Within the seemingly incomprehensible maze of pipes and equipment of refineries, operators use decades-old technology to monitor and manage everyday tasks. But when developing an IoT and mobility strategy for these complex environments, don’t overlook where employees fit in — because automating workflow is as much about people as it is about things. That’s one…

If you don’t measure something, it’s easy for problems to go unnoticed until it’s too late. It’s also tough to pinpoint the reasons why — and to know when they’ve been fixed. A digital transformation strategy that leverages the Internet of Things enables businesses to overcome those challenges. Digital transformation goes beyond mere digitization, which…

In most cities, there’s a chronic shortage of police officers and downtown parking spaces. Mounting pension obligations is one of the many reasons municipalities struggle to find enough budget to tackle those shortages, both of which undermine their ability to attract residents, tourists and businesses. In a previous blog post, I explored how CDW is…

I frequently consult with customers comparing hyperscale public cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google for their data and applications. The workloads they want to evaluate typically fit into one of three categories: A lift-and-shift of virtual or physical workloads into public cloud A partial or full refactoring/modernization of an on-premises…

The average office building is about 15,000 square feet and uses more than $30,000 annually in electricity and gas. Even with all of the computers, servers and other IT infrastructure inside, lighting still consumes the most energy: 39 percent. HVAC is another 28 percent. Those figures highlight why businesses, school districts and other organizations are…

Security was the elephant in the room at Cisco Live 2018 — just like at pretty much every other IT event. Cisco used the event, held in Orlando, Fla., earlier this summer, to bring together customers and partners to discuss technology trends and innovations such as software-defined networking and digital transformation. But security is an…