With machine to machine (M2M) communications steadily finding new footholds in an array of businesses, it's not surprising to see new products and services take hold in the field in a bid to get in on an expanding market. A new partnership between ViaSat and Thuraya Telecommunications Company is set to bring with it a new breed of managed M2M service that, in turn, will offer a new kind of capability for those who need a more remote kind of M2M operation.
The partnership looks to combine the various segments of the two firms; ViaSat's line of technology focuses on the improved use of satellite bandwidth, which lowers the overall cost of ownership when it comes to connected hardware. Thuraya, meanwhile, is a mobile satellite services (MSS) operator, which makes for a clear theoretical connection between the two firms. The companies are set to develop a new kind of M2M platform that's particularly useful in remote regions, making it a natural fit for energy businesses, as well as for utility firms and logistics enterprises, virtually any breed of firm that requires operations over geographically-dispersed areas.
There is some word that the partnership will also make a case for military applications of this new technology. But beyond its usefulness in wide range, it's also set to offer low total cost of ownership over the scope of the project, making it a valuable proposition due to its cost-effective nature, always a plus when those bottom-line considerations come into play.
With M2M becoming an increasingly large part of the overall communications environment, it's not hard to see where a project like that of ViaSat and Thuraya would make a lot of sense. Not only does the project recommend itself as a valuable component of a larger operation, but also, the project recommends itself by virtue of its own inherent characteristics. Businesses have been seeing the value of M2M systems for things like tracking inventory and improving communications for some time, as well as serving as the basis of gathering data for big data projects that often provide improvements to the bottom line. But ViaSat and Thuraya offer a low-cost system that has the kind of security and reliability that businesses will be eager to take advantage of when setting up operations remotely.
M2M depends on connectivity in order to be a viable platform. Getting connectivity in remote locations can often be difficult. Thus, some M2M operations have begun to consider satellite connectivity as a means to get that necessary connection. Operations like those of ViaSat and Thuraya may have just the connectivity package that users were looking for, though, and may in turn help to drive the next generation of M2M operations.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
