Dell today announced the launch of its first dedicated Internet of things (IOT) lab in Europe. Based in Limerick, Ireland, the lab will be one of the bases for the new IOT division focused on bringing together end-to-end IOT solutions that span hardware, software and services.

Dell has also announced its IOT division's first product release, a gateway designed to help customers kick-start their solution development and begin realising the value of IOT immediately.

The gateway is robust enough for the rigours of current projects and can also be leveraged as a proof-of-concept for use with future specialised Dell gateways.

Dell EMEA Internet of things (IOT) lab

Following the successful opening of Dell and Intel's first IOT lab in Santa Clara, California, US, in November last year, the brand new IOT lab complements the existing Dell Solution Centre in Limerick. The lab further bolsters Dell's portfolio by providing European customers with a dedicated space to build, model, architect and test their IOT solutions - and get them to market faster.

Specialists in devising end-to-end solutions, the Dell OEM team have over 16 years of experience of working with customers to develop workable solutions to take to market and expertise spanning more than 40 industry verticals. At the lab, customers will be able to meet with a team of highly-skilled solution centre technicians and IOT specialists to discuss their ideas and collaborate to develop robust proof-of-concepts and innovative solutions.

"As a global end-to-end solutions provider, Dell can support OEMs throughout their entire product life cycle, from endpoints, networking, compute, and storage to large-scale data management, analytics software and services," said Dermot O'Connell, executive director and general manager, OEM Solutions, Dell EMEA. "In Limerick, customers will have a flexible and scalable foundation for developing market-ready solutions with a trusted, reliable partner. Our specialists in the lab can reduce the complexity of IT and help customers to bring their ideas to life."

New Dell IOT gateway

Gateways are the most recent addition to Dell's IOT solution stack. These small, wireless or connected devices collect, help secure and process sensor data at the edge of a network. Equipped with processing power, they provide customers with flexibility to perform analytics at the edge, reducing latency for data-based decisions, such as managing energy consumption or triggering a call for proactive equipment maintenance. This reduces the time and cost associated with transferring data to the cloud or data centre. Dell's new gateways are a solid foundation for an IOT edge solution that conserves valuable network bandwidth by relaying only meaningful data back to the cloud.

Dell IOT gateway

* A perfect launch point for developing IOT applications and compatible with multiple operating systems, including Wind River, Linux, Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows IOT.

* Small in size but powerful, featuring an Intel processor with two cores to drive a wide range of IOT applications, including building and industrial automation.

* Mounts on walls, desks, or other easily accessible areas of the building.

* No moving parts and built to last, for years of high-performance service.

Dell delivers total IOT solution

Dell's end-to-end approach spans data centre solutions, analytics and leadership services and is built on Dell's bedrock of global availability, industry-leading support and trusted security options.

"Current IOT solutions offer lengthy implementations, overly ambitious scoping and complex proprietary designs that raise risks and costs," said Andy Rhodes, Executive Director, IOT Solutions, Dell. "We are helping customers build out their solutions pragmatically with a broad portfolio of IOT-enabling offerings, including security, manageability, services, analytics, infrastructure, and endpoints."

As part of a Dell's rich IOT partnership ecosystem, Dell Services and ThingWorx also recently announced a collaboration aimed at helping customers on their IOT journey. The companies will leverage each other's capabilities to deliver a combination of technology and business expertise to help customers reduce the time, cost and risk required to build innovative IOT applications. As a part of the agreement, Dell's Digital Business Services will enter ThingWorx's Global System Integrators Alliance Programme.

Supporting quotes

"Dell's gateway enables companies to build end-to-end IOT solutions based on Intel technology. Dell's newest gateway solution delivers the connectivity, security, and manageability needed to realise the value of Dell's IOT solutions."

Rose Schooler, vice-president and general manager, IOT Strategy and Technology Office at Intel

"The manufacturing industry has relied on Dell to deliver great hardware solutions and services for many years. With their new IOT gateways running Windows IOT, Dell is poised to bring new security, analytics and efficiencies to the field of automation that will be sure to delight our mutual customers."

Peter Han, VP of Worldwide OEM Marketing, Microsoft

Dell EMEA IOT lab,Limerick,Ireland

The Dell IOT lab is open to customers and partners now. For further information, please visit www.dell.com/IoT.

Dell IOT gateway - pricing and availability

The Dell IOT gateway is now available in the US and Canada. The Dell IOT gateway will be available in select countries across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region from 15 June. Please contact your local Dell representative for more information.