Qualcomm
is
launching
a
paid
cloud
software
service
to
help
companies
that
use
its
chips
keep
tabs
on
goods
as
they
move
through
the
supply
chain.
The
company
is
the
world’s
biggest
provider
of
chips
that
help
smartphones
connect
to
mobile
data
networks.
It
has
also
used
its
wireless
communication
specialty
to
enter
other
markets
where
devices
need
to
talk
to
the
internet,
such
as
automobiles
and
factories.
Qualcomm
Aware,
as
the
new
service
is
called,
works
with
Qualcomm
chips
that
go
into
tracking
devices
for
shipping
containers,
pallets,
packages
and
other
parts
of
supply
chains
to
help
companies
track
where
their
goods
and
materials
are.
Most
of
those
trackers
are
made
by
third
parties,
but
Qualcomm
makes
a
few
devices
of
its
own,
such
as
a
tilt
sensor
that
can
be
attached
to
utility
poles
to
report
whether
they
have
toppled
over
during
storms.
Qualcomm
has
already
shipped
hundreds
of
millions
of
the
chips
involved,
which
typically
cost
less
than
US$10
(A$15)
each,
Jeff
Torrance,
senior
vice
president
and
general
manager
of
Qualcomm’s
smart
connected
systems
business,
told
Reuters
in
an
interview.
The
software
service
aims
to
let
Qualcomm
customers
program
their
chips
from
one
central
spot,
with
updates
sent
to
the
chips
over
the
air.
The
service
also
aims
to
make
better
use
of
the
data
from
the
chips.
Torrance
said
Qualcomm’s
software
will
connect
to
other
cloud-based
such
as
Microsoft’s
Dynamics
365
service,
which
corporations
use
to
keep
tabs
on
their
inventory
and
supplies.
Companies
could
use
the
two
systems
to
build
things
like
virtual
dashboards
that
show
where
all
of
a
firm’s
inventory
is
at
a
given
moment.
Qualcomm
did
not
publicly
announce
pricing
for
the
new
service,
but
it
represents
a
push
to
make
more
money
off
its
chips
by
charging
when
the
chip
is
sold
then
for
cloud-based
services
using
the
chip
afterward.
“We
believe
there’s
value
in
the
chip
and
in
the
cloud
service,”
Torrance
told
Reuters.
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