Ericsson has introduced a ‘cloud connect’ function into its IoT Accelerator platform to make it easy for enterprises to connect cellular IoT devices to public cloud endpoints. A press statement from the firm led with connectivity to Amazon Web Services (AWS), and included a quote from the firm, but implied compatibility with other public cloud providers as well, notably Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
The Swedish vendor noted enterprises are increasingly outsourcing device authentication and data management to public cloud providers “such as AWS”. Its new facility allows for easy connectivity between sundry IoT sensors, meters, and trackers and AWS IoT Core, nominally – and others, presumably – and moves complex encryption from the device to the edge of the cellular network.
Ericsson said the system enables low-powered devices to reduce mobile data by up to 95 percent and extend battery life by up to 50 percent by removing the need to run public end-to-end internet encryption. “Connecting to AWS requires each connected device to use transport layer security (TLS) encryption for all communications. With Cloud Connect, the IoT Accelerator service offers a plug-and-play alternative,” said Ericsson.
“Enterprises benefit from simple activation of devices that tunnel to the edge of the cellular infrastructure before automatically self-provisioning to AWS and securely connecting via Cloud Connect generated encryption and keys. Devices with unencrypted yet privately secured communications over cellular network leveraging message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) or narrowband user data protocols (UDP) – such as constrained application protocol (CoAP) – can connect seamlessly to AWS IoT Core, resulting in significantly lower power and data consumption.”
Ericsson said its IoT accelerator platform now connects to “more than 35 global” operators, offering NB-IoT, LTE-M, and other traditional cellular connectivity for machine-based communications. “Enterprises of any size can manage the connectivity of their devices worldwide,” it said. It quoted its own research, from its latest Ericsson Mobility Report from June, that five billion cellular IoT devices will be in use by the end of 2026.
Michael MacKenzie, general manager for IoT connectivity and control at AWS, said: “As enterprises connect more IoT devices to the public cloud, they want an easy and secure way to ingest IoT device data to AWS. Simple solutions like Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator Cloud Connect give enterprises flexibility by leveraging AWS IoT to easily manage and authorize devices, use zero touch provisioning, and ensure data is encrypted and secure.”
Kyle Okamoto, general manager for IoT at Ericsson, said: “Ericsson’s IoT Accelerator Cloud Connect removes barriers for enterprises to connect their IoT devices to numerous public clouds and to optimize the IoT data management infrastructure offered by providers like AWS. This means a faster time to market for enterprise devices and products. We are excited to offer this service to our IoT Accelerator community of over 7,000 enterprises globally.”
