Featured Articles

The Private Cloud Could Benefit from M2M

Much has been written at this point about M2M (machine-to-machine communications), also known as the Internet of Things, and with good reason. Just as the Internet revolution changed all aspects of our lives, so too will M2M make a momentous change in how we interact with the world.

Behind M2M, though, is the revolution of the cloud. That’s because the act of devices connecting and talking with each other takes place in the cloud, and it is where data trends are discovered.

“The idea is to go beyond simple monitoring of these, well, things, to advanced analytical services that let devices provide critical information about how they are functioning and what they are doing,” noted analyst David Linthicum in a recent blog post.

To do this requires the cloud.

Currently, much of the M2M revolution is taking place in the public cloud. But that might change soon, according to Linthicum.

“I suspect that special-purpose clouds will emerge to focus specifically on connecting devices and machines,” he noted on his blog. “They'll gather data quickly, likely streaming off devices with very little structure, as well as performing quick analysis of the data with the ability to instantly respond to the device.”

This could present a major opportunity for private cloud providers and firms that support them, such as CoreDial. CoreDial offers a white-label cloud communications platform that businesses can use to sell, deliver, manage, and invoice for their customers.

Right now many M2M applications run over the public Internet, but as the space develops there will be plenty of opportunities for private cloud providers that cater to M2M and offer the benefits of the private cloud to mission-critical industries adopting M2M — such as added security and control.

The M2M revolution is just getting started, and we haven’t even scratched the surface of where it will take us.


Edited by Rory J. Thompson