The Digital Edge

Aruba recently presented their vision of the SilverPeak integration into the Aruba family, now branded as EdgeConnect Enterprise and augmented a number existing solutions to round out the offering with EdgeConnect SD-Branch, Microbranch, and Mobile. The mix of solutions here enables use-case based right sizing of the hardware. Aruba's pivot to support this space and expand the existing footprint from mostly on-premises solutions to enabling robust solutions for the entire spectrum of work environments from large enterprise to remote worker and SOHO spaces is necessary in today's environment as the traditional practice of "protecting four walls" is antiquated as users connect from everywhere, with a much larger percentage now remote.

• EdgeConnect Mobile - VIA for remote VPN users
• EdgeConnect Microbranch - RAP/IAP for SOHO users
• EdgeConnect SD-Branch - "Office in a Box" style use cases
• EdgeConnect Enterprise - large office, enterprise use cases

I recently watched a TED Talk by Marc Kushner on how technology and social media have connected the general public to architects and how it has enabled a closed feedback loop for their business. Marc highlights a pendulum that swings between innovation and symbolism that has been accelerated to a blur through technology. so much so that buildings are becoming an icon before they are even complete and firms have a chance to understand the impact of their design on a community faster than ever before. He postulates that as a result of this acceleration "now we can make nearly instantaneous emotionally charged symbols out of something that is brand new." Engagement with the community enables faster and better decision making.

It doesn't matter how we build, it matters what we build. -Marc Kushner

Throughout the presentation I couldn't help but drawing parallels to what is happening with technology in architecture today as every new building should be built with engagement in mind and continue this trend of closing the feedback loop. Merging traditional forms of engagement such as wireless infrastructure and digital signage with Internet of Things (IOT) and Operational Technologies (OT) and merging the data with the enterprise data warehouse and CRM information is the start of the process, however there is much more to be done. Making the technology relatively invisible, yet present and natural is critical to successful outcomes. When we blend engagement and interactions in with the background through preference driven lighting, signage dynamically presented in your native language, and personalized human interactions such as being greeted by name or recollection of and being handed a glass of of your favorite wine, this is when we move the needle substantially for our customers. Technical architects should strive to create visceral experiences for the users that indelibly write memories for the users of these spaces.

It is critical that these conversations are happening early in the process and that desired outcomes are clearly in focus. Creating a space that conveys the organizational message and meets goals, yet allows users to consume technology on their terms is not an easy task and does require substantial planning, intelligent product selection, commitment to integration, and creative vision. At EVOTEK we are doing this daily for our customers as a trusted advisor, system integrator, and technical architect. Reach out to learn more about our Digital Experience vision.

Special thanks to Marc Kushner for his TED Talk and to Dave Allard for making me aware of this presentation.

Engaging customers via their mobile devices is an exciting proposition for many organizations; however, it has to be done with care. These solutions often carry a significant cost and depend on a Return on Investment (ROI) model to make sense. Achieving this ROI requires walking a fine line between meaningful engagement and being a nuisance. Here are five best practices to help you do that.

5 ways to ensure your mobile strategy works 1. Think big picture The goal is to create a user experience that provides vast amounts of data to the organization while delivering value to the customer. Accomplishing that means the experience needs to be immersive and omni-channel (e.g., SMS, email, app-based, digital signage, direct mail, etc.). Too many organizations jump straight to the mobile application without realizing adoption of mobile applications is low and retention of those mobile apps is even lower. A holistic approach that embraces the web (traditional and mobile), mobile apps, digital and physical signage, and some of the emerging areas such as augmented reality (AR) and context-aware chatbots will be far more successful. Analytics and business intelligence tools must be included because understanding the success of these messages and their impact on the bottom line is a necessity, as engagement attempts that are ill-received may create a negative effect on the business. 2. Establish a baseline Before rolling out any new engagement solution or even a single targeted campaign, it is important to understand the baseline. What is normal for a specific time of day, day of week, demographic, location, etc. If there are areas in which these baselines are unknown, the success of an engagement will also likely be unknown. The length of time to determine a credible baseline depends on business and vertical; however, a month of data will provide statistically valuable data for many organizations. 3. Consider your social credibility Each engagement or touchpoint with the user must be carefully weighed prior to being implemented, as the organization is spending “social credibility" with the customer in issuing these engagements. Determining that a message is hitting the right person at the right time and place is paramount to success. While the organization may want to drive a specific behavior, it must be done in such a way that it is graciously accepted by the recipient. For less important messages, consider other channels for delivery—email, direct mail and digital signage integrations are options that are less invasive than a targeted push message. 4. Leverage employee engagement Business should ensure the human component isn’t lost in this digital marketing frenzy. Consider a scenario in which an employee could be notified when a user has spent more than five minutes in front of a specific retail display or there has been a high density of users in line for a drink at a sports game or concert venue. Rather than trying to ping users to have them go find another bar, consider triggers that have an employee come over with a mobile payment system and perform line-breaking transactions. This human component may still be considered a “digital engagement," but it won’t feel like it to the consumer. 5. Keep it fresh Digital engagements should always be timely and relevant. Organizations can’t afford to be lazy about managing these platforms because pushing irrelevant messages will drive away customers, cause them to remove their mobile apps, and even consider competitors. Campaigns should also create a sense of urgency—create a fear of missing out or at least ensure customers understand this immediate deal is good for only the first 100 redemptions. Gamification is one way to keep things interesting for consumers, and it can drive additional spend as it may promise “bonus" rewards for the additional engagement. The solutions should be simple enough that they can be managed by marketing teams and not IT. Originally posted here with Network World. Republished with permission as originating author. Also available on my LinkedIn page.

My Bluetooth World day one started with a great conversation over breakfast as I presented on the need and opportunity for innovation in healthcare using Bluetooth enabled solutions. Our group opened up and had some fantastic discussion around some of the barriers that are currently challenging this industry such as limited numbers of Bluetooth radios being integrated into medical device solutions for connectivity. We progressed to discussion on all of the possible use cases as well as the opportunity for the data from an IoT-enabled world of healthcare to create new use cases as we better understand interactions between machines and humans.

The keynote speeches and individual presentations had great information, I was most interested in the direction of Bluetooth and the features that are coming shortly, especially the improvements to the meshing capabilities and range as these will open the door for great new use cases.

Also of personal interest was Kiyo Kubo’s talk about Bluetooth LE at Levi’s Stadium and the pain of getting to where it is today. Kiyo had gone through all of the challenges around Apple reducing their probing rates to almost nil and randomization of MAC addresses in the probing frames, forcing a change over to Bluetooth. They then had to develop a number of tools to make it a success both from an initial deployment and long term manageability.

The Expo floor had a wide variety of use cases from BLE managed LED lighting that synced with car audio to IoT-enabled hearing aids that would use location and ambient sound to automatically adjust their sound levels and noise filtration via a cloud interface.

In case you missed it, Aruba Networks, an HP Enterprise Company announced the availability of their new Aruba Sensor product this week. This was spoken about at Atmosphere back in March, but then had seemingly disappeared. This new sensor enables Aruba Network's Meridian cloud analytics and wayfinding solution and best in class beacon management capabilities to be used on any wireless network. These sensors have a Low-Energy Bluetooth (BLE) radio to act as a beacon and manage other beacons in within a 25 meter radius and a wireless radio to provide network connectivity. Power is delivered through either AC power or USB and both power options offer security locks to ensure the safety of the Sensor. Making the same solution available for any wireless network is a huge deal as it allows for standardization of an engagement solution. ClearPass, Meridian and the Aruba Sensor/Beacon offer tremendous capabilities for any organization's network. Kudos to the team for embracing the market as a whole!

Designed to be cross-platform, Google's Eddystone supports the Nearby API and is available on GitHub under Apache 2.0 license.

Anyone interested in creating awareness of who they are, what they are doing, or empowering a device to do the same in a given location now has the ability to advertise to passersby. This has many implications from brand awareness to interacting with a specific device. Most importantly this can happen on the smallest of scales, increasing the chance for adoption and interaction since there is no dependency on a mobile app. Check out the Physical Web Cookbook for many newer ideas.

Google Eddystone supports multiple frame types enabling users to interact in a variety of ways. These frames are designated in the Service Data field associated with the Service UUID by using the high order four bits of the first octet. Github provides all this information in much more depth.

The Proximity Beacon API is a new interface enabling users to manage their beacons via the cloud and use a REST interface. This enables monitoring of the telemetry data previously mentioned as well as reconfiguration of the beacons.

A contextually aware network is one that is capable of delivering the right messages to the appropriate people based upon user defined preferences and do so at the right time and place. To accomplish this the system must be able to determine what is relevant to the user through opt-ins, installed Smartphone applications, etc. It is important to understand that for now, the Smartphone is a required ingredient of this solution as it is something that is personal to each of us. With time it is inevitable that there will be further integration with wearables that may offer further context and interaction.

You have booked a vacation at a tropical resort with your favorite people and are headed out to the airport. At the prompting of the hotel you have gone ahead and installed their application on your phone, enabling it to be your personal concierge for your trip. Upon arrival in this city your resort's app on your phone wakes up and pops up a message "Welcome to ______, John/Jane Doe. Please meet your shuttle outside the Terminal 1 baggage claim." After a ride to the hotel, you walk in and are prompted by your phone again "Welcome to Hotel _______. Would you like to use our e-check in?" Upon selecting yes, your phone checks you in based on your ID and credit card information on file with the hotel. The app then prompts you "You are in Room 135, can I get you directions?" Selecting yes here will provide you with turn-by-turn directions to your room from your current location. Your phone also notifies you that hotel management has installed smart locks in all of its rooms and the phone can be your room key if so desired. Upon entering your room, the phone is able to ask if everything meets your standards and allows for immediate delivery of anything that is missing or desired. Throughout the stay, your phone is able to notify you of anything you are interested in such as happy hours, shows, gym hours, etc. Down at the swimming pool, you are able to relax knowing that your valuables and cash are locked up in the hotel room safe and that your app can be used for checking out towels and paying for beverages or cabana rentals. Out on the golf course, you and your friends are able to order snacks and beverages from your Smartphones and have it delivered to you on the next tee. The shopping area notifies you of a free appetizer at dinner with a purchase from one of the stores. Upon checkout your receipt and bill summary can be delivered via app and a link to review your stay may be provided to you.

This blog series will explore how the systems supporting this scenario are built at a very high level and shed some light on some of the key components that make a context aware network tick.

An Intro to the Contextually Aware Networking Blog Series (Published 12/28/2014)

Part I: Building a Contextually Aware Network: Beacons (Published 12/28/2014)

Part II: Building a Contextually Aware Network: Geolocation (Published 1/2/2015)