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Skkynet to Showcase Complete Industrial IoT Solution for Top Manufacturing Executives

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Manufacturing and control system executives to receive hands-on demos of Skkynet’s IoT technology.

Mississauga, Ontario, March 30, 2016 – Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (“Skkynet” or “the Company”) (OTCQB:SKKY), a global leader in real-time cloud information systems, will present and demonstrate its fully integrated SkkyHub™ service, DataHub® industrial middleware, and Skkynet ETK at the North American Manufacturing Excellence Summit (NAMES) on April 5-6 in Chicago, and at the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) 2015 Executive Conference on April 19-22 in Puerto Rico.

“The top decision-makers and leaders in manufacturing and industrial automation attending these events are looking for ways to gain a competitive edge,” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet. “What they will find in our demos is an end-to-end solution that they can connect to new or existing systems, and immediately start reaping the benefits of the Industrial IoT (Internet of Things).”

Each of these conferences brings together executives in leading manufacturing and system integration firms, as well as plant managers and supply chain leaders.  At the NAMES summit, managers and leaders from GE and John Deere will be discussing the Industrial IoT, and how it offers a competitive edge for manufacturers.  At the CSIA event, presidents and managers of system integration companies will meet to pool their experience and catch up on the latest methods and technologies for industrial automation and control.

Skkynet’s contribution to these gatherings is to demonstrate the complete solution offered by using the DataHub with in-plant systems and the Skkynet ETK with embedded devices to connect to the SkkyHub service.  This approach to the Industrial IoT offers a secure, robust, end-to-end solution for remote monitoring and supervisory process control.  The integration of both in-plant and field device connections allows plant engineers and system integrators to bridge the gap between industrial control systems and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Skkynet’s SkkyHub service allows industrial and embedded systems to securely network live data in real time from any location. It enables bidirectional supervisory control, integration and sharing of data with multiple users, and real-time access to selected data sets in a web browser. The service is capable of handling over 50,000 data changes per second per client, at speeds of just microseconds over Internet latency. Secure by design, it requires no VPN, no open firewall ports, no special programming, and no additional hardware.

Skkynet’s Cogent DataHub industrial middleware solution connects to virtually any industrial system using standard protocols such as OPC, Modbus, TCP, and ODBC to support OPC networking, server-server bridging, aggregation, data logging, redundancy, and web-based HMI. The Skkynet Embedded Toolkit (ETK) allows embedded devices to make a secure connection to the Internet of Things, enabling real-time, bidirectional data flow and edge computing using a built-in scripting language.

About Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc.

Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:SKKY) is a global leader in real-time cloud information systems. The Skkynet Connected Systems platform includes the award-winning SkkyHub™ service, DataHub®, WebView™, and Embedded Toolkit (ETK) software. The platform enables real-time data connectivity for industrial, embedded, and financial systems, with no programming required. Skkynet’s platform is uniquely positioned for the “Internet of Things” and “Industry 4.0” because unlike the traditional approach for networked systems, SkkyHub is secure-by-design. Customers include Microsoft, Caterpillar, Siemens, Metso, ABB, Honeywell, IBM, GE, Statoil, Goodyear, BASF, E.ON, Bombardier, and the Bank of Canada. For more information, see http://skkynet.com.

Safe Harbor:

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, and results of new business opportunities. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, such as the inherent uncertainties associated with new business opportunities and development stage companies. We assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Investors should refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Down-to-Earth Cloud: Fog Computing on Edge Devices

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When a cloud comes to earth–hitting a mountain, or rolling in at ground level–we call it fog. In the same way, cloud computing conducted at the local level is sometimes referred to as “fog” computing or “edge” computing. Wikipedia defines edge computing as “pushing the frontier of computing applications, data, and services away from centralized nodes to the logical extremes of a network.” In other words, fog or edge computing brings data processing out of the clouds and down to earth.

In a recent blog, New in IIoT: Fog Computing Leverages Edge Devices and the Cloud, Al Presher describes how edge devices are being used in commercial and industrial applications to provide computing power to interface between the real world and the cloud. Putting computing power as close as possible to the data collection, detection or control can mean quicker response, and more efficient and meaningful data collection.

For example, a simple device might send a simple message “I’m switched on and working” every second. A control system that interacts with the device needs that message the first time, but not every second. Maybe it could use an hourly or daily update as a status report, but sending the message more frequently would just waste resources and bandwidth. With the thousands or millions of such devices that the IoT promises, we need a way to send only meaningful messages.

This is where edge computing comes in. A program on the device can throttle the messages down to once an hour, or once per day, or whatever. It can read and interpret messages such as “I’m switched off” or “I’m not working properly“, and forward them immediately. For more sophisticated devices, an edge computing solution could send ordinary status messages when things are normal, and then open a real-time data flow during any abnormal conditions, so that every single data change, no matter how brief, can be collected and recorded.

In addition to decreasing data volume, edge computing can also reduce the amount of processing done on the receiving end of the data. For example, unit conversions, linear transformations, and simple analytical functions can be run on the data before it gets sent to the cloud. Spread out over hundreds or thousands of devices, this relatively simple, decentralized processing can translate into significant cost savings.

The Skkynet Embedded Toolkit supports edge computing in several ways on devices where it is used. It has a built-in command set, and a scripting language specifically designed for mission-critical industrial applications, with a wide range of functions for interacting with the real-time data as it flows through the system. Being able to access each data point in the system, it can support both monitoring and control functionality, as needed.

What will be the impact of fog or edge computing? At this point it is difficult to predict, exactly. However, it seems that for industrial systems, edge computing can provide many of the benefits of a SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Access) system, for a much smaller up-front and ongoing investment. By plugging edge devices into an existing data communications infrastructure like SkkyHub, much of the heavy lifting for data monitoring and supervisory control has already been done.

ExxonMobil Seeks Open Automation Solutions

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At the most recent ARC Industry Forum in Orlando, ExxonMobil announced that they are not satisfied with business as usual when it comes to industrial automation, and they are looking for something far superior to what is currently being offered.  On January 14, 2016, ExxonMobil announced that they had awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to serve as the systems integrator in the early stage development of a next-generation open and secure automation system for process industries.  Lockheed Martin is tasked to seek out the architecture and tools needed for an “open, standards-based, secure and interoperable control system” that can be seamlessly integrated with existing facilities, as well as new and future systems.  ExxonMobil wants the hardware and software components to be commercially available and able to function in all current DCS markets.

Rather than simply replace their aging systems with the current state of the art, which is expensive, inflexible, and closed, ExxonMobil wants to leverage new, open, IoT, wireless, and cloud technologies to cut costs, enhance security, and reduce development time. As with other, adjacent areas of technology, they want to see a step-change improvements, not incremental or bolted-on changes to obsolete architectures.

Originally presented at Industry Day on January 26, 2016

Their vision for open automation is standards-based, secure, and interoperable, which will:

  1. Promote innovation & value creation
  2. Effortlessly integrate best-in-class components
  3. Afford access to leading-edge capability & performance
  4. Preserve the asset owner’s application software
  5. Significantly lower the cost of future replacement
  6. Employ an adaptive intrinsic security model

This vision reads like a list of Skkynet connectivity solutions features and benefits:

  1. SkkyHub, DataHub, and the ETK foster innovation and value creation by providing open-standards, real-time data connectivity for hardware and software from almost any vendor.
  2. These Skkynet tools allow users to integrate data from virtually any components.
  3. This kind of real-time data integration enables each component in turn to perform at its highest capacity.
  4. Any generation of equipment, from legacy to state-of-the-art, can be integrated.
  5. Connecting modules can be replaced, and the system itself gets continually updated.
  6. Connections from the DataHub or ETK to SkkyHub are secure by design.

We are currently in communication with Lockheed Martin, and bringing these advantages to ExxonMobil’s attention. We share their vision, and offer tested, verified, working solutions.

Value Propositions for Industrial IoT

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A mong all the fanfare and hoopla over the Industrial IoT, the more practical-minded among us quietly but persistently raise the question, “So, where’s the value?” It’s a fair question. The IoT represents a new area of influence for industrial automation. Before embarking on such a venture, it’s good to have some idea what the benefits may be.

As we see it, there are two main parties involved, producers and suppliers, and each of them stands to benefit in their own way:

Producers

By “producers” we mean any company in the industrial sector that produces goods or services, such as manufacturing, energy, oil & gas, chemicals, mining, water & wastewater, transportation, food & beverages, and so on.

OPEX over CAPEX

Traditionally, projects in the industrial sector require large up front capital expenses (CAPEX) and are usually accompanied by long-term commitments. Shifting these costs to operational expenses (OPEX) means that you do not need to justify a large capital expenditure over years of returns. Just like a cup of coffee, you buy it, consume it and when you need more, you buy it again.

The SkkyHub “pay as you go” model cuts costs in this way. There are no long-term commitments and no initial capital investments. Costs are reduced and shifted from high capital expenses to monthly operating expenses, which improves long-term expense planning and looks better on financial statements.

Data as a Service

There is no need for additional IT personnel or extra hardware, no programming and no upgrade headaches. SkkyHub takes care of data connectivity, freeing up customer staff and resources for higher priority tasks, while increasing ROI.

The Efficiency of Big Data

Knowing exactly what is happening at any given time in the system is a useful step that a producer can take towards improving efficiency, enhancing value. Until recently, this kind of analysis was only available to the biggest enterprises. Now SkkyHub provides a cost-effective way to bring the power of big-data collection to even the smallest enterprise. Combined with custom or third-party analytical tools, the real-time data flowing through SkkyHub can power both historical and real-time analysis, boosting KPIs and enabling significant gains in productivity.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a measure of how efficiently production equipment is being used. In manufacturing, for example, OEE is calculated according to three measures: uptime of production equipment, quantity of output, and quality of finished products. Manual methods and historical data archives give a rough idea of OEE, but according to a recent paper published by the ISA, a much more precise and relevant picture can be drawn by combining real-time operational visibility with real-time analytics. Any drop in production uptime or quantity, or in the quality of finished goods will be noticed immediately, and a fix can be applied on the spot, rather than waiting days, weeks, or months for a report to be generated.

Predictive Maintenance

Today’s engineers and managers recognize the need to shift from reactive to predictive maintenance. Instead of asking “What happened?” or “What’s happening?” they want to be asking “What will happen?” Instead of just putting out fires, management and production staff can use the real-time data provided by SkkyHub for optimization, data mining, and fault prediction.

Suppliers

By “suppliers” we mean companies that supply goods or services to industrial companies, in three broad categories:

  1. Raw Materials Suppliers
  2. OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and Equipment Vendors
  3. System Integrators
Raw Materials Suppliers

Connecting to a customer’s process data via the Industrial IoT provides value by giving suppliers a window into the real-time consumption rates of the raw materials they provide. This allows them to offer just-in-time deliveries, and coordinate their production with demand in real time. A well-known business model shows how the lack of communication between suppliers and producers can cause costly shortages and wasteful overruns. If the Industrial IoT is extended further to include customer order data, then the supply-production-delivery chain could be fully coordinated, with minimal waste and maximum profit.

OEMs and Equipment Vendors

Implemented properly, the Industrial IoT provides a way for OEMs and equipment vendors to monitor their tools and machines in real time. As industrial equipment grows increasingly complex, more and more specialized knowledge is required to maintain and keep it running at optimal efficiency. Meanwhile, customers constantly demand higher uptime rates.

The solution is to stay connected 24/7 in real time. This kind of connection provides vendors and manufacturers immediate notification when something goes wrong, and a convenient channel to check settings and tweak configuration. Rather than sending a technician out to the plant, the tech support team can address the problem using the full set of in-house resources. For the big picture over time, with every machine connected, the vendor or manufacturer can collect histories for every unit in the field, and analyze the data over the entire life of the product.

Given the benefits of OPEX over CAPEX, the growing complexity of machinery, and the convenience of remote monitoring and service, the Industrial IoT may well facilitate a trend towards providing equipment as a service. Plant owners pay a monthly leasing fee for the equipment, and tool manufacturers and/or vendors ensure that it is in place and functioning as expected.

System Integrators

System integration companies come in all sizes, from lone entrepreneurial engineers to mid-sized specialty shops to multi-national giants. Each may offer a different range of skills, products, and services. As the Industrial IoT gains traction, system integrators may begin looking for a way to offer such a service that works well.

Skkynet offers revenue sharing opportunities that meet the needs of any size system integrator working with customers in any sector or niche market. Skkynet partners are able to offer their customers a secure end-to-end solution for the Industrial IoT right now―at a fraction of the cost associated with ad-hoc or home-grown solutions. System integrators who can offer value through best of breed technology to enhance customer performance will deepen relationships with existing clients and grow their customer base.

Renesas Electronics Expands Renesas Synergy™ Platform for IoT

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Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the expansion of its Renesas Synergy™ Platform designed to accelerate time to market, reduce total cost of ownership and remove many of the obstacles engineers face when designing devices for the Internet of Things (IoT). Expansion includes launch of the new S124 Group of Synergy Microcontrollers (MCUs) with ultra-low power operating characteristics and precise analog signal acquisition/generation capabilities ideal for sensor applications. In support of these new MCUs is an updated version of the Synergy Software Package (SSP) and the e² studio Integrated Solution Development Environment (ISDE) tool. The SSP and e² studio tool also incorporate further enhancements that address the entire Synergy Platform adding new capabilities for networking, industrial automation, power management and automated configuration to save even more precious time for embedded system developers.

“The Synergy Platform continues to grow in value to both developers and their end-customers,” said Mark Rootz, Marketing Director of Renesas’ Internet of Things BU. “This new S124 Synergy MCU Group is another example of platform growth that brings ARM® Cortex®-M0+ based MCUs to the lower end of the application spectrum while remaining completely scalable and compatible with the companion Cortex®-M4 based Synergy MCU groups above it that we launched last year. Software support for these new S124 MCUs is there by expansion of the SSP enabling customers to quickly and easily migrate between all Synergy MCU groups as their needs change and still be able to re-use existing application code. We continue to evolve all elements of the Synergy Platform and build value as demonstrated here with new MCUs, new software, plus ever-growing tool and partner support for the platform.”

Overall Synergy Platform expansion continues globally with the addition of five new Verified Software Add-on (VSA) products from Europe and Japan to be available on the Synergy Gallery in spring 2016. VSA software from third-parties are verified by Renesas to be SSP-compatible for developers to easily add specialty functions to their Synergy Platform-based projects with confidence. New global VSA partners address specialized functions in the areas of home and industrial automation including Echonet, CANopen, and BACnet, plus secure communications, and cloud services. These US-based VSA products are now fully available on the Synergy Gallery – Cypherbridge Systems SDKPac for Synergy secure IoT and web connectivity including SSL/TLS, Icon Labs for security services including firewall and secure boot, and Skkynet for secure real-time data connectivity, on premise or cloud-based (SaaS).

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Skkynet’s ETK for the Renesas Synergy™ Platform Now Available at No Cost

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Engineers and developers using the Renesas Synergy Platform can now connect their projects to the Industrial IoT quickly, securely, and free of any royalty or development license fees.

Mississauga, Ontario, February 2, 2016 – Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (“Skkynet” or “the Company”) (OTCQB:SKKY), a global leader in real-time cloud information systems, announces that Skkynet’s ETK (Embedded Toolkit) for the Renesas Synergy™ Platform is now available for download from the Renesas Synergy Gallery, as part of the Renesas Synergy Verified Software Add-on (VSA) Program. The ETK is offered by Skkynet free of any royalty or development-license fees, allowing engineers and developers to quickly and securely enable their projects for the IoT, while providing a platform to earn a recurring revenue stream.

“Using the ETK gets Renesas Synergy developers up and running on the IoT right away on a robust, secure, end-to-end system” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet. “They can send data from their project to our SkkyHub™ service and view their data in a web browser, or link to other devices. They can also connect via the ETK to our DataHub® industrial middleware, and link their project to virtually any in-plant industrial system.”

Last month Renesas announced the mass production of the Renesas Synergy Platform, which is an integration of qualified software, scalable microcontrollers (MCUs), hardware solutions and tools designed to reduce development time, lower the total cost of ownership, and eliminate obstacles that engineers face when developing products for the IoT.  The Renesas Synergy VSA Program was launched as a way to broaden the value of the Synergy Platform and give customers access to specialized software like Skkynet’s ETK that is already verified as compatible with the Synergy Software Package (SSP).

Skkynet’s SkkyHub service allows industrial and embedded systems to securely network live data in real time from any location. It enables bidirectional supervisory control, integration and sharing of data with multiple users, and real-time access to selected data sets in a web browser. The service is capable of handling over 50,000 data changes per second per client, at speeds of just microseconds over Internet latency. Secure by design, it requires no VPN, no open firewall ports, no special programming, and no additional hardware.

Skkynet’s Cogent DataHub industrial middleware solution connects to virtually any industrial system using standard protocols such as OPC, Modbus, TCP, and ODBC to support OPC networking, server-server bridging, aggregation, data logging, redundancy, and web-based HMI.

The ETK, DataHub, and SkkyHub will be demonstrated live by Renesas at ATX West 2016 in Anaheim, California February 9-11, 2016 (Hall B, Booth #4594), as well as at the Nineteenth Annual ARC Industry Forum, “Industry in Transition: Navigating the New Age of Innovation” in Orlando, Florida, February 8-11, 2016, hosted by the Arc Advisory Group.

About Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc.

Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:SKKY) is a global leader in real-time cloud information systems. The Skkynet Connected Systems platform includes the award-winning SkkyHub™ service, DataHub®, WebView™, and embedded toolkit software. The platform enables real-time data connectivity for industrial, embedded, and financial systems, with no programming required. Skkynet’s platform is uniquely positioned for the “Internet of Things” and “Industry 4.0” because unlike the traditional approach for networked systems, SkkyHub is secure-by-design. Customers include Microsoft, Caterpillar, Siemens, Metso, ABB, Honeywell, IBM, GE, Statoil, Goodyear, BASF, E.ON, Bombardier, and the Bank of Canada. For more information, see http://skkynet.com.

Safe Harbor:

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, and results of new business opportunities. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, such as the inherent uncertainties associated with new business opportunities and development stage companies. We assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. Investors should refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.