On-Line Industrial Wireless Selection Tool Offered by Cisco

The latest generation of wireless technologies, such as 5G and WiFi 6, slashes latency and offers incrementally faster download and upload speeds.  Their capabilities extend well beyond what previous generations can do, whether in terms of a single stream of data from a device, or, more important in industrial IoT networks, for implementing higher density devices and reliability. 

When it comes to supporting industrial IoT, many customers are faced with the question of what the right combination of wireless technologies is to meet their connectivity needs.  Cisco’s new Industrial Wireless Selection Tool uses eight simple questions to identify your options and then develop a connectivity access strategy that meets your technical requirements without undue cost, complexity, or security risk.

Availability of the tool stems from Cisco’s contention that, without a multi-access strategy, customers could end up building a wireless connectivity infrastructure with a mishmash of vendors that drives up cost, complexity, and security risks.  By starting with a big-picture assessment, customers can craft and execute a strategy unique to your business and industrial IoT goals.

Components of the tool ask the user to consider which use case(s) need to be supported and what each requires. For example, does cellular connectivity need to be fully private, or can it leverage public services?  Other considerations include indoor or outdoor operation, fixed or mobile installations, use as backhaul or access, device power, and spectrum requirements, among others.

The tool further encourages customers to assess the full range of costs of potential solutions for each use case, including device/infrastructure, ease of operations, backward compatibility, and subscriptions/OpEx vs. Buy once/CapEx.