Even if you’ve been living in a monastery the past couple of years, you know that cloud computing and big data are megatrends that are changing business.
An even bigger trend might be machine-to-machine communication (M2M), however, more commonly known as “the Internet of things.”
Gartner recently released its list of the top 10 strategic technology trends, and M2M was higher on their list than enterprise app stores, hybrid IT and cloud computing, and actionable analytics, according to an article in Forbes.
Whether fleet management, supply chain management, e-health or smart energy, M2M helps companies perform smarter, faster and more efficiently.
Even though the M2M market is already at $27 million and set to grow to more than $120 million by 2017, according to Compass Intelligence, many companies have not yet taken advantage of the opportunities inherent in bringing the internet to all types of devices already in use.
M2M allows remote monitoring of utility meters to assist in reading meters and providing security to prevent fraud. It can be used to allowing advertisers to remotely update digital signage and display different messages based on time of day or day-of-week. M2M combined with telematics and in-vehicle entertainment can give car owners the ability to monitor and control vehicle settings. Smart energy applications can leverage M2M to monitor energy settings in homes and businesses.
E- health solutions and remote patient monitoring can connect seniors with their physicians and help ensure their safety.
Just like the early days of the Internet, the possibilities and market opportunities for M2M are still largely unexplored.
But the profit potential is a little better understood, at least for those assisting with the Internet of things; M2M software platform revenue is expected to grow to $3.85 billion by 2017, according to ABI Research.
This January 29 through February 1, thought leaders, enterprise executives and analysts will converge in Miami at the M2M Evolution Expo to discuss how the internet of things can be leveraged by businesses of all types. M2M Evolution will show attendees how to utilize M2M technologies in enterprise business applications including supply chain management and mobile workforce applications, smart home and smart building applications, energy management, mobile healthcare and other areas.
Members of the M2M ecosystem, including wireless carriers, application providers, platform companies and device manufacturers, will also discuss their roles in creating effective technologies and procedures that work to create an ecosystem for actionable data, information and efficiencies.
“There is no opportunity better for CIOs and CTOs to send their team members to a technical conference that covers all aspects of M2M and Cloud applications than this conference,” according to Nikki Cuban, VP of marketing and business development at OnAsset Intelligence. “While I have participated in many conferences and events that currently exist [for M2M], none have been as rewarding as the M2M Evolution Conference.”
M2M Evolution is collocated with a number of related IT events such as ITEXPO, Cloud4SMB Expo, CVx ChannelVision Expo, Super Wi-Fi Sumit, Asterisk World, Startup Camp 7, inGate SIP Trunking-UC Seminars, and LatinComm Conference and Expo.
Edited by
Braden Becker
