 | Issue: | India 2014 |
| Article no.: | 3 | |
| Topic: | The New Era of Connectivity: M2M Fueling Innovation within the Enterprise | |
| Author: | John Hines | |
| Title: | AVP, South Asia and India, Verizon Enterprise Solutions | |
| Organisation: | Verizon | |
| PDF size: | 192KB |
About author
John Hines, Area Vice President – South Asia & India, Verizon Enterprise Solutions
John Hines is area vice president -South Asia and president – India at Verizon Enterprise Solutions. He has overall responsibility for all sales and operations, providing enterprise and government customers with advanced industry solutions in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and India.
John brings more than 18 years of experience in IT Solutions and Security to the role. His teams deliver integrated solutions to optimize client business outcomes by leveraging Verizon’s global professional services capabilities and a broad portfolio of advanced communications, IT, networking, security and outsourcing solutions.
Prior to assuming his current role, John was general manager, Federal Government for Verizon Business where he was responsible for delivering strategic security and IT solutions to the Australian Federal Government and its subsidiaries.
Prior to this, John held various roles within project management, sales and management roles with Cybertrust, Andersen Consulting and GE Capital IT Solutions
Article abstract
M2M on wired networks is not new, but it enjoys a technology renaissance through the growth of mobile data services and the ‘Internet of Things’. M2M revenues in India are expected to treble between 2011 and 2015. The opportunities encompass many industries that can save considerable cost and improve service to end-customers. For example, energy usage and the costs of its monitoring can be reduced, benefitting the environment; health care of patients’ condition can be managed remotely; air and water quality can be monitored by cities; and customer loyalty can be rewarded with offers, when their presence is detected.
Full Article
. M2M communication has been quietly established for some years, giving businesses the capability to monitor, control, and manage the operation of remote equipment. Today, M2M services have entered a renaissance period, playing a significant role as new products and capabilities blur the lines between science fiction and reality. According to a Gartner report, “In 2011, over 15 billion things on the Web with 50 billion+ intermittent connections will grow by 2020 to over 30 billion connected things, with over 200 billion with intermittent connections.”
According to a recent report by leading technology research analyst, TechNavio, the Machine to Machine market in India is set to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 33.81 per cent over the period 2012-2016.
This new era of connectivity—the “Internet of things”—is made possible by smarter technologies that allow equipment and de vices that previously had no voice on the network, to connect and contribute vital information to business systems. In the coming years, M2M services will be built into almost everything we touch—enhancing our quality of life and creating new ways to engage with partners and customers.
The consumer wants it all
As the “Internet of things” is already here. Consumers have demonstrated their demand for smartphones precisely because such devices have been built with sensors to capture information from the outside world. Smartphone processors are capable of personalizing the information and use programs to share it with members of a social network. Consumers now expect equivalent capabilities from the many products they use in their home. Their early acceptance of connected TVs and networked appliances, for example, illustrates this emerging demand and establishes the household as the venue of choice for some of the best practices in consumer M2M.
Consumers now expect that networked devices will save them time, simplify their lives, bring them closer to friends and family, and make their lives richer and more enjoyable. Their understanding of M2M’s promise will motivate businesses to respond with products that will better serve consumers’ needs for connectivity and fulfill these important personal and social needs.
The promise for business
M2M is fueling innovation across enterprises in India because businesses are realizing that smart machines and smart applications can take information from a system or the environment to create new revenue streams, control costs, and improve products and services. In fact, the opportunities to use M2M to bolster the performance of a business are more attractive and justifiable than ever before. While there are some existing service offerings in India, the actual growth will start within the next few years. As per CyberMedia’s 2012 research report, India M2M modules market generated 27 million USD revenues in 2011 and is expected to generate 86.2 million USD by 2015.
M2M communication usually takes place without user interaction, although certain applications will require some level of human involvement. Even though fixed-line networks used in early M2M implementations will still play a strong role, the communication will occur on wireless networks, because wireless communications are such an integral part of everyday life, especially in hard-to-reach locations.
M2M is already, drastically changing consumer interaction with utilities, healthcare, local government services and retail. M2M is enabling businesses to provide consumers with products and services that deliver personal, context-aware experiences – an advancement that will have a profound impact on how organizations do business and relate to their customers.
Enterprises can expect to see significant benefits::
• Reducing energy use and benefitting the environment
Smart-grid initiatives that are now underway in the electric utility sector, illustrate M2M’s ability to make a transformative impact on that industry and society. In the near future, smart meters installed at businesses or households can help reduce energy consumption and associated costs, as will smart appliances that users can control and monitor via the network or handheld devices. Energy companies, water agencies, and others are also finding that they can use new M2M technologies to support their mandates to contain or reduce costs, better manage the use of their assets, and conserve energy.
• Making healthcare smarter and more personal
Some of the most compelling examples of ‘smart business’ can be found in the emerging use of M2M in healthcare. Technology is considered a means to help control costs and improve the quality of service, and this is where M2M is expected to play an important role. It will also make healthcare more personal. M2M-enabled solutions will be used, for example, to monitor patients’ condition whether they are in a care facility or at home. M2M services will make it possible for a physician to make a remote diagnosis based on the transmission of vital signs or other clinical data from one device to another. Patients will have devices they can use at home to monitor their conditions. M2M will also be used by hospitals, for example, to track the delivery and status of prescription drugs and to monitor usage-based medical equipment, helping streamline costs and increase safety precautions.
• Building smart and vibrant cities that improve quality of life
Already, cities are using M2M applications to monitor air and water quality, to make it possible for residents to see real-time traffic conditions on the television screens, and to provide notifications for public transit. New M2M solutions will help cities, their suppliers, and local residents re-imagine how they interact with one another. Smart grids will play a role, as will smart hospitals, smart businesses, smart cars and smart homes, and the always-connected consumers, who will use M2M-based services and devices to enrich their lives.
• Boosting customer relationships and strengthening brands
Retail businesses have already embraced M2M for inventory management and other routine applications. In the next five to ten years, retailers will use M2M to strengthen their vital customer relationships while building their brands and driving new revenues. Retailers will use M2M to develop multi-channel or cross-channel engagements with their customers. Some retailers are already beginning to offer participating customers highly personalized promotions or incentives based on their online shopping activities. Customer loyalty programs, based on M2M technologies, are also emerging. In a typical example, customers who opt-in to participate in a retailer’s preferred shopping program are automatically identified by a signal from their Smartphone when they enter the store and receive VIP attention and services from store personnel, who are alerted to their arrival. Alternatively, a retailer might use digital signs located throughout the store or at check-out to offer promotions directed at a particular customer.
So what does the future hold?
The possibilities for M2M services are limitless. Nearly any machine or device in any industry has the potential to be connected. The application of contextual intelligence to enable personalized interactions with products and services could, until now, only be imagined in the pages of science fiction novels or on the movie screen.
As the “Internet of things’ becomes reality, businesses will discover new ways to use M2M to gather and use information, seamlessly and behind-the-scenes. This intelligence will lead to new products and services that promise real improvements in matters of fundamental concern. In turn, M2M innovation will drive new revenues and help control costs for businesses.
By embracing the information and insight that M2M communications can provide, organizations in all industries will find ways to participate in and benefit from this technology renaissance. As they do so, they will extend its benefits to their partners, customers, and communities.
