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Telemetry Consumers

Overview​

In the Data Interchange ecosystem, Telemetry Consumers are organizations that receive and process cold-chain data from the Data Interchange. In the most cases, Telemetry Consumers operate data processing systems that are used to analyze and report on cold-chain data in the context of a public health program. Whereas Telemetry Providers represent sources of telemetry data in the Data Interchange, Telemetry Consumers are the recipients of this data.

In existing cold-chain monitoring programs, it’s very common for the same organization to play the role of the Telemetry Provider (manufacturing smart fridges and cold-chain monitoring equipment) and the Telemetry Consumer (reporting on the data that is produced by the equipment). This is not unexpected, given the variation in data structure and reporting processes in the industry; those organizations who are responsible for producing the data are frequently in the best position to interpret and report on that data. From the perspective of the Data Interchange, it makes no difference whether the Telemetry Consumer and the Telemetry Provider roles are played by the same (or different) organization; these distinct roles (plus that of the Data Owner) ensure a clean separation of responsibilities within the Data Interchange itself:

  • Telemetry Providers deliver telemetry data to the Interchange;
  • Data Owners use the Interchange to control the routing of data for their cold-chain program;
  • Telemetry Consumers receive data from the Interchange for processing and analysis. 

To receive data from the Data Interchange, Telemetry Consumers implement a web service that accepts data over HTTP, the ubiquitous protocol of the world wide web. Telemetry Consumers can then login to the Data Interchange to configure one or more Data Subscriptions, which instruct the Data Interchange where to send the data.

The remainder of this document provides additional technical detail to guide Telemetry Consumers through the process of integrating with the Data Interchange.

What does this document cover?​

This document provides necessary information for a Telemetry Consumer to establish an account on the Data Interchange, which is a pre-requisite to get connected and receive data. If you already have a Telemetry Consumer account on the Data Interchange, refer to the Telemetry Consumer integration guide for technical details on receiving data from the Interchange.

Onboarding process for Telemetry Consumers​

There is a simple, four-step process to get connected and begin receiving data from the Data Interchange:

  1. Request the creation of a new Telemetry Consumer;

Once the Data Interchange Administrator has created a new Telemetry Consumer organization, you (or another representative from your Telemetry Consumer organization) will receive a invitation to finalize the login credentials for the account.

  1. Login to the Data Interchange and, optionally, create accounts for additional Data Interchange users in your organization;

  2. Request that the Data Owner begin routing data to your organization;

  3. Configure your organization’s application(s) to consume telemetry data from the Data Interchange.

More detail on these steps is provided below.

Request creation of a new Telemetry Consumer​

A Telemetry Consumer organization represents a company or organization that receives and processes telemetry data on behalf of a Data Owner. A single Telemetry Consumer organization will be associated with one or more human representatives (“Users” or “Agents”) that have login accounts to the Data Interchange and view (and, optionally, manage) the key details of the Telemetry Consumer organization.

To create a new Telemetry Consumer organization, send an email to the Data Interchange Administrator at datatools@nhgh.org. This email should include the following information:

  • Company or organization name
  • Your name
  • Your role within the company
  • The country (or countries) for which the Telemetry Consumer will process telemetry data
    • Note that this list is not set in stone and can be revised at any time
  • A short description of the telemetry application that will be connected to the Data Interchange

By default, the Data Interchange Adminstrator will create a User account for the person who originated the request. If you would like to identify an alternate User, please provide the following details:

  • First and last name
  • Email address

Once Data Interchange Administrator creates the Telemetry Consumer organization, the User (identified in the request) will receive an email notification with instructions to complete the account registration process. By following these instructions, the User will be able to login to the Data Interchange and create any additional Users – associated with the Telemetry Consumer organization – that may be desired.

Login and create additional Users​

Upon logging in to the Data Interchange Management Dashboard, you can create additional users for your Telemetry Consumer organization by navigating to the Users section of website and clicking the Create User button.

Request that the Data Owner begin routing data to your organization​

Data Owners control the routing of data between Telemetry Providers and Telemetry Consumers. Once the new Telemetry Consumer organization is created, the Data Owner can begin routing data to the new organization. It is the responsibility of the Telemetry Consumer to notify the Data Owner when the preceding steps are complete. You can find email contact information for Data Owners by logging in to the Data Interchange and navigating to the Data Owners section of the website.

Configure applications to consume telemetry data from the Data Interchange​

For detailed technical guidance on connecting to the Data Interchange and receiving data, refer to the Telemetry Consumer integration guide.