Cowbell Engineering

In Japan's manufacturing industry, major technological changes are underway, and there is an increasing number of cases where IoT is being used for monitoring and controlling equipment, maintenance, and predicting potential malfunctions among factory and machinery-related businesses. On the other hand, the costs associated with maintaining and connecting IoT technology are a major issue.

Background

Cowbell Engineering Co., Ltd, established in 1974, headquartered in Nagano, is a company that develops, manufactures, and sells hotel card locks, payment terminals, and Azure-based IoT gateways. Among these, IoT solutions are one of Cowbell's main businesses. The IoT edge device (NailEdge) contributes to improving the operational efficiency of equipment and facilities through IoT-based data acquisition and remote operation.

Challenge

Cowbell’s clients often reported that the price they pay for IoT operating, such as connectivity and cloud services, was too high. Moreover, they expected devices to function in outdoor and remote areas, which implies battery-powered options operating independently.

1NCE Solution

Cowbell united with 1NCE to overcome the above challenges and enable lower costs and extended IoT software for their NailEdge sensor gateway. With 1NCE IoT Lifetime Flat subscription, Cowbell eliminated recurring monthly communication fees, that used to be a solid financial burden for the provider and the consumers. The flat-rate pricing model implies predictable costs, which means the problem of uncertainty and fluctuating network costs vanished.

On the other hand, 1NCE OS provided several crucial features. The IoT Integrator enabled device-to-device communication without the need for cloud connectivity, reducing reliance on expensive cloud services. The Device Inspector allowed remote monitoring and management of devices, ensuring that even devices in hard-to-reach areas could be controlled and maintained from afar. Additionally, the Energy Saver function optimized data communication, reducing power consumption and extending the battery life of devices operating in off-grid locations.

Through these solutions, Cowbell Engineering was able to reduce communication and cloud costs by 100%. Furthermore, the development time for their IoT gateway devices was shortened by approximately 40%.