Jola Cloud Solutions' Blog

According to a recent report by Reuters, the global digital signage market is due to grow to £24 billion by 2023, from £15 billion in 2017.  Growth is being driven by innovation in display technology

Retail

Retailers are early adopters of new display technology, as signage can be changed quickly without going to site. The ability to run vivid content, such as music and video appeals to this market, who are looking to differentiate themselves, based on their in-store shopping experience. Using 4G, signs can be placed where they are needed without relying upon the availability of fixed broadband connections. 

Jola

Jola offers a wide range of 4G SIM tariffs suitable for digital signage. Our SIMs are available on 30-day terms. Fixed IP, Private APN and pooled data options are available. We partner with MSPs and Solutions Providers to provide the right package for their solution.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is making parking in major cities a lot easier. IoT parking solutions provide information such as available parking spaces to connected users. Information is collected, analysed and personalised for users in real-time. Intelligent parking, as well as traffic monitoring, has helped to reduce congestion and improve traffic mobility, in major cities in Europe such as Barcelona and Madrid.

County councils are investing in technology to help reduce pollution and increase traffic throughput in major cities. Intelligent parking apps are available to keep commuters informed of available parking spaces in their area.

IoT parking solutions offer a few key benefits as follows:

1. Less time spent in vehicles helps to improve the productivity of commuters and the lower volume of traffic circulating helps to reduce the number of road accidents.
2. A high volume of vehicles circulating at low speed creates traffic congestion, which contributes to higher levels of gas emissions. More fluid traffic helps to reduce fuel consumption and the build-up of road traffic air pollution.
3. Parking sensors are autonomous, wireless devices, which are easy to install. Entrance and exit of vehicles in parking spaces and duration of parking is monitored in real-time. Data is sent to an application, so that all users can track free parking spaces efficiently and parking costs are calculated accurately

The transportation industry is the second largest segment investing in IoT, spending £75 billion globally last year on monitoring and management. MSPs servicing this industry are providing IoT solutions, which include devices containing un-steered multi-network roaming SIMs, to improve efficiency and safety records in the industry as a whole.

Fleet Management

Monitoring devices are used to provide management teams with real-time data on fuel consumption and regulatory compliance. Critical information is displayed in dashboards for management teams to monitor in real-time and analyse KPIs.

Transit Management

Devices track the exact location of a vehicle and accurately estimate arrival times. Tracking information is gathered in a central system and can be sent to relevant parties.

Smart Inventory Management

Smart inventory management systems analyse real-time data across warehouse distribution centres. By implementing sensors to track stock levels, stock management has been improved leading to more efficient distribution.

Typically, MSPs have partnered with the mobile carriers directly for SIMs, however many have struggled with a lack of flexibility and control.

Jola is proposing an alternative to dealing with mobile carriers directly. We offer a range of competitively-priced mobile data SIMs, including unique products you can’t buy from the carriers directly.

Many MSPs and resellers think that they need to buy direct to get the best prices, however in the mobile data market, this is usually not the case. There are also additional downsides such as lack of flexibility and control.

How flexible is your carrier?

Can they deliver a tariff that exactly meets the needs of your customers, or are you making do with an off-the-shelf package?

How easy are the carriers to do business with?

How do you find dealing with multiple in-country carriers? Are you struggling with paper ordering? How do you manage the time differences? Are processes manual?

How much control do you have over your SIM estate?

How do you manage SIM changes within your estate? Can you monitor and manage data usage per site? How do you manage data overage charges?

According to a recent IDC survey, nearly 80% of Communications Providers expect 5G to generate more revenue opportunities. And 35% say they would be able to grow revenue by 5-10% within the first two years.

What are the likely opportunities?

European operators expect early 5G deployments to enhance existing services, such as unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN).

There is an opportunity for Communications Providers to replace fixed line communications with mobile services. Once 5G is deployed it is predicted to make operational savings of over 10%.

Key sectors to target are healthcare, government and public sector services as well as automotive and manufacturing industries.

How important will choosing the right supplier be?

Choosing the right supplier will be critical to ensure Communications Providers win business in these sectors. Choose a partner who has a wide range of wholesale 5G services, managed within self-service portals, to retain control of 5G assets and monitor and manage data usage. Partners with experience delivering solutions to key vertical markets with a competitive 5G proposition will succeed.

Smart Vending machines are allowing businesses to receive real-time information on sales, stock, turnover and condition, directly from their vending machines in real-time. Vending machines are becoming ever more present and Jola partners are realising the benefits of providing purpose built M2M packages, monitored and managed within Mobile Manager.

Businesses choosing smart vending machines are seeing improved margins from real-time stock updates, allowing vendors to refill and fix machines at the most appropriate times.

Partners are choosing Jola for mobile data as they offer the widest range of M2M data packages, at the lowest price points with a unique management portal. The Jola portal allows partners to place orders from multiple network operators and multi-network SIMs, manage SIMs, usage and alerts. Private APNs are also available for an additional layer of security.

4G security cameras are increasing in popularity in remote areas where there is no easy access to power or WiFi, with a strong 4G signal.

4G security cameras, also called 4G LTE security cameras, are mobile monitoring cameras that use the 4G LTE network to deliver live viewing and send instant alerts. Mobile data consumption varies, depending on how many times live streaming is viewed and motion detection alarms are received.

Wireless 4G cameras are now battery and solar powered so are easy to install and move, inexpensive to buy and are easily scalable. Night vision coverage offers clear images during the night.

IT and Security specialists are partnering with key suppliers to put together affordable CCTV packages for rural customers on farms and construction sites to monitor livestock and equipment.

Jola

Jola provides partners with customers in rural areas a wide range of M2M 4G data SIM packages, including cost-effective multi-network roaming packages, controlled within Mobile Manager. Our multi-network SIMs roam to the strongest signal in each area. Our white label management portal allows partners to place orders, manage SIMs, usage and alerts. Data buckets allow partners to price solutions competitively. Private APNs can add an extra layer of security.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) will invest more than £3 million to enhance its Electronic Patient Care Records (ePCR) during the next two years and they are not alone. Ambulance Services across the UK and internationally are being encouraged to ‘go digital’ to improve the care and treatment received by patients and to get the very most out of their budgets. They are turning to MSPs with experience in upgrading software, networks and communications.

MSPs who previously worked with the mobile networks directly have found partnering with companies that can offer multi-network services and a management portal, give them so much more control and remove the headache of dealing with multiple carriers and manual requests for changes.

Smart Devices

Ambulance crews are using tablets containing 4G SIM cards to access online information about medical and traumatic conditions and treatment on the move. They are completing incident forms online and accessing ePCRs and information about healthcare providers and plans.

Smart Communications

Ambulance crews can electronically send details about the patient to the emergency department including appropriate photographs from the scene of the incident e.g. road traffic collision or electrocardiogram readings, to help doctors determine the extent of injury that may have been sustained. This allows staff in the hospital to prepare and be ready to act when the patient arrives. 

Push to Talk Radio

Two-way walkie-talkie radio technology is being upgraded to 4G. This has created an opportunity for partners, who are already familiar with selling 4G data solutions. However, suppliers are finding identifying the strongest 4G signal for each device challenging.

The Government’s £1 billion Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) was developed to enable Britain to become a world leader in Emergency Services communications, and a 4G pioneer. EE was selected by the Home Office back in 2015 to provide Britain’s Emergency Services with a resilient national mobile network, giving 300,000 critical emergency workers access to 4G voice and data for the first time.  

UK police forces are using technology to become more productive, efficient and visible. The digital policing vision aims to improve investigations and make it easier for the public and police to communicate. Forces are collaborating with EE and their partners, generating mobile data opportunities for scenarios such as; mobile forensics, digital interviewing, and smart services.

Mobile forensics

Police are now using mobile fingerprinting systems that allow them to check the identity of an unknown person against a database of 12 million records in less than a minute. Many officers carry hand-held scanners connected to their 4G smartphone, allowing them to scan fingertips. The scans are checked against the database.

Digital interviewing

Many police forces are using digital audio-visual interview equipment and touch screens for custodial interviews, which provide improved access to recording for police, legal representatives and suspects.

Smart devices

4G smart devices such as mobiles, tablets and cameras are being used to complete reports much more efficiently. Police Officers are able to record arrests on body cameras and send content in a live stream to officers nearby for assessment and support.

Push to Talk Radio

Two-way walkie-talkie radio technology is being upgraded to 4G. This has created an opportunity for partners, who are already familiar with selling 4G data solutions. However, suppliers are finding identifying the strongest 4G signal for each device challenging.

Are you winning clients who need private networks to carry financial transactions over IP with 4G back-up? Have you ever struggled with the 4G element? Do you manage multiple in-country suppliers, with multiple manual ordering processes? Do you ever get frustrated with the lack of visibility across your customers’ SIM estates? Would you benefit from direct control over the SIM assets and the ability to aggregate data across countries?

Jola provides a range of data-only SIM packages including multi-network roaming SIMs with pooled data options. Partners only need to contract with one supplier. They have access to an automated management portal and complete visibility and control over their entire SIM estate.

They don’t need to survey each site to establish the best signal. Our multi-network SIMs connect to the strongest available signal in the EU. Having all the networks isolates issues to the device rather than the network.

Partners are able to order new SIMs and pools, add SIMs to pools, set up alerts and monitor the pool. If any site fails, they have a data pool to draw from and a buffer. They can even set up and manage private APNs.

We partner with some of the world’s largest MSPs, managing private networks for blue chip companies globally. We position ourselves as a viable alternative to partnering with multiple in-country mobile network operators.