Cloud Monitoring delivers 24/7 management of mission-critical assets with Hologram

A safer world

If there’s a piece of equipment that you can put sensors on, chances are that Cloud Monitoring is already tracking it. On hot summer days, temperature sensors monitor rail temperatures so trains can be slowed down for safety. When it rains, they monitor substations for water intrusion to make sure the power stays on. Hospital systems, like chillers and heaters, can't afford downtime, so they track them for signs of wear before they fail. And even the elevator you might have just taken in a high-rise or train station that's critical for people movement and ADA compliance is monitored. Here’s how the simplicity and reliability of the Hologram cellular IoT platform delivers the backbone of their success.

Transforming infrastructure monitoring with cellular connectivity

Bali Harmath, co-founder and manager partner of Cloud Monitoring, knew that a remote monitoring system for industrial systems could dramatically increase safety, efficiency, and the user experience in high‐rise buildings, hospitals, universities, transportation hubs, and more. But, to succeed would require the ability to collect data from dozens of different types of sensors in real-time and then quickly process the data to make it actionable.

So nearly ten years ago, Bali took his experience designing industrial controllers and applied it to a new world of connectivity enabled by the cloud and cellular IoT. The same reasons that interested him in Hologram then still apply today — simplicity, flexibility and reliability. “We started by hacking our way and designing our own routers. Even back then, we knew that we couldn’t rely on one cellular provider for the coverage and reliability we needed,” Bali explained.

“With deployments geographically scattered, the coverage from Hologram’s automatic carrier switching was exactly what we needed to get our first monitoring platform into the market.”

Seamless management at scale

As they began their expansion across the US, the Cloud Monitoring team needed a simplified process to manage thousands of active SIMs across a vast network of geographically dispersed assets. Initially using the Hologram Dashboard, the Cloud Monitoring team recently transitioned to integrating Hologram's management capabilities directly into their own platform via the API.

The Hologram API integration streamlines operations, allowing the company to manage all aspects of their cellular connectivity, from SIM activation to usage monitoring, within a single, unified interface. This self-deployment capability and simplified management process enhance operational efficiency and reduce the complexity inherent in large-scale IoT deployments.

"After eight years, our loyalty to Hologram remains. Their offerings and pricing have become sharper and more competitive, but it's the ease of use that truly sets them apart,” Bali added. “Integrating their powerful API to weave management directly into our platform's dashboard hasn't just made things easier; it's dramatically improved our operational flow for new levels of efficiency."

Choosing reliability: Why Hologram Outage Protection SIMs are essential

With over 90% of their deployments relying on cellular connectivity, reliability is always their #1 consideration. For Cloud Monitoring, the core offering is a turnkey service that guarantees data transmission to the customer's enterprise asset management systems. Customers purchase a complete hardware and service package with the SIM card installed, meaning they never need to worry about the underlying cellular operator, managing SIMs, or even viewing a separate connectivity dashboard. This allows their customers, like MTA New York City Transit, Long Island Railroad, and Amtrak, to focus on their core missions.

Hologram Outage Protection SIMs deliver that reliability and critical redundancy Cloud Monitoring needs to ensure connectivity remains consistent, even when a single network experiences an issue. "For our critical assets, like those in hospitals or public transit, we cannot afford outages. We rely exclusively on Hologram's Outage Protection SIMs,” Bali noted. “We need 24/7 connectivity to meet our service guarantees to our customers. But more importantly, they need that data to ensure the safety and smooth operation of their equipment.”

Forensic IoT solves a skyscraper's elevator performance mystery

Sometimes Bali and his team are even called in for house calls — equipment that just isn’t working as it should. He tells a great story about a high-rise building with high-speed elevators that had suffered from performance issues since its opening. Excessive vibration in its elevators, particularly during the winter months or when there was significant wind outside, required slowing the elevator cars down, creating increased wait times for tenants. Bali’s team deployed a variety of sensors to conduct a "forensic-level analysis" of the environment and the equipment. This included:

• Roof sensors: Ultrasonic anemometers were placed on top of the building to measure wind speed, direction, and barometric pressure.
• Equipment sensors: Vibration sensors were attached to the elevator cars and the machines in the motor room.
• Shaft sensors: Air velocity anemometers were installed inside the elevator shaftway.

The prognosis?

Data from the network of sensors revealed a correlation between external barometric pressure/wind speed and a "stack effect" inside the building. This environmental effect, caused by improperly sealed or open doors creating a wind tunnel, was the root cause of excessive vibration on the elevator ropes and cab, with no mechanical fault in the elevators themselves.

According to Bali, reliable cellular connectivity was essential for this forensic-level analysis. "Hologram kept our sensors connected everywhere, from the top of a huge skyscraper to the depths of elevator shafts." This crucial service ensured months of sensor data flowed to the cloud for analysis, ultimately enabling them to pinpoint the equipment performance issue for their customer.

"Hologram kept our sensors connected everywhere, from the top of a huge skyscraper to the depths of elevator shafts."

Looking ahead

Cloud Monitoring is planning to expand its footprint from North America to global markets, with initial projects underway in Australia and Europe. This international growth underscores the need for a connectivity partner capable of supporting worldwide deployments. The company also anticipates leveraging future satellite connectivity options to reach even the most remote assets as part of the ongoing evolution of their asset monitoring service.

Hologram's service guarantees consistent global availability, enabling Cloud Monitoring to maintain the same service quality worldwide. Bali summed up the nearly decade-long partnership. "The biggest benefit of working with Hologram for us is, without hesitation, reliability,” Bali added. “Our customers don't need to know who the cellular operator is; they just need the data to be there. Hologram ensures we can deliver on that promise every time."