Short week last week for many of us lucky enough not to have to labor on Labor Day as the summer gives way to the mad dash event-filled sprint to Thanksgiving. School is in full swing! Football started! Serious movies appear at the multiplex!

Announced at this week’s VMworld conference in Las Vegas, the new offerings combine products from the parent company’s VMware, Dell, Dell EMC, RSA, and Pivotal units, and play a central role in VMware’s edge computing strategy.

Yes, Labor Day, the unofficial line in the sand between the leisurely relaxation of summer and the full-tilt seriousness of fall, is gone. Of course, neither of those thoughts are entirely accurate. But since most Americans equate Labor Day with back to school, those feelings stick.

To produce real cost savings and productivity gains, smart office solutions must integrate seemingly disparate IoT systems.

Ordinarily a “shy” company, the telecom giant is stepping into the spotlight in connection with big-time IoT solutions, including a smart cities venture in Dallas.

Enjoy the last week of Summer ‘18, at least as measured by three leading indicators: Labor Day is next Monday and the US Open 2018, the year’s final tennis Slam, starts today.

The connected office represents a lucrative and often overlooked opportunity for integrators.

Let’s hope all the education-focused IoT projects worked on during the summer are up and running, because schools are now chock full of children.