WhatDoYouNeedtoEnsureaSuccessfulTransitiontoIoT?Asthebusinessclimategrowsevermorecompetitive,industrialcompaniesarelookingtotheInternetofThings(IoT)toprovidethebusinessagilityandoperationalefficiencythattheyneed.ThankstothelatestdevelopmentsinIoTandM2Mtechnology,companiescannowgetvisibilityandcontrolovervitalremoteinfrastructure,sotheycanassessconditionsaccuratelyandoptimizedecision-making.Withreal-timealertandresponse,theycanreducedowntime,wasteandlostbusiness,whileloweringmaintenancecosts.Andlastbutnotleast,throughcontinuousdatacollectionandanalysisateverypointintheoperation,companiescanunderstandtrendsandplanforthefuture.

Alongsidethetremendousopportunities,therearemanychallengesonthewaytotransitioningexistingbusinessestoIoT.Mostcompanieshavesignificantinvestmentsinolderinfrastructurethatisnotphysicallyconnectedtothenetwork.Theiremployeesareexpertsintheirfield,ratherthaninIoTandM2Mtechnologies.Companiesneedasimple,cost-effectivesolutionthatwilltransformtheirbusinesswithoutoverwhelmingtheircurrentoperations.Thatmeans:

Rapid,predictabledeploymentofcomplexprojects:Theentireproject,fromconnectingtheinfrastructuretothenetworktobuildingtheapplication,mustbeperformedontimeandonbudget.

Highlyrobustandreliableconnectivitywithremotedevices:Responsivenetworkhardwareandsoftwarethatcanhandleunexpectedconditionsinthefieldareessentialfordispersedinfrastructure.

Built-insupportforabroadvarietyofdevices:Toleverageexistinginfrastructureinvestments,theIoTplatformmustsupportmanyprotocolsandconnecttomanycontrollers.

Easytobuildanduseapplicationsforvisibility,monitoringandcontrol:Companiesneedsimple,intuitiveapplicationsthatcaneasilybecustomized,deployedandoperatedovermobilephones,webapplicationsandcontrolrooms.

Therightplatformforgrowth:BeforeinvestinginanIoTplatform,youmustbeconfidentthatitwillscaleandhavetheflexibilitytoaccommodatenewapplications,equipment,andtechnologicaldevelopments.

Connectivity,VisibilityandControlwithBacsoftTheBacsoftplatformisanend-to-endsolutionforbuildingandmanagingadvancedIoTandM2Mapplications.UsingBacsoft,companiescanrapidlyconnecttheirlegacyinfrastructuretotheIndustrialInternetandbuildapplicationstoremotelymonitorandcontroltheiroperations.

BacsoftreducesthecomplexityofIoTprojectswithacombinationofrobustandreliableremoteconnectivity,simpleandrapidapplicationdevelopment,andscalablecloudservices.Theplatformfeatures:

• M2MCommunications:Bacsoft’sSmartCommunicationsControllersofferbuilt-insupportforawidevarietyofdevices,interfacesandprotocols.Designedtooperatereliablyunderallkindsofconditionsincludingoff-grid(batteryoperated),TheSmartControlleriscost-effectiveandhighlyscalableforuptothousandsofdevices.

• IoTCloud:TheBacsoftIoTCloudhandlesallaspectsofcommunications,applicationexecution,datastorage,securityandauditinginahigh-availabilityenvironment.

• ApplicationBuilder:RapiddevelopmenttoolsenableintegratorsandITorganizationstoeasilybuildtailoredIoTapplicationswithoutcoding-includingrichdashboards,multi-channelalerts,andcomplexlogic,anddeploythemformobiledevices,webbrowsersandcontrolrooms.

Bacsoft’sproventechnologydramaticallyreducesthecomplexity,riskandcostofIoTprojectsinindustriesfromwaterandagriculture,toelectricityandtelecom.ThiswhitepaperintroducesthecapabilitiesoftheBacsoftplatformandhowyoucanusethemtodeployabroadrangeofIoTsolutions.

Flexible,ReliableM2MCommunicationsTheBacsoftSmartCommunicationsControllersareafamilyofproductsdesignedtorapidlyconnectexistinginfrastructuretotheinternet.Simpletodeploy,TheSmartControllerscaninterfacewithanyPLC,sensororproprietarydevicethroughstandardinterfacessuchasSerial232/485,Ethernet,digital,analog,PT100andrelayoutput.Smallandlightweight,TheSmartControllersareeasilyinstalledindifficultlocationssuchasthetopofanelectricaltoweroralongsideafloatingwaterlevelsensor.

TheSmartControllerprovidesbi-directionalcellularcommunicationsover2Gnetworksandhigher.Throughextensiveexperiencewithnetworksaroundtheworld,BacsofthasdevelopedtechnologytoensurereliableM2Mcommunicationsunderallconditions.Eachdevicemanagestheconnectivitytotheserverandcanadapttofieldconditionsbyinitiatingcommunications,automaticallytransitioningtoofflineloggingmodeifthereisacommunicationsfailure,performingself-recoveryandmore.Ahardware-basedexternalwatchdogensuresthatthecommunicationssoftwareisrunningproperlyatalltimes,andincaseofanerror,rebootsthecontroller.SinceTheSmartControllersolelytransmitschangestomeasuredparameters,itonlyrequireslowcommunicationsbandwidth.

BacsoftsecuresM2McommunicationswithSSL3.0encryption,alongwiththeoptiontoinstallprivate,self-signedcertificates.TofurtherincreasesecurityandeliminatetheneedforafixedIPaddress,thecontrolleridentifiesandverifiestheserverduringeachconnection.Forareaswherethepowergridiseitherunavailableorunreliable,thecontrollerisavailableinlow-powermodelsthatprovideuptosevenyearsofautonomousoperation.

TheBacsoftSmartControllercanbeusedtomanagevirtuallyanydevice.Itincludesbuilt-insupportforModbusandMelsecandcanbeeasilyadaptedtoworkwithanyproprietaryprotocol,binaryorASCII.TheSmartControllerisa“smart”protocolmaster,butitcanalsoopenanotherdirecttunneltotheequipmenttoallowconnectivitybetweenthefielddeviceandaremotesiteforover-the-airmaintenanceandupdates.Whereappropriate,onecontrollercanmanageaseriesofdevicesthroughaserialRS485interfaceorEthernet,simplifyingdeploymentandeliminatingmultipleSIMcards.

Whenneeded,asoftwareversionofTheBacsoftSmartControllercanbedeployedondevicesthatalreadyhavenetworkconnectivity,toenablethemtocommunicatedirectlywiththeBacsoftIoTCloud.

TheBacsoftSmartCommunicationsControllerfamilyincludes4products:

• BacsoftB-Connect 2GSmartCommunicationsController:Forlegacynetworks,operatesonGPRSnetworks• BacsoftB-Connect 3GSmartCommunicationsController:AdvancedcontrollerfeaturesafastCPU,alarge

amountofmemory,andsupports3.5Gworldwide.

• BacsoftGXSmartCommunicationsController:FeaturestwoEthernetports,redundancycommunicationports,andsupportsallbandsof3.5GworldwideinadditiontoWiFi

• BacsoftPlus SmartCommunicationsController:IncludesallofthefeaturesofBacsoft3G+SmartCommunications Controller, as well as battery operation and low energy consumption for upto5-7yearsinthefieldusingasinglebattery.ItalsofeaturesGPS,movementsensorsandIP68.

BacsoftIoTCloudTheBacsoftIoTCloudserverprovidesallapplicationandcommunicationservicesinamulti-domain,scalableandsecureenvironment.TheflexibleplatformcanbedeployedinaprivatecloudorinTheBacsoftIoTCloud,whichfeaturesfullysecuremulti-tenantcapabilitiesthatcanbeusedtosegregateprojectsaswellascustomers.Eachdeploymentisscaledtosupportthousandsofconnectedremotedevicesandusers,andfeaturesserverredundancyandautomaticfieldunitroamingbetweenservers.

TheIoTCloudsecuresdataintransitusingaproprietaryprotocolwithSSL3.0encryption.Runtimeandconfigurationdataarestoredinaflexibledatabaseimplementationarchitecturethatsupportsdatabaseclustering.Accesscontrolisenforcedwithmultiplelevelsofauthorizationperuser.Forauditingandcompliance,allsystemactivitiesareloggedincludingwebaccessevents,sourceIP,useralerts,deviceconnectivityandmore.

Toprovideremotecommandandcontrol,Bacsoft’sIoTCloudcommunicateswithdevicesinnearreal-time,withnomorethana1-2seconddelay,andexecutescomplexbusinesslogicbetweenremotedevicesanduserapplications.Itfeaturesanevent-drivenengineforalertinganddevicecontrol,andmanagestwo-waycommunicationsbetweentheBacsoftSmartControllersandTheIoTCloud.Thealertmanagementenginesupportsmultiplemessagingandemailserviceprovidersandcanprioritizeandrespondtoavailabilityproblemsinrealtime.

ThroughaflexiblesetofAPIs,theIoTCloudsupportsintegrationwith3rdpartyapplicationsviaSOAPandModbusTCPSlaveandOPCServerfunctionalitytosupportexistingSCADAimplementations.

CustomizableWebandMobileApplicationsWiththeBacsoftplatform,itisveryeasytocreatecustomIoTapplications.Theplatformincludesout-of-the-boxend-userapplicationsforwebandmobile.WiththegraphicalBacsoftApplicationBuilder,youdefinethedashboardwidgets,reportsandalertsusingano-codedrag-and-dropinterface.

Thewebapplicationisdesignedfordesktopandtabletuseandincludescolorfuldashboards,tables,apowerfulreportgenerator,andanalertmanagerthatallowsuserswiththerightlevelofauthorizationtochangetheireventthresholds.ThemobileapplicationfeaturesnativesupportforAndroid,IOSandWindowsphones,witharesponsivedesignthatsuitsmultipleformfactors.

TheplatformalsosupportsintegrationwithexistingSCADAapplicationsinthecontrolroomthroughstandardinterfaces.

DesignYourOwnIoTApplicationwiththeBacsoftApplicationBuilderTheBacsoftApplicationBuilderisarapiddevelopmentenvironmentthatenablesbothintegratorsandITorganizationstobuildcustomizedIoTapplicationswithoutcoding.Itincludesthetoolsyouneedtocustomizethewebandmobileend-userapplications,aswellasapowerfulconsoleforconfiguringandmanagingremotedevicesandcommunications.Adraganddropinterfacemakesiteasytocreatedashboardsfordifferentuserrolesandprovidethebusinessintelligencetheyneedtooptimizeyourbusiness.SomeoftheApplicationBuilderfeaturesinclude:

• Widgetsforchartsandgraphs,alarmsandnotifications.Youcanalsoimportyourownimages.Allyouneedtodoisassignadatapointoranexpressiontothewidget,anditisreadytouse.

• Tablestodisplayanydatainthesystem• MapsusingGoogleMapsoranyotherGISormappingserviceprovider• Controloverbranding,includingcolors,fontsandlogos• Reportsforin-appdisplayorexport

TheApplicationBuildergivesyoufullcontroloveralerts,whichcanbedisplayedintheapplicationorsentviaamessagingsystemoremail.Youcandefinewhoreceiveswhichalertsandwhen,includingcomplexlogicforuserswhohaveofflinetimewindowsorinfrequentsystemaccess.

WiththeManagementConsole,youcandefine,setupandconfigureeverycomponentoftheIoTsystem,including:

• Mobileoperatorsandcommunicationssettings• Users,groupsandauthorizations• SmartControllersandremotedevices.Configurationtemplatesenableyoutorapidlymanage

complexdevicegroups.

TheBacsoftManagementConsolealsoenablesyoutoperformremotemaintenanceovertheair,includingsoftwareupgrades,diagnosticsandtroubleshootingfortheremotecommunicationcontrollerunitsaswellasthecustomer’sremotePLCs.

AddressingtheUniqueChallengesofSystemIntegratorsSystemintegratorsareplayingavitalroleintherapiddevelopmentoftheIndustrialInternet.Ineverysector,businessesareseekingtoconnecttheirexistinginfrastructureandtakeadvantageofthepowerofIoTtoreducecostsandincreasebusinessagility.

ConnectingexistinginfrastructuretotheInternetofThingsisacomplexchallenge.Everymanufacturerusesdifferentsoftwareandhardwareandhasuniquerequirements.Single-vendorM2Msolutionslacktherequiredflexibilitytobringallofthepiecestogetheratmostsites.Professionalintegratorsaresteppingintothegaptoprovidetheskillsandexpertisethatarenecessaryinordertotake20thcenturyequipmentintothenewage.

Bacsoftoffersarobust,end-to-endIoTPlatformthatconnectsalllegacyequipmentand-inthehandsofanintegrator-providesaneffectivesolutionforeveryIoTandM2Mproject:

• TheBacsoftSmartCommunicationsControllerssupportaverywidevarietyofPLCsandsensorsforrapid,cost-effective,plug-and-playconnectivityeveninoff-gridlocations.

• Theunifiedcloudplatformhandlesallstandardandproprietarydataandprotocols.WithcustomizablewebandmobileappsandsimpleSCADAintegration,Bacsoftenablesyoutoseamlesslyintegrateallequipmentintooneapplication.

• Secure,multi-tenantarchitectureenablesyoutosupportasmanycustomersandprojectsasneeded.• Robustplatformismarketandvendorneutral,enablingyoutodevelopsolutionsforeverymarket,

whileslashingtime-to-marketanddevelopmentcosts.

ConclusionTheInternetofThingsoffersanunprecedentedopportunityforbusinessestotakecontrolovertheiroperations.Companiescannowconnectdistributedinfrastructuretothecloud,andequipmanagerswithwebandmobileappssotheycanmonitorandrespondanytimeandanywhere.Theresultislessdowntimeandwaste,optimizedprocesses,andlowermaintenancecosts.

TheBacsoftIoTPlatformisenablingbusinessesaroundtheworldtotransformtheirexistingoperationsandbenefitfromthepowerofIoT.Bacsoft’sproprietaryM2MtechnologyinstantlyconnectslegacydevicesandgivesITteamsandintegratorstheabilitytorapidlydeploytailoredapplicationsgroundedonaprovencloudplatform.

TheBacsoftadvantageforcustomers:

• Reliable,scalableremoteconnectivitybasedonprovenhardwareandsoftware• Rapidtime-to-marketwithacompletesolutionincludingplug-and-playconnectivity,cloudservices,

andrapidapplication-builder

• Lowtotalcostofownershipthroughsimpledeploymentandmanagement,lowmaintenance• Built-inintegrationwithawidevarietyofremotesensors,controllersanddevices,botholdandnew• EnablesanycompanytoseamlesslyleverageIoTbasedonexistinginfrastructure• Provenfieldresultsinthesectorsofwater,electricity,oilandgas,mining,agriculture

LearnmoreaboutBacsoftatwww.bacsoft.comorcontactusatinfo@bacsoft.com.

©2015BacsoftLtd.Allrightsreserved.BacsoftandBacsoftIoTPlatformaretrademarksofBacsoft,Ltd.