As machines talking to machines becomes a universal trend, industries all over are hopping aboard the machine-to-machine (M2M) bandwagon.
M2M refers to technologies that allow one device to talk to another without the help of an intermediary server or other network device. The M2M space is taken the world by storm, and some analysts are predicting it will become the biggest driver and the biggest growth opportunity for wireless providers over the next 10 years.
By utilizing embedded wireless technology (or embedded M2M solutions), M2M solutions enable communication between machines and expand the ways they can "talk" to each other. Embedded M2M Solutions are found in a host of industries including transportation, healthcare, insurance, security, utilities and education.
The benefits of M2M solutions are vast, as they can improve personal safety through tracking and safety; bolster business results through optimized assets utilization; improve performance and reduce costs; and bolster processes and productivity through direct communication between remote machines and central management systems.
While M2M solutions have been around for almost a decade, the industry saw a surge in M2M solutions in 2009 as many network service providers began to increase their commitment to M2M. Now, Gartner (News - Alert) is predicting that M2M is one of the Top 10 mobile technologies to watch.
Independent analyst firms such as ABI Research (News - Alert) estimate that the number of cellular M2M connections will triple by 2014 to 75 million. On the cellular service provider side, service value-adds generated an estimated $21 billion in revenue worldwide in 2006. ABI expects this to grow to $189 billion in 2012, which is an annual growth rate of 43 percent.
The main reason growth is expected is because carriers are starting to embrace the growth of M2M, particularly big players like Sprint (News - Alert). These major cellular carriers have realized the wide market potential of embedded M2M cellular-based consumer electronics such as netbooks, home security monitoring and digital photo frames, among other items.
Moreover, embedded developers are now more easily able to design and launch products on carrier networks than ever before.
Check back here for the latest on the embedded M2M solutions market.
The M2M Evolution Conference will be collocated with ITEXPO (News - Alert) West, the world’s premier IP communications event, to be held Sept. 13-15 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. M2M Evolution will include a series of analyst insight, case studies, and roundtable discussions and will show attendees how to exploit this technology to minimize destruction, fraud and theft across all vertical markets. Don’t wait. Register now.
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Carrie Schmelkin is a Web Editor for TMCnet. Previously, she worked as Assistant Editor at the New Canaan Advertiser, a 102-year-old weekly newspaper, covering news and enhancing the publication's social media initiatives. Carrie holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a bachelor's degree in English from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Rich Steeves