Today's Top Stories The BYOD and Internet of Things trends are creating security headaches for hospital CIOs, laments Andrew Litt, chief medical officer at Dell's healthcare solutions, in a Computerworld blog post. Physicians, who are often not employees of hospitals, are increasingly using their own mobile devices to access medical records, order tests and prescribe medications. "The idea of non-employees accessing data and applications of that level of sensitivity on personally owned devices would scare the daylights out of most corporate CIOs. And hospital CIOs are equally worried about the broader security concerns inherent with BYOD," Litt writes. In addition, the Internet of Things, which includes wireless medical equipment, introduces many new wireless access points to the network that need to be secured and monitored. Developers are working to merge data from these devices with electronic medical records. "Not only do [CIOs] need to ensure that unauthorized people do not access the network via any of these devices, [they] need to ensure security in transmission of the data," Litt explains. "CIOs will also need to balance the need for security with physicians' need for easy access--a task made more difficult by the fact that, when it comes to patient care, physicians are not patient people…CIOs must be careful not to be rushed into solutions that provide easy access but don't ensure the high level of security the data demands," advises Litt. For more:
- read Litt's column Related Articles:
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Talent shortage hampers healthcare IT initiatives Read more about: BYOD
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Enterprise use of wireless handheld and portable test equipment is forecast by Frost & Sullivan to increase significantly over the next few years, with market revenues reaching $3 billion in 2019, up from $2.1 billion in 2012. Extended battery life for the equipment, along with mobile broadband capabilities enabled by LTE networks, will spur greater use of handheld and portable test equipment by firms. "The explosive growth of wireless data and the expansion of next-generation LTE, 3G and 4G wireless networks in several countries boost the use of handheld and portable instruments in field applications. Radio frequency handheld instruments, in particular, are increasingly used in the installation and maintenance applications of air interfaces, access networks and network performance," says Sujan Sami, measurement and instrumentation industry manager at Frost & Sullivan. Chinese test vendors are offering low-cost test equipment options, which firms interested in reducing capital expenditure, particularly in developing countries, are finding attractive. This could hurt the prospects of established test suppliers. Also, an economic downturn in Europe and Japan could limit investments in handheld and portable test equipment in these regions, requiring vendors to lower prices to remain competitive, judges Frost & Sullivan. "Providing low-cost solutions that also cater to ever-growing customer needs is the key for success in this market. Apart from enhancing the features and functionalities of handheld and portable instruments, product differentiation and brand recognition will be crucial to widen their use, especially in R&D [research and development] labs," concludes Sami. For more:
- see the Frost & Sullivan release Related Articles:
RFID research promises improved range, accuracy with fewer antennas
RFID market to increase at a 22.4% CAGR through 2018, says TechNavio
Spirent extends functionality of TestCenter HyperMetrics Read more about: Battery Life
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Mobile device traffic growth is fueling demand for Diameter signaling controllers, with revenues forecast by Infonetics Research to increase at a 54 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2018. In 2013, Diameter signaling controller revenues doubled, following a 900 percent year-over-year increase in 2012, according to Infonetics data. Diameter is one of the two signal protocols that handle most of the communications in IP multimedia subsystem networks; the other is SIP. Diameter handles the data signaling for mobile devices, while SIP handles message signaling for VoIP and video conferencing, according to a white paper (.pdf) by Sonus Networks. Diameter signaling controllers are primarily used to centralize data traffic routing, but they are also used for roaming via a Diameter Edge Agent and for charging rules function binding, explains Infonetics. Areas for product development this year include virtualization and integration of the interworking function. "The vendor landscape continues to shift with acquisitions and new entrants…As exploding traffic from mobile devices, smartphones and machines further vexes mobile operators, we expect competition in the Diameter signaling controller market to intensify in 2014," notes Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP, UC and IMS at Infonetics. Oracle is the leading vendor in the Diameter signaling controller market, as a result of its Tekelec and Acme Packet acquisitions, followed closely by F5 Networks and Huawei. Other vendors include Alcatel-Lucent, Amdocs, Comptel, Ericsson, Openet and Ulticom. In 2011, North America controlled close to 80 percent of the Diameter signaling controller market, but the Asia Pacific region caught up to North America in 2012 and Europe, the Middle East and Africa surged in 2013 due to deployment of 4G LTE in these regions. For more:
- see the Infonetics stats
- download the Sonus white paper (.pdf) Related Articles:
Tekelec leads Diameter signaling controller market
Acme Packet rolls out a trio of new platform choices for session delivery network solutions Read more about: infonetics research
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