M2M MAGAZINE — 2nd Quarter, 2013

The Prescription for M2M Success: Axeda, Varian Partner on Medical Device Solution

Varian Medical Systems is one of the M2M pioneers in the medical device industry. A leading manufacturer of integrated cancer therapy Read More >>>

The Real Carrier Challenge of M2M Lies in IT
In the 3G/4G smart device era, wireless operators are struggling with device numbers on the order of two, three or four per household. Some larger carriers have 100 to 200 million handsets, tablets and laptops connecting to the network, and data consumption is growing at an exponential rate. In M2M, wireless becomes embedded in everything. In the connected home, that means refrigerators, thermostats, lights, televisions, alarm systems and more. In a telematics situation, smart utility meters or warehouse cooling systems will be sending information across the network. And the numbers will multiply exponentially; suddenly, mobile operators will have billions, not millions, of devices on the network.

Machine Crowdsourcing - The Next Logical Step
In the work that Etherios has been doing matches well with the concepts of better service management with faults and errors being integrated to the workflow of the company for better dispatch and escalation. I bring this up because there was a lot of VC discussion at SXSW about social machines; the viewpoint was there should be a better tie in to the analytics that seem to dominate our social networks and our machine-to-machine reporting. In other words, this has expanded to be more about the analytics that can be integrated and perhaps offered to (and from) outside sources.

From the Simple to the Complex Asset Tracking
First of all, let me give you some perspective. Barcodes took more than 15 years to get adopted, leaving Bernard Silver and David Collins very frustrated. The patents were sold for peanuts, and implementations were considered not viable economically. Barcodes adopted by the food industry were not understood by the public, and some faithful groups thought they were the devil's symbol. Using barcodes for inventory seemed to have implementation problems. How many times have you seen multiple barcodes adhered to the item? (Often bored, I would pick at the end of the one that looked the oldest.)

Ready for Change: Vending Space Gets a Lift from Interactive Capabilities
Vending machines have come a long way since my father-in-law took over his father-in- law's vending business in the late 1960s. Heck, they've come a long way since my father-in-law retired and shut down the business eight years ago.

Opportunities for Sensors in the Internet of Things
Sensors will play a much bigger role in the IoT providing feedback on environmental conditions, machine performance, lighting, the state of smart appliances and so on. And because there are so many more things than there are people, the IoT represents a huge market opportunity for the sensor industry and sensor-enabled services.

A Holistic Treatment for Better Wi-Fi
That means these devices could fail to work as needed due to Wi-Fi connectivity problems, and that could in turn put patients, health care providers, and medical device providers in jeopardy. That said, there are inherent risks in relying on standard Wi-Fi for M2M applications. However, Ixia is one vendor that has introduced a solution it is prescribing to those seeking a higher level of Wi-Fi connectivity.

M2M Security: Keeping Tabs on the Growing Sea of Devices
M2M devices are also different from cellphones because people tend to replace phones about every 5 years whereas M2M devices tend to have 20-year life spans. That means M2M devices, some of which are located in remote areas, and the networks that connect them should be designed with this longer life span issue in mind, said McDaid, adding that if an M2M device is comprised, you have to assume that will recur in other devices over the next 20 years or so.

Solving the M2M/IoT Equation
There's been a lot of talk about how large the market is for the Internet of Things and M2M, but there seems to be a shortage of practical and useful information around how one really goes about developing and deploying a winning iIntelligent system.

Your Machines are Talking, Are You Listening?
M2M communications are fueling the next generation of enhanced productivity and helping to reduce costs for businesses in various industries around the world. As M2M capabilities continue to evolve and expand over time, it's becoming increasingly difficult to explain what they are in a single sentence. Many companies remain stuck in defining M2M communications simply as connected devices sharing information across a network. But in reality, devices and networks represent just a tip of the iceberg.

The Need for Speed: 4G-LTE Enables a New Wave of M2M Applications
Data rates using wireless 4G LTE typically range from 10 to 20mbps for downloads, and 5 to 10mbps for uploads. While this may be overkill for some traditional M2M applications, the availability of high-bandwidth wireless Internet is creating opportunities to not only innovate existing M2M applications, but also to enable new M2M applications that weren't previously possible.

The Machine-to-Machine Movement
We are just now beginning to realize the inflection point for machine-to-machine technology adoption. The change in discussion from technology to business impacts has been the catalyst for widespread M2M technology deployment. When establishing an M2M initiative, businesses are no longer focusing on the type of data the equipment can produce. Rather, organizations are considering where the greatest opportunity resides to improve processes and enhance the bottom line. By taking a strategic perspective from the outset, organizations are ensuring that their technology investment is contributing to the bottom line - not diminishing it - and generating strong ROI.

M2M Goes Global
Through innovative technology developments, including satellite network services, M2M wireless connectivity is served up across international borders, over land and sea. These networks, consisting of cellular, GPS, Wi-Fi and RFID technologies, enable organizations to track products and even the status of their transport mode (truck, boat, plane, etc.) as they travel across the globe.

Has Anyone Heard of M2M?
After an all-day seminar discussing more than 10 years of challenges deploying asset tracking tests with RFID in airport terminals, the leader of IATA's RFID Work Group suggested perhaps the name of the group should be changed. A new name may allow standards discussions on technologies other than RFID. And one of the names now up for a vote is the Internet of Things.

M2M Is A Sticky Value Proposition - And That's Powerfully Good
Although growing fast, M2M remains a novel idea for consumers, and many businesses as well. When I talk to companies taking their first look at M2M, the most compelling point is the broad impact of this technology. The potential positives for a business plan are many-sided and well known to M2M Evolution readers: improved operational efficiency, easier regulatory compliance, better customer service, richer marketing and merchandising opportunities, and many more.

Timing the M2M Opportunity
Even though the underlying enabling technology is the same, the innovations offered are very different and the actors and thus markets are also different. Adoption is therefore a combination of the characteristics of the innovation and the adoptive nature of the actors/market.