into how automation will help Open RAN to deliver on its promise.

Cloudification with microservices and containers

Cloudification via cloud-native functions (containers and microservices) is the foundation of Open RAN and will help with effective automation in Phase 2 of Open RAN.

Different RAN function components can be implemented as separate microservices, not as one monolithic virtual machine (VM). Because of that, they can be scaled up in any way required to optimize the RAN functions performance.

Developers can make changes to one or a few of microservices without having to update and impact the entire RAN application. A microservices architecture allows mobile operators to continuously innovate by embracing an agile DevOps model. A mobile operator can push out any RAN upgrades to as many sites as needed, as testing a microservice involves very few test cases.

Microservices are packaged in containers, allowing developers to change only a specific microservice as needed. Changes will be limited to a microservice in a single container. Each microservice can be deployed, upgraded, scaled, and restarted independently of other microservices in the RAN application, using an automated system, enabling frequent updates to live applications without impacting SLAs.

Source: Parallel Wireless

Key takeaway: cloudification doesnt mean running RAN services from the cloud. It means virtualizing RAN services (microservices) in containers to ensure quick actions can be taken at the edge of where RAN equipment currently sits. The APIs will be responsible for connecting cloud-native applications and underlying hardware and relevant software infrastructure.

Automation

Automation is enabled by four capabilities across all the stages of network deployment, from initial site bring-up to optimization stages as we show below: ZTP, CI/CD, and AI/ML and Analytics. Automation is a key enabler for cloud native. Any updates are deployed automatically without disrupting the network or end user experience. Automation is used for scaling, testing, and allocating software and underlying hardware resources.

Source: Parallel Wireless

ZTP stands for zero touch provisioning, meaning a mobile operator does not have to perform any manual tasks to configure the cell sites. Sites are configured quickly and automatically.

Once sites are configured, Continuous Integration and Continuous Development (CI/CD) steps in to automate any updates and reduce any manual labor involved on site or in the data center. By reducing or eliminating the need to send engineers to sites, the ongoing maintenance costs will be reduced for mobile operators.

Key takeaway: ZTP will be critical for dense 5G deployments when hundreds of sites will need to be configured.

CI/CD frameworks have been used in IT and enterprise spaces for years. There are two important factors to keep in mind as CI/CD is adopted for Phase 2 of Open RAN. The first factor is the disaggregation itself, as hardware and software components are coming from different vendors. The second consideration is around physical components (servers, radios) in the RAN.

CI/CD framework. Source: GitLab

All these components power different functions across the network. When applying CI/CD models to RAN upgrades, they need to holistically feed into the overall CI/DC strategy across all network segments - RAN, transport, core. So, in addition to creating a cohesive RAN CI/CD strategy, a mobile operator needs to create an overall network CI/CD strategy.

DevOps requires a mindset shift, as traditionally separated departments within an organization now need to work very closely together. They will need to implement a set of new automation to be used across the group for monitoring and testing the application and keeping it secure.

Key takeaway: DevOps and CI/CD enable fast changes to software to deliver on business needs and end user needs. The updates delivered to sites can be monitored to evaluate how they impact end users, and whether they are achieving the pre-determined business goals.

Source: Ericsson

The integration, software upgrades, and lifecycle management of these disaggregated software components running on COTS hardware is enabling a new testing model - where software from the different groups within an organization is not tested in silos, but rather under an overall CI/CD umbrella. As a result, CI/CD will significantly reduce development time from hours to minutes of effort, eliminating the majority of manual tasks.

This approach will help with creating CI/CD blueprints for future deployments with:

Key takeaway: The CI/CD fast delivery cycle makes it easier for developers to work as the business requires. Kubernetes makes finding faulty code easier, meaning it can be reverted or fixed much faster without impacting the business. If there is an issue with infrastructure, automation will enable moving the application to another data center, edge or centralized, depending on the application. Rollbacks for application or container failing are automated, so the latest stable version is always available minimizing downtime and any impact on the end user.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)

In a recent Omdia survey, 80% of mobile operator responders stated that they plan to use AI to automate network operations as soon as 2021. AI coupled with ML will be the main tools to guarantee the quality of network performance and the quality of the resulting end user experience across ALL Gs.

AI will be responsible for analyzing data and using ML algorithms to adjust network conditions in regard to proper load balancing, ICIC, and managing handoffs seamlessly - all to ensure the subscriber gets the best experience possible.

All the data sources, as in Big Data, will need to be considered to first classify the data, then secondly recognize the pattern or abnormality, then thirdly predict the behavior. As time progresses, ML algorithms will evolve and become better at predicting and helping AI to make real-time network decisions. This will be critical for 5G when humans and things will be connected.

But any AI can be only as good as the data that goes into it. The data will need to cover different use cases that need to be supported and include data from different vendors across not only all components of the RAN, but the overall network. This is where openness will play a critical role and where the ecosystem must be created.

AI models fall into two categories: supervised and unsupervised learning. Being real-time cellular network prefers models that are unsupervised learners to eliminate the model and training challenge on a continuous basis.

A near real-time RIC should include artificial intelligence (AI) as an xAPP responsible for predicting, preventing, and mitigating situations (i.e. handover) that affect customer experience. The reason AI needs to be in the near-real-time RIC is that AI will drive time-sensitive decisions for network performance. All xAPPs should use the unsupervised learning modes.

AI/ML algorithms will be responsible for:

As a result, this will enable proactive action and the ability to predict the future with certain accuracy. Based on predictions, a preventative action can be taken to avoid a similar situation in the future.

This network and subscriber data will be filled into Analytics to produce hourly and daily reports on behavioral and network patterns.

Key takeaway: AI software will use algorithms created by ML running as an rAPP in the non-real time RIC. Any algorithms and training can be built in non-real time. The reinforcement of those decisions needs to happen in real-time by AI. An ML rAPP from the Non-real-time RIC will help the AI xAPP in the Real-time RIC to recognize traffic patterns and abnormalities and adjust network health to provision the appropriate RAN resources for the optimal subscriber experience.

Analytics

Analytics is a tool to see and understand whats going on in the network and how those changes affect subscriber experience. Analytics will provide a visual representation of patterns or abnormalities and will help a mobile operator to understand what needs to be corrected to improve network performance for a better subscriber experience. Its an opportunity to review the AI data and see reports on how ML is improving the network.

Key takeaway: Analytics will be deployed as rAPPs as part of the Non-real time RIC and will utilize Big Data to provide an overall view of the network conditions. There will be a need for better openness and better APIs between vendors that enable that data mining.

Summary

Clear automation strategy and defined processes across CI/CD, ZTP, AI/ML, and Analytics will help mobile operators to move into a fully automated RAN world, which is key when RAN components come from different vendors as with Open RAN.

The scope of work is the same as with legacy RAN; what is different is the number of vendors that will be a part of the Open RAN ecosystem. Automation of configuration with ZTP and automation of ongoing maintenance with CI/CD, AI/ ML will help mobile operators to realize the promise of Open RAN to avoid vendor lock-in while Increasing efficiency, providing better resource utilization, and driving down overall TCO.

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Why Automation Has a Key Role in Open RAN Featured - The Fast Mode

New York, May 31, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "The U.S. Market for Home Automation and Security Technologies" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p02720120/?utm_source=GNW

- Energy management controls.- Entertainment controls.- Security controls.- Integrated (i.e., multifunction) controls.

The study addresses the major enabling technologies for the various types of home automation products, such as - - Controllers.- User interface devices.- Sensors.- Actuators and output devices (e.g., dimmers, automated window coverings, dampers).- Wiring and networking devices.

The study format includes the following major elements - - Executive summary.- Definitions.- Home automation functions.- Enabling technologies.- Market environment (e.g., economic conditions, consumer attitudes).- Current (2020) and projected markets for home automation technologies and products through 2026.- Developers and suppliers of home automation products.- Key patents.- The report focuses on the U.S. market.

Report Includes- 24 tables- An overview of the U.S. market for home automation and security technologies- Estimation of the market size and analyses of market trends, with data from 2020, estimates for 2021, 2023 and projection of CAGR through 2026- Evaluation of market size and forecast, and detailed analysis of drivers, challenges, and opportunities affecting market growth- Explanation of home automation functions and enabling technologies for home automation, and description of controllers along with comparison between hardware-based controllers and software-based controllers- Description of small stand-alone devices and complex smart home networks, and discussion on their ability to tie numerous electric devices located around the house to a programmable computer brain- Details about devices and technologies of automated energy management systems and information on wireless technologies such as ZigBee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi and INSTEON- Market share analysis of the key companies of the industry and comprehensive company profiles of major players including Powerline Control Systems Inc., Echelon Corp., General Electric Co., Microsoft Corp., and Honeywell International Inc.

SummaryThe broadest definition of home automation includes any device that provides remote or automatic control of electric or other energy-consuming devices around the home. Thus, home automation devices range from small stand-alone devices that control a single unit to complex smart home networks that link several electric devices in the home to a central, programmable computer brain.

Most U.S. consumers implement home automation solutions for their ease of use, affordability, features offered, security and energy management. Millennials perhaps represent the most tech-savvy of consumers. These consumers are willing to pay for innovation that supports their need for convenience and staying connected. Also, millennials as home buyers seek flexibility in home ownership, another key factor that is driving the market for U.S. home automation and security technologies.

Consumers of home automation solutions seek the following - - Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to protect against fire and carbon monoxide.- Flood sensors to protect against potential water damage.- Door sensors and glass-break break sensors to notify homeowners of attempted forced entry.- Indoor and outdoor security cameras to monitor homes, view video footage, and be notified of suspicious activity.- 24/7 monitoring to assist in an emergency or crisis, keeping the home and the people safe and protected.

According to NAHBs 2021, buyers continue to value home technology that makes them feel safer and more comfortable in their homes. Most users prefer programmable thermostats, rating this feature as "essential" or "desirable." Other popular features included security cameras, video doorbells, wireless home security systems, and multi-zone HVAC systems, among others.

Companies such as Google and Comcast are moving more aggressively to capture a share of the home automation market. The home automation market in U.S. is very competitive, the players are constantly and aggressively developing solutions to suit the user needs. The players are adopting various strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, product development and launch, among others to sustain and grow in the market. For example, in January 2020, Vivint Smart Home, Inc. and Mosaic Acquisition Corp. entered a merger that resulted in Vivint becoming a publicly traded company.

The top priority for the businesses is to safeguard consumer and workers health.Partial or full plant closures could continue for manufacturers in regions that have been hard-hit for extended periods.

COVID-19 has impacted nearly all regions, but especially in the U.S., which has experienced a sharp increase in diagnosed cases. COVID-19 has critically impacted nearly all global industries, which includes the market for U.S. Home Automation and Security Technologies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially impacted the residential real estate market in the U.S. Despite the economys recovery, increased unemployment and economic uncertainty may continue to affect the housing market through 2020 and beyond. The pandemics impact on the U.S. housing market significantly affected the market of home automation and security technologies in 2020.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p02720120/?utm_source=GNW

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The US Market for Home Automation and Security - GlobeNewswire

The pandemic has accelerated the rollout of AI in enterprises across industry verticals. In a conversation with BusinessLine, Anil Bhasker, Cloud & Data platform Sales Leader, IBM Technology Sales, IBM India/South Asia said, India is uniquely positioned to succeed in the AI economy.

IBMs Global AI Adoption Index 2021 found that while AI adoption was flat last year, we are poised for a major uptick in AI investments as companies continue to find ways to emerge from the pandemic. Many organisations in India lean on NLP (Natural Language Processing) technologies and AI automation to help lower costs and get trusted information into the hands of their customers, partners and employees as they look for new ways to engage with them across a distributed work environment.

We are witnessing clients moving to deploy AI at scale. As per the IBM CEO Study, in India, 45 per cent of CEOs expect AI machine learning to deliver results in 2-3 years. While the pandemic has accelerated the AI agenda more horizontally within many organisations, we have been witnessing many interesting cases.

For example, Emerald Jewellery, one of Indias largest jewellery manufacturers, with their Tej mobile app, a first-of-its-kind AI-enabled mobile application has been able to showcase their latest collection to over 200 dealers, enabling them to search through a growing catalogue of over 5 lakh jewellery designs quickly and navigate the complex ordering process easily. The Tej app played a key role in staying connected with their dealers last year seamlessly even during the peak lockdown.

AI and automation are relevant across every industry in India. For example, financial services (banks, insurances) are heavily investing in AI for automation of processes. State Bank of India, which has one of the largest and most complex Enterprise Data Warehouse solutions, is now expanding their technology footprint by implementing a NextGen Data Warehouse & Big Data Lake solution, along with IBM Cloud Pak for data a fully-integrated data and AI platform, to modernise the collection, organisation and analysis of data and infuse AI throughout their organisation, hence transforming the customer banking experience.

Telcos, which are witnessing heavy customer care volumes are looking at AI to auto-respond to voice calls. Industries where customer influx is high: digitalisation/touch-less interaction with their customers is pushing them to look at ways to reduce manual intervention to a minimum, so as to enable employees to focus on higher value work.

While we dont share numbers as a policy, there are now more than 40,000 client engagements globally with Watson across 20 different industries. We have customers like Parle for whom IBM has built an intelligent AI-based supply chain, to help design a critical KPIs-based performance management framework using IBM Watson Studio. This allows them to measure and monitor the health of Parles business processes and their outcomes.

Bestseller, the leading fashion company which owns brands such as Jack & Jones, Vero Moda and others, uses IBM Watson capability to predict the right merchandise for the consumer at the right time. With Watson mining deeply into big data, the retailer can determine the right assortment plan for each store, predict the next best product to incorporate into its mix, and improve the efficiency of its supply chain. They are working with IBM Watson to predict the next big trend and the most relevant styles, colours and size ratios.

IBMs annual survey found that a lack of AI skills and increasing data complexity are cited as top challenges to adoption. IBM is committed to lowering the barriers to entry and making AI more accessible to businesses by offering an architecture (AI Ladder) based on client insights that illustrates the four key areas clients must engage to successfully implement AI capabilities: collect data, organize data, analyse data and then Infuse AI.

IBM Watson provides businesses with a range of AI software and services. This includes tools to help build AI and AI applications targeted at self-service, risk and compliance, and financial and IT operations that can run anywhere on the Cloud Pak for data.

We are supplementing Indias skilling efforts through programmes that can be delivered online and offline. We have several initiatives underway in collaboration with schools, governments and government agencies to drive this. For example, we are working with CBSE to develop a curriculum of Artificial Intelligence, to be introduced as an elective subject for class IX to XII. The pilot project was launched as part of the CBSE SEWA program last year with the aim of reaching 200 schools across 13 States in India. We have now covered 160 schools and over 12,000 students have benefited from the program.

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AI, automation are relevant across every industry in India, says Anil Bhasker of IBM - The Hindu BusinessLine

HENDERSON (KTNV) Assembly lines have come a long way since the production of the Ford Model T. Now a company in Henderson is looking to write the next chapter in automation. 13 Action News Anchor Todd Quinones shows you the amazing engineering at work in this edition of Nevada Built.

RS AUTOMATION

"So we're going to go in here and look at the way we automatically manufacture facial masks," says Tony Wright, CEO of RS Automation USA.

Speed, efficiency and quality. That is the focus for RS Automation. Wright gave me a tour of his demo facility in Henderson. They essentially are building the brains for any type of automation.

"This is kind of the heart of what you guys are about," says Todd.

"This is what we do. This stuff controls the motors. Very fine-tuned motors," says Wright.

USEFUL BYPRODUCT

This automation line is built to show off what they can do, and it has a useful byproduct.

"This is the final version. It comes through. It flips over. As you can see, it's got no ear band at the moment. This machine puts the band on," says Wright.

The finished product, K-N95 masks.

"So this whole process, how long does it take to make a mask?" asks Todd.

"Like I say, we do 70 masks per minute," says Wright.

RS Automation is a Korean company that is developing technology that has all kinds of applications.

USED IN EVERYTHING

"We are producing OLED TVs for LG. We're doing work for Samsung... So our equipment is used in everything from car manufacturing to beer making," says Wright.

In December Wright set up shop in Henderson with the goal of providing high-tech solutions to manufacturing problems and challenges. He is looking to hire more than a dozen engineering design employees while also helping to diversify our local economy.

LOW COST

"So we're not doing gambling. We're not doing gambling machines. We're not doing service industry stuff. We're truly a high-tech company... I'm hoping that more and more manufacturers will move into Henderson and Nevada and will utilize our products and open to manufacturing their products," says Wright.

It's all at a lower cost than you might expect.

"So these small companies that thought this kind of automation, that technology was out of bounds for them, not so much anymore," says Todd.

"No, I mean, it's in the reaches of the small and medium manufacturers... 20 years ago only big manufacturing companies could automate. Put robots in their plants. A unit like that 20 years ago would probably cost about $10,000. That would just be for the hardware. The unit now is about $400," says Wright.

The brains of automation, and it's Nevada Built.

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Nevada Built: A new Henderson company behind the brains of automation - KTNV Las Vegas

Covid-19 and the threat of future pandemics have the potential to speed the process of automation, as employers replace workers with robots and computers that are unaffected by disease, it said.

While this sort of technological change will increase productivity and wages in some occupations workers in other occupations may be displaced and face large lifetime earnings losses, the paper said.

The researchers seek to identify jobs that are at risk from a heightened push to automate in response to the pandemic.

Looking at U.S. labour markets, the researchers found little overlap between an occupations potential for automation and virus transmission risk. While the American Heartland has a high concentration of jobs with automation potential, the risk from viral transmission is highest on the East Coast.

Instead, the researchers found important demographic differences.

We find that females are about twice as likely as males to be in occupations that are at high risk of both Covid-19 transmission and automation, the paper said.

In particular, occupations with mid to low wages held by females in the United States with mid to low levels of education are at highest risk, the researchers found.

This finding is also reflected in comparable data for 25 other countries, the paper said, concluding that women are also at highest risk internationally.

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As Covid pushes drive for automation, women will be most affected: BoC - Advisor.ca

The market is poised to experience significant gains, posting a CAGR exceeding 7 per cent through 2031

Prolific developments in life sciences, characterised by rapid AI penetration, an industry-wide proliferation of cloud technology, and possible therapeutic connotations of previously contraband substances such as marijuana are amongst some key developments that have led to the emergence of a trillion-dollar global pharmaceutical industry in recent years. This has eventually led to swift automation of laboratory settings, providing credible stimulus to the global lab automation market, according to a recent report published by ESOMAR-certified market research and consulting firm.

According to the report, the market is poised to experience significant gains, posting a CAGR exceeding 7 per cent through 2031. An increasing number of grants disbursed to facilitate advanced drug development and clinical diagnostic research is responsible for the bulk of the markets growth. For instance, the EU Commission, in March 2021, advanced a grant to eTheRNA Immunotherapies, to accelerate the development of a novel and potentially best-in-class therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccine to treat recurrent HPV16+ head and neck cancers. The grant amounted to 6.9 million.

Growth prospects have further heightened since the onset of COVID-19, with healthcare providers scrambling to deploy precise and advanced diagnostic services, as well as accelerate drug and vaccine development. Consequently, the overall healthcare spending rose to $1.4 trillion, representing over 30 per cent increase since 2015. Additionally, a host of government initiatives in key markets have greatly helped augment spending on lab automation, a trend likely to continue over the coming years.

Key takeaways from study

According to an analyst, growing irregularities in quality diagnosis and drug development due to high error margins are prompting healthcare providers to invest in the most contemporary lab automation solutions, driving the market growth.

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Clinical diagnostics, drug discovery to account for bulk of lab automation market growth: Study - BSA bureau