Remote monitoring now essential for business operations

It has never been more important for your critical infrastructure to be up and running. Remote monitoring helps ensure your facilities are operating as they should be, even when no one is physically around. Remote monitoring isn't a new thing, but it is time to move it from the "nice to have" category to the "essential for business operations" category. 

WHERE TO USE REMOTE MONITORING
We have customers in over 25 industries and 30 countries and they use remote monitoring to address a variety of needs. Here are just a few.

• Track energy usage on appliances in fast food restaurants to ensure corporate standards are met
• Monitor the generator status in cell towers
• Ensure data closets don't get too hot
• Validate that thermostats have been adjusted to save energy in unoccupied buildings
• Get notified if an ATS switches from city power to generator power
• Know that office lights are off and outside lights are on at night
• Get alerts when a leak has occurred and water is where it shouldn't be

REMOTE MONITORING ELEMENTS
A robust remote monitoring system must possess several essential characteristics.

True remote monitoring

• Remote real-time data collection on site
• Remote data transmission from the site
• Multiple redundant data interfaces at each level
• Ability to remotely mirror or re-route monitoring data flow to different systems and different locations as needed
• Ability to serve as a back up "monitoring center" if necessary -- not just collect data, but also offer the option of monitoring it at another location and forward the data for someone else to monitor
• Ability to monitor and fix the monitoring system itself. A true critical monitoring system must be capable of seamless, remote upgrades of all software and firmware components including all wired and wireless communication sensors. This means being able to completely upgrade and reconfigure ALL components with NO physical access and NO power cycling of anything -- NO exceptions.

Flexibility

• A monitoring infrastructure must be capable of adapting with minimal human intervention
• A good monitoring system can be asked to monitor things that were not originally in scope. An AC power monitoring system may have to support DC power. A power monitor may have to include environmental data. A panel monitoring system may have to pick up some data from a UPS and its fuel tank.
• Easily scale. A central office monitoring system may have to be extended to pick up two (or two hundred) remote branches with varying degrees of internet connectivity.

Independence
A reliable monitoring system must be independent of the infrastructure it monitors. 

• Failure of the monitoring system should never jeopardize the infrastructure it monitors. For power monitoring this means physical design making it nearly impossible for monitoring components to interrupt the flow of energy.
• Failure of the monitoring system should never jeopardize data security. This means being fundamentally out-of-band of any other business data networks. No encryption level is high enough if monitoring data flows over the same network as business data. A good monitoring system should use a physically separate network with no bridging capability to any business-critical networks. 

WHY PACKET POWER

Proven solution worldwide
Packet Power has been delivering wireless monitoring systems for over 10 years. We've deployed over 100,000 monitoring devices and analyze 100 million data points every hour. Using a proven provider reduces risk.

Wireless that works
Our purpose-built wireless mesh networking protocol leverages dynamic routing and small packet sizes to remain stable in hostile and rapidly changing wireless environments. The combination of 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies is more robust than 2.4 GHz alone and the system is certified for use worldwide.

Secure
Our wireless does not rely on general purpose protocols such as WiFi or Zigbee and has been vetted by some of the most security-focused firms and institutions in the world.  

Scalable
Packet Power's wireless monitoring system easily grows as your needs grow. Start with as many or few monitoring devices as you need. The system automatically configures and manages itself. 

Packet Power is an expert at delivering remote wireless power and environmental monitoring systems worldwide. Contact a partner near you or email sales@packetpower.com to let us help keep you out of crisis.