Insights
Guides & thinking on connected technology
Practical articles on ATEX and hazardous areas, connectivity, sourcing and the technologies we distribute.
LoRaWAN in UK agriculture and estates: what the sensors actually do
LoRaWAN gets talked about as infrastructure. Farmers and estate managers care about the jobs: soil moisture you can irrigate against, troughs that tell you when they're empty, gates that report being opened. Here's what the sensors actually do — and what deployment really involves.
Rugged tablets vs consumer tablets: the real total cost of ownership
A consumer tablet costs a third of the price of a rugged one, and finance departments notice. But field failure rates, replacement cycles, accessories, MDM and warranty tell a different story over five years — here's the honest arithmetic.
How to choose a technology sourcing partner — and the questions that expose a weak one
Anyone with an Alibaba account can call themselves a sourcing partner. The difference shows when something goes wrong. Seven questions that separate a genuine partner from a middleman with an email address.
UKCA, CE and WEEE: the compliance checklist for importing electronics into the UK
The cheapest quote means nothing if the product can't legally be sold. A plain-English tour of the compliance obligations UK electronics importers actually carry — marking, documentation, WEEE, batteries and radio equipment.
Vygard: lone-worker safety built for the sectors that need it most
Millions of people in the UK work alone — in forests, on farms, in plant rooms and on remote sites. Vygard is the group's lone-worker safety platform: check-ins, alerts and escalation built around how each sector actually works.
Localizit: know where your tools and assets are, without the spreadsheet
UK trades lose over £100m of tools a year, and most businesses still track assets on a spreadsheet nobody updates. Localizit is the group's asset-tracking platform — BLE tags, mobile scanning and a live register of what's where and with whom.
Flockarewe: livestock tracking and shared-grazing management for UK farms
Keeping track of animals across open hills and common land is one of farming's oldest problems. Flockarewe is the group's livestock platform — tracking, alerts and the record-keeping that shared grazing actually requires.
Take 2 Technology signs as UK distributor for Seeed Studio
Take 2 Technology Ltd is now an official UK distributor for Seeed Studio — bringing Seeed's AI edge boxes, AI edge cameras, and LoRaWAN gateways and sensors to UK integrators, resellers and end customers with local stock and support.
Edge AI vs cloud: where should video analytics actually run?
AI vision workloads can run on the camera, on an edge box on site, or in the cloud. Bandwidth, latency, privacy and cost each pull in different directions — here's how to choose per deployment.
EXW, FOB or DDP: who really pays for what in a hardware order
Three-letter incoterms decide who pays freight, who carries risk mid-ocean, and who deals with customs. What EXW, FOB and DDP actually mean for a UK hardware buyer comparing quotes.
Factory-direct sourcing: MOQs, QC and the real landed cost
Buying hardware straight from the factory can cut unit prices dramatically — but MOQs, quality control and landed cost are where the real economics are decided. What 30 years of direct factory relationships have taught us.
ATEX explained: Zone 1, Zone 2 and choosing explosion-proof devices
What ATEX zones mean, the difference between Zone 1 and Zone 2, and how to choose certified equipment for hazardous environments like oil and gas.
LoRaWAN vs 5G: choosing the right connectivity for IoT
LoRaWAN and 5G solve different problems. Here's how to choose between them for tracking, sensors and connected devices.
Why work with an agent and distributor for your hardware
For manufacturers seeking a route to market — and buyers seeking reliable supply — a specialist agent and distributor removes risk and friction.
RFID for asset tracking: when tags beat barcodes
RFID reads many items at once, with no line of sight and no manual scanning. Here's when it beats barcodes for tracking assets and stock.
Choosing GPS trackers: hard-wired, battery or solar?
The best GPS tracker depends on what you're tracking and the power available. A quick guide to the three main types.
Mesh networking explained: coverage without fixed lines
How wireless mesh extends reliable coverage across sites where running cable isn't practical — and where it fits.
Rapid-deploy CCTV: securing sites and events in hours
Mobile CCTV towers protect construction sites, events and temporary perimeters without cabling, power or groundworks.
Solar-powered cameras: monitoring off-grid and remote sites
How solar and cellular cameras bring HD monitoring to fields, estates and infrastructure with no mains power and no broadband.
Mobile POS: taking card payments anywhere you trade
What mobile point-of-sale offers beyond a simple card reader — and the businesses it suits best.
What to look for in rugged devices for the field
IP ratings, drop specs, screens and battery — how to choose devices that survive dust, water, drops and daylight.
AI video analytics: cutting false alarms and finding what matters
How edge and cloud AI turn raw camera feeds into useful alerts — and dramatically reduce false alarms.