Press Releases

• Presentation of wide range of ten IoT solutions available to the public and private sectors
• Moocall, a solution that monitors the gestation of cows, is one of the innovations presented in the archipelago
• Vodafone Barometer reveals that almost 65% of companies achieved significant returns on their investment in IoT

In the last quarter of 2016 Vodafone Portugal began a roadshow around the country to showcase its wide portfolio of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to managers in the public sector.

The session being held today, 16 February, is taking place at São Miguel Science and Technology Park. The choice of the Azores Autonomous Region is of particular importance because it demonstrates how advanced technologies will accelerate the development of all of Portugal at the same speed, reducing the possible effects of island or interior location, and creating a single, cohesive local market.

At a time when the Internet of Things is identified as the largest and most disruptive transformation driven by the internet and one of the pillars of the fourth industrial revolution – the digital revolution – Vodafone is organising a demonstration of intelligent solutions in the Azores, creating the conditions for the Region to become the first “Smart Island”.

In the Azores, Vodafone  is presenting a wide range of ten IoT solutions: Moocall; Vodafone Smart Buildings; Vodafone Smart Lights; Vodafone Lights On, Lights Off; Vodafone Smart Waste; Vodafone Smart Water; Vodafone Smart Counting; Gestão de Frotas; Vodafone Ready Check Go; and Prodsmart.

These solutions will enable public and private organisations in the Azores to optimise the management of resources, gain greater control of costs, reduce consumption, create more efficient business and operational practices and develop new business models that will redesign the value chain, bringing clear benefits for citizens and for the economic growth of the archipelago.

“Vodafone is committed to participating actively in the creation of a ‘Smart Island’ by delivering IoT solutions, designed and tailored to the specific needs of the public and private sectors, and through the offer of its network and management platforms developed specially for communication between ‘things’ and recognised by the industry worldwide”, said João Mendes Dias, director of corporate business at Vodafone Portugal.

Vodafone’s consistent focus on technology and innovation positions the company as a key player in the construction of the cities and companies of the future – smarter and more sustainable. The broad portfolio of IoT solutions uses Machine-to-Machine technology (M2M), in which Vodafone is a world leader. In 2016, it was ranked as the company best positioned globally to meet the challenges of IoT for its “completeness of vision” and “ability to execute” in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for the fourth consecutive year. In a highly competitive market it has also been recognised in the last five years as a “consistent global leader” in IoT services by Machina Research.

In Portugal, Vodafone has an Internet of Things Competence Centre with a dedicated specialised team which works daily to develop solutions for the Vodafone Group. In addition to an extensive network of partners it also has a customer support team available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Moocall, an innovation tailor-made for the Azores

Vodafone is bringing to the Azores some of the most remarked and successful solutions in the world and is presenting an innovation that promises to surprise farmers in the region:

Moocall: A solution that monitors the gestation period of cows, making it possible to predict with a high degree of accuracy the moment when the animals will give birth, helping to save the lives of calves and improve the profitability of pastures.

The solution uses a non-invasive sensor attached to the cow’s tail. This device collects information in real time about the animal’s tail movements triggered by contractions during labour. When these movements reach a certain level of intensity, about an hour before the birth, an alert is sent directly to the producer’s mobile phone.

The solution arose from the initiative by an Irishman farmer who lost two animals in 2010 due to a difficult birth. Over several months, Niall Austin worked together with the other founders of Moocall on the development of a solution to monitor and interpret the movement patterns of the cow’s tail to predict the onset of labour.

To achieve the device’s connectivity to ensure the transmission of data in real time, Vodafone worked closely with the founders of Moocall to provide a reliable and exportable solution for any part of the world.

In this session of the roadshow, Vodafone is also presenting several other solutions that will transform the archipelago into a “Smart Island”:

Vodafone Smart Buildings: Centralised building management using sensors monitoring energy, temperature, pressure, humidity and human presence, among other things.

Vodafone Smart Lights: Real-time monitoring of energy and electrical circuits, as well as energy efficiency management.

Vodafone Lights On, Lights Off: Solution that makes it possible to monitor, control and optimise street lighting through access to a platform that monitors energy consumption in real time; sets calendars; manages each street light individually or in groups; and regulates light intensity flows during the night without losing performance or comfort, according to the municipality’s requirements.

Vodafone Smart Waste:  Remote control of municipal waste in real time, optimising collection rounds and resources using ultrasound, infrared and temperature sensors.

Vodafone Smart Water: Remote, real-time management of irrigation and water supply systems using temperature and pressure sensors and limit switches, among other things.

Vodafone Smart Counting: Solution for counting people in a range of different situations.

Gestão de Frotas: Remote, real-time management of all elements of car parking from the search for a parking space to control of infractions.

Vodafone Ready Check Go: Technological solution that turns a tablet into a work tool, enabling the user to gather information in real time, with immediate availability for analysis and decision making.

Prodsmart: Management and real-time monitoring of production and manufacturing lines.

 “Our ultimate aim is to continue to develop IoT solutions to optimise available resources, so helping to improve citizens’ quality of life. Vodafone is stepping up its activities in this area in a collaboration that brings together the local authorities and universities as centres of research and innovation, industry, and also citizens to whom these efforts are directed and whose feedback helps us to focus on the most urgent and higher value needs”, adds Mário Peres, IoT Development Manager of the Vodafone Group.

A survey of 1,100 senior managers in public sector and in private companies in 17 countries conducted by the Vodafone Group in 2016, reveals that IoT is already part of the day-to-day lives of many companies.

Over three-quarters of respondents believe that the Internet of Things will be vital to the success of their companies in the future, while half of consumer technology companies plan to launch new IoT products and services in the next two years.

The same Barometer also features feedback from companies that have already embraced the Internet of Things: 89% of companies have increased the budgets allocated to IoT in the last 12 months and almost 65% have achieved significant returns on their investment.

Learn more about the study here.