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Skkynet Joins Canadian Business Mission to Japan

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This past month Skkynet’s President, Paul Thomas, teamed up with a group of Ontario business leaders for a business mission to Japan.  Led by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Trade Commission, the mission met with companies like NTT-Data, Rakuten, and Softbank, and succeeded in signing 15 trade agreements valued at more than $120 million.

A high point of the visit was a signing ceremony for a memo of understanding between Cogent and BellChild at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo to launch the next generation of the iBRESS Service in 2017.  “We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with BellChild in this way,” said Thomas, “and build on the success of the current iBRESS Secure Micro Cloud Service, which we have been offering jointly for the past 18 months.  Adding the capabilities of the SkkyHub™ service to BellChild’s portfolio will significantly enhance their ability to serve their customers.”

Shown in the picture, left to right:

  • Mr. Ian Burney, Ambassador of Canada to Japan
  • Mr. Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet
  • Mr. Yoshikuni Fujita, President of BellChild
  • Ms. Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario
  • Mr. Minoru Yamazaki, Senior Advisor, Cogent DataHub Application Centre (Japan)

The signing ceremony was one of many events and meetings held over a period of two weeks to establish stronger bonds of collaboration between Skkynet’s Canadian and Japanese subisidaries (Cogent and NiC), and their Japanese partners and affiliated companies.  Building on ten years of personal, business, and technical relationships, this visit not only rekindled old friendships, but also opened new doors.  Here are some highlights:

Site visits to the Tokyo Institute of Technology, as well as the Nagoya Institute of Technology, where a team of professors has been testing the new OPC UA features of the Cogent DataHub for internal communications over OPC UA in a simultated plant environment.

The launch of the Alliance Partner Group (APG), leading proponents of the Industrial IoT that share Skkynet’s and BellChild’s vision, including TOA, IBS Japan, Kobata Gauge, Japan-Direx, Device Drivers, Haneron, MACNICA Techstar Co., and Puerto, as well as Skkynet, Cogent, NiC, and BellChild.

Meetings with the ThunderCloud Alliance as a group, as well as with individual members.  The ThunderCloud Alliance is a nine company alliance to provide Industrie 4.0 and Industrial IoT hardware, software, and services to the world market. Each company is contributes from its own specialized field. TOA Musendenki Co., Ltd is in charge of communication and various sensor devices. BellChild Co., Ltd is responsible for cloud servers. Kobata Gauge Manufacturing provides various sensors. Haneron Corporation offers remote monitoring equipment. NiC is responsible for industrial networks. Nissin Systems Co., Ltd. is in charge of control systems and embedded software. Puerto Co., Ltd develops industrial protocols, and provides expertise in OPC UA. Japan Direx Corporation does real-time network intelligence analysis. Cogent Real-Time Systems provides real-time data connectivity middleware to communicate between devices (M2M) and remote monitoring.

Leading up to these events, Skkynet/BellChild iBRESS Service was used to power demos at the following trade shows:

  • ET2016 (demos by Nissin, Renesas, Renesas Easton, and BellChild)
  • JIMTOF 2016 (demos by MACNICA and BellChild)
  • Monozukuri Business Fair 2016, Osaka (demos by BellChild)

“The business mission was a resounding success, and personally very satisfying,” said Thomas. “We have sown a lot of seeds, and look forward to seeing how they grow in the coming year.”

Cogent and BellChild to Launch Next Generation iBRESS Service

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Skkynet subsidiary Cogent Real-Time Systems signs memo of understanding with BellChild to offer next generation cloud service for Industrie 4.0 and Industrial IoT.

Mississauga, Ontario, December 7, 2016 – Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (“Skkynet”) (OTCQB: SKKY), a global leader in real-time cloud information systems, announces that Cogent Real-Time Systems, a Skkynet subsidiary, signed a memo of understanding with BellChild Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, to launch the next generation iBRESS™ cloud service. This MOU supports the rollout of an Asian-market specific SaaS (Software as a Service) for secure, real-time data communication suitable for Industrie 4.0 and Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications.

“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with BellChild in this way,” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet, “and build on the success of the current iBRESS Secure Cloud Micro Service, which we have been offering jointly for the past 18 months.  Adding the capabilities of the SkkyHub™ service to BellChild’s portfolio will significantly enhance their ability to serve their customers.”

Users of the improved iBRESS service will be able to securely connect industrial plants, machines, or individual sensors and actuators to a complete Industrie 4.0 or IIoT system.  This will allow BellChild customers to monitor and control their industrial processes in real time, from a web page or mobile phone, as well as log data directly to any database or Big Data repository.  The improved service requires no programming, and allows users to seamlessly integrate existing systems using standard protocols, while incrementally adding Industrie 4.0 or IIoT capability as needed.

Underpinning the iBRESS and SkkHub services, Skkynet’s patented technology for secure, outbound-only connections is fully compatible with corporate IT policies, and ensures no exposed attack surface – no open firewall ports, no VPN, and no extra hardware.  It provides Industrie 4.0 and IIoT connectivity at in-plant networking speeds of microseconds over network latency, and processes up to 50,000+ data changes per second.

About BellChild

BellChild is a system integration company focusing on secure system development, robust infrastructure development, and advanced operations capabilities. BellChild’s BEAM platform provides highly secure cloud services for the financial sector. The company develops and maintains secure servers used to support high-speed financial transactions, which is also used to provide a robust and secure platform to support industrial cloud-based systems in the form of iBRESS™ service.  For more information, see http://www.bell-c.co.jp/.

About Skkynet

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.  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. Skkynet assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements. Although Skkynet believes 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 Skkynet’s annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Skkynet and Partners to Host Seminar: “Technology and Business for the IoT Era”

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Industry leader seminar to share best practices for translating the vison of Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 into practical reality.

Mississauga, Ontario, June 7, 2016 – Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (“Skkynet”) (OTCQB: SKKY), a global leader in real-time cloud information systems, working with partners of the ThunderCloud Alliance, will host a seminar “Technology and Business for the IoT Era” at the UDX Conference Center in Tokyo, Japan, on June 9, 2016.  Leaders from academia, research, data communications, and embedded device manufacturing will collaborate on cutting-edge technologies and business practices that will allow corporations to extract maximum value from the IoT (Internet of Things).

“Each of our partners in the ThunderCloud Alliance plays a key role in the development of IoT architecture and technology,” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet. “This seminar is an opportunity for us to develop and share a collective approach to realizing some of the outstanding opportunities that the IoT promises.”

Executives, academics, and experts from organizations including Nagoya Institute of Technology, Kaspersky Labs, Red Lion Controls, Inc., OPC Foundation, TOA Musendenki Co., Ltd, BellChild Co., Ltd, Nissin Systems, Co., and Puerto Co. Ltd. will be leading discussions focused on IoT security, innovation, interoperability, and business models. Each party has been actively involved in developing the architecture and technology to support industrial IoT applications, and can point to real-world examples of their success.

The ThunderCloud Alliance, West was formed by Skkynet in December 2013 to provide a turn-key, real-time sensor-to-cloud service for the industrial M2M (Machine to Machine) market. Working in close association with TOA Musendenki, Nissin Systems, BellChild, NiC, KOBATA Gauge, Puerto, Haneron and Direx, Skkynet’s role is to furnish the real-time data connectivity technology necessary to make cloud-based M2M communication and the Industrial IoT a reality.

About Skkynet

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, BP, 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.  Skkynet assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements. Although Skkynet believes 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 Skkynet’s annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Skkynet Industrial IoT Solutions Shown at Japan IT Week

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Three Skkynet partners demonstrate remote monitoring, building management, data collection, and custom control systems at Japan IT Week, using Skkynet technologies.

Mississauga, Ontario, May 11, 2016 – Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (“Skkynet” or “the Company”) (OTCQB:SKKY), a global leader in real-time cloud information systems, announces that its SkkyHub™ cloud service, DataHub® industrial real-time middleware,WebView™ web-based HMI and Embedded Toolkit will be used to provide data connectivity for demos by partners BellChild Ltd., TOA Musendenki Co., Ltd, and Nissin Systems Co., Ltd at the IoT/M2M EXPO of the Japan IT Week exhibition in Tokyo from May 11-13.

TOA Musendenki will display a remote monitoring solution, connecting motors and sensors to Skkynet’s WebView web-based HMI, using low-power radio wireless from EnOcean devices, as well as a demo of using a wireless sensor network board from TecStar (division of Macnica, Inc.) to show sensor data in real time. (Booth West2-60) Working with Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd., TOA will also display building management solutions using 920MHz wireless communication module and environment sensors. (Booth West1-34)

BellChild will demonstrate remote monitoring of anemometer data, displayed on WebView, using a Red Lion Sixnet® RAM® cellular RTU running the ETK, connecting via the iBRESS Secure Micro Cloud Service (powered by DataHub).  BellChild will also demonstrate connectivity to the iBRESS Secure Micro Cloud Service from compatible devices using variety of industrial communication protocols such as OPC-UA, Modbus and EtherCAT. (Booth West2-60)

Nissin Systems will exhibit customizable monitoring and control User Interface solutions using Skkynet’s DataHub for individual customers who want to monitor and control data for analysis of embedded databases and Energy Management Systems (EMS). Nissin will also show a wide variety of applications for wireless communication technology and sensor network technology for IoT/M2M systems. (Booth West3-46)

“These exhibits by our partners at Japan IT Week demonstrate the broad range of Skkynet’s end-to-end solutions for the Industrial IoT,” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet. “The variety of systems they are using shows how well Skkynet technology applies to a wide diversity IoT and M2M project requirements.”

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.

Case Study: Biomass Biotechnology Bio, Japan

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Monitoring Nature’s Wonder Workers
Biomass Biotechnology Bio logo

Finally, someone has found a good use for pesky flies—let them eat manure! The BBB company (Biomass Biotechnology Bio) in the Chiba prefecture near Tokyo, Japan, has developed a technology that uses fly larvae to convert manure from pigs and other farm animals into organic fertilizer and high-protein fish food. And they are using the Cogent DataHub running on a cloud server to provide real-time monitoring of their production powerhouse—swarms of flies.

The process is quite simple. BBB keeps thousands of specially bred flies in captivity, collects their eggs, and sells them to local pork farmers. The farmers put the fly eggs on their pig manure, and when they hatch, the fly larvae feed off the manure. Enzymes in the larvae saliva break down the manure into rich, organic fertilizer, doing the job in one week that normally takes up to four months using conventional composting techniques. When the larvae are finished, they don’t need to be separated from the finished fertilizer—they crawl out by themselves, seeking a dry environment. At this point, before they can turn into flies, the larvae are collected, dried, and processed as fish food.

There is an English-language video of the whole BBB process which was produced by the Japanese news agency NHK and is available for viewing on the Internet.

The benefits of producing fertilizer from waste material this way are substantial, but until recently costs have been high. The company plans to expand their services to large numbers of farms, and to do so they need an inexpensive, automated way to monitor their production environment. Unlike most of us who use window screens to keep flies out, BBB has special screened rooms to keep flies in. To ensure the flies stay healthy and lay large numbers of eggs, the air temperature and humidity in these rooms must be maintained at optimal levels, and monitored around the clock.

To automate the monitoring, Cogent and their partner, Nissin Systems Co. Ltd of Kyoto Japan, provided a real-time, cloud-based system using the Cogent DataHub® and WebView™. At the BBB facility they installed a Wi-Fi-enabled environmental sensor module from TOA Musendenki to measure the temperature and humidity, and connected it directly to a Cogent DataHub running on a cloud server. Using WebView, they then created a monitoring page to track key environmental variables such as temperature and humidity in the flies’ living quarters.

“Monitoring our system on the web is very convenient,” said Mr. Yamaguchi, President of BBB. “We have been able to reduce our costs significantly, which will be even more important as we expand our operation.”

ThunderCloud Alliance Aims at World Market

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ThunderCloud Alliance Aims at World Market

Small and medium-sized companies cooperate in Industrial IoT and M2M venture

ThunderCloud Alliance (関西積乱雲プロジェクト) was launched on 2013 December to showcase each company’s products and the technologies for cloud computing and the IoT (Internet of Things).

Cogent Real-Time Systems is one of the key companies for the ThunderCloud Alliance, offering real-time data connectivity middleware to communicate between devices (M2M) and remote monitoring, along with six other companies in the Kansai area. There are a total of nine companies are participating in the ThounderCloud alliance project at present.

Each company is contributing from its own specialized field. TOA Musendenki Co., Ltd is in charge of communication and various sensor devices. BellChild Co., Ltd is responsible for cloud servers. Kobata Gauge Manufacturing provides various sensors. Haneron Corporation offers remote monitoring equipment. NiC is responsible for industrial networks. Nissin Systems Co., Ltd. is in charge of control systems and embedded software. Puerto Co., Ltd develops industrial protocols, and provides expertise in OPC UA. Japan Direx Corporation does real-time network intelligence analysis.

All members get together regularly each month to exchange information and share each companys’ technologies, new ideas, and market trends. They collaborate to develop, innovate, and test new systems.

Recently they have been working together to develop a system which collects information from various sensors and sends their data to the cloud by highly secure wired and wireless transmission technology.

“This organization welcomes any company that wants to collaborate on new technology. Each company can bring in their own special skills or knowledge with no pressure.” Mr. Kobata, President of Kobata Gauge Manufacturing, emphasizes.

“Specifically, we have been focusing our development on communication between various sensors and gateway devices, simultaneous data transmission, and highly secure systems,” said Mr. Fujita, President of BellChild. “As a result, we completed a secure micro cloud system named ‘iBRESS’ on June 15, 2015 which leverages IoT technology.”

“Currently, iBRESS is installed in the monitoring systems of small hydroelectric power generators using agricultural water, and it is also used by freshwater plants on remote islands,” he said. “We are beginning to see good results, and it has been getting a good reviews from users.”

“This project’s success demonstrates that when small and medium-sized enterprises collaborate together it enhances the security of cloud systems for remote monitoring,” said Mr. Emi, President of TOA Musendenki. “Now a number of major companies are paying attention to this secure technology for cloud-based remote monitoring products. In addition, ThunderCloud Alliance members are motivated to develop next-generation systems in the future.”

“We would also like to cooperate with sales departments among the participating companies to be able to aim at even the global market,” said Mr. Kobata, expressing his enthusiasm for the potential applications of the technology.

We will continue to monitor the activities of the ThunderCloud Alliance on an ongoing basis, and look forward to seeing this kind of collaborative movement among different companies in other areas and regions.

Published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (日刊工業新聞社) on January 5th

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