The Consumer Electronics Show (CES (News - Alert)) is a time for companies to show off innovation, and in the case of Alcatel-Lucent that meant demonstrating 12 new cloud-based service concepts developed by its ng Connect Program.
Two of the more noteworthy innovations demonstrated at CES were interactive digital signage platforms featuring cloud-based services for public venues and retailers, and communications application programming interfaces (APIs) that make application development easy and quickly without having to delve into the underlying IMS technology.
Some of the other innovations on display included:
- Cloud-connected tables serving advertising, entertainment and media in transitional waiting spaces such as airports
- Cloud-based learning platforms that empower teachers
- A connected service vehicle featuring a Ford Transit van equipped with broadband technologies and cloud-based applications connecting mobile workers.
Alcatel-Lucent (News 
- Alert) also showed off industry-specific innovations. These included: energy management applications to enable utilities to offer customers a customized service that monitors and adjusts high-consumption home appliances without losing comfort or convenience; connected health and wellness cloud-based services that bridge the gap between consumer personalized health and wellness programs and secure telehealth services; and, an open standards-based public safety service concept that leverages commercial offerings for enhanced capabilities such as vehicle tracking and surveillance.
The range of technologies on display demonstrated the variety of partner companies that comprise ngConnect, which is a multi-industry ecosystem dedicated to the creation of the next-generation user experience for connected consumers, according to Alcatel-Lucent.
More than 190 companies participate in the program, ranging from media to healthcare. Companies include the likes of Apptricity, Eclipse Identity Recognition Corporation, Trimble’s (News - Alert) ThingMagic and the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga (EPB), among others.
“The ng Connect Program brings together all these kinds of companies to overcome the technical and business barriers preventing service providers from mass deployment of the services their customers want,” noted Jason Collins, VP or emerging technology & innovation for Alcatel-Lucent.
One of the newest partners to join the program is Sprint (News - Alert), the first service provider to join ng Connect in North America.
“We see our involvement with the ng Connect program as another way to collaborate with start-ups to help them to not only develop, but also extend the reach of their products,” said Von McConnell, director of innovation and advanced labs for Sprint.
Some of the Alcatel-Lucent products used in the demonstrations include the company’s CloudBand, Digital Media Store, Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON), IMS, 4G LTE (News - Alert), New Conversation APIs and Velocix (News - Alert).
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Edited by
Peter Bernstein
