Building a Smarter Business through the Interconnection of “Things”: Timbergrove

“Founded in 2006, Timbergrove helps businesses achieve operational excellence with best-in-class IBM software solutions.”

The notion of the “Internet of Things” is still relatively new and somewhat nebulous to many businesses. But this segment is growing rapidly, and is expected to reach $7.1 trillion in 2020. The time to learn and understand more has arrived. Headquartered in Houston, TX, USA, Timbergrove is helping organizations harness the power of the Internet of Things today, which is propelling businesses who are Makers and Operators to the forefront of their industries.

Timbergrove is a proven leader in IBM technologies that allow organizations to take advantage of the Internet of Things. It enables business back-end systems to support a full range of applications, allowing them to apply insight-driven actions to their processes with confidence. Today, Timbergrove’s practice has evolved as a known expert in incorporating the benefits of IoT and predictive analytics with asset management.

Unlocking the real value of Organizational data with IoT
Timbergrove is a forward-looking company that stays focused on the benefits of new technologies. Its core differentiator is that it is not only a technology company, but also a consulting firm, meaning that it has a very senior team of industry experts among its staff members, who possess decades of experience in oil and gas, manufacturing, telecom, etc.

The company is a nice, hybrid combination of industry and IT expertise. “We stay current with the trends and needs of the industry and strive to be agnostic when trying to understand the customer’s problems, because we only want to work where we can truly add value; we’re not just a hammer looking for nails. We understand that technology alone cannot solve every need. This is why our experience within an industry, its adoption rates and governance — and their impacts to the business — is so important to our success,” says Ian Uriarte, Founder and CEO.

The Enterprise Asset Management Solution (EAM)
The industry trends, challenges and opportunities are associated with the Internet of Things (IoT), predictive analytics and big data. Companies require more real-time visibility and improved actionable insights into the status of physical assets, in order to elongate asset life and increase ROI. This maximizes the value of the asset throughout its lifecycle. Most assets reporting is historical rather than real-time, which in today’s landscape is becoming indispensable. Real-time data associated with historical and predictive analytics promises the ability to minimize downtime. Additionally, a disconnect exists between IT and the work of operations, and EAM traditionally falls into this gray area. Although EAM fulfills an IT function, it deals with tangible assets. Sometimes businesses learn too late that an asset is out of service. This is why real-time visibility is key throughout the asset lifecycle — it enables the opportunity to manage both planned and unplanned maintenance. The ability to integrate sensor data into EAM systems takes this one step further and allows businesses to follow trends and take action based on predictive analytics, in order to reduce or avoid non-productive time. So, Timbergrove focuses on solving two pains:1) prevention of down time; 2) predicting when an asset is going down in in order to avoid a negative impact on productivity. The key to longevity of an asset is maintenance.

Clientele
Timbergrove’s clientele territory includes verticals such as Energy, Manufacturing, Logistics & Transportation, Healthcare and Retail. Its customers include companies like United Airlines, Panama Canal, Lloyd’s Register, etc.

Clients Speak
“We worked with Timbergrove to create a revolutionary product. They delivered value every step of the way, and their vision on the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile and cloud-based e-commerce allowed us to jump ahead with confidence.” Paul
Abrahams, COO, Lightstriker

“Timbergrove has been a key partner in helping us craft a go-to-market strategy to deliver a streamlined customer process and create a better way to manage risks and ensure compliance. We loved working with them and hope to continue to do so.”
Scotty Roper, Commercial Manager, Lloyd’s Register Energy

Case Study
A client, Lightstriker, approached Timbergrove with a need to create a solution that would aid MLB baseball pitchers in their training. The project required engineering, design and enablement of a solution to provide real-time pitching performance stats – obtained from sensor data – to be viewed on mobile devices while the player practiced. The company conceived the product architecture using an Internet of Things model and developed the hardware embedded application, an iPad app, a cloud web-based application, and designed an e commerce component to sell the product online. It integrated both software and hardware components, while also creating an extraordinary end user experience. According to the client, “The end result was a flawless execution of hardware and software integration.”

Global Footprint
Primarily, Timbergrove works in the United States and Latin America, but has extensive partnerships in Canada and the European Union.

Future Road Map
Timbergrove strives to help companies make sense of Big Data and the Internet of Things. The company’s current and near term focus includes taking EAM into the realm of IoT and Big Data analytics, Predictive Analytics and Predictive Maintenance to elongate asset life. Its goal is to help customers understand how to transition Big Data into something manageable.

Meet the Founder & CEO – Ian Uriarte
Ian is a serial business and social entrepreneur who has successfully led business in technology and non-profit organizations over the past two decades. His background in engineering and enterprise architecture has allowed him to lead teams in the oil & gas, manufacturing and healthcare industries. He spent the last decade building Timbergrove’s IBM practice, and the previous six years at IBM, where he served as a consultant at companies like Royal Shell, Nissan, Michelin, and the US Federal Government. Currently at Timbergrove, Ian has led his team into the space of IoT for Enterprise Asset Management solutions, helping clients maximize investments on physical assets by increasing asset longevity, increasing work order visibility and creating operational excellence while reducing risk in safety, health and increased compliance in environmental.

“ Timbergrove’s expertise is in informing decision-making by bridging the gap between devices and systems and providing a comprehensive view of asset performance.”