2010 – A Busy Year for M2M Alliances and Partnerships
Machine-to-machine communication and intelligent device management have both been on a torrid run since the start of the new year. Evidence of this fact continues to show up in the area of company alliances and partnerships. New partnerships between M2M industry participants have seemingly been announced on a daily basis in recent weeks. Last week, Connected Device World detailed major alliances and partnerships announced by T-Mobile, Huawei, Telit, Vodafone, AT&T, and Numerex. With several new agreements now in play, it is worth a look at the latest activity.
Earlier today Vodafone, Verizon Wireless, and nPhase announced a strategic alliance that aims to accelerate global M2M deployments and simplify remote management of devices. With the new agreement it will be easier for customers to activate, manage, monitor, and pay for devices that are deployed across European and U.S. cellular networks. Customers will also be able to centrally manage a large number of connected devices even if the devices are spread out across multiple countries. By partnering, the 3 companies hope to reduce the time, complexity, and cost associated with multi-country M2M projects.
Another company that has been extremely active in alliance building in 2010 is Numerex. On February 9th, the company entered into an agreement with Rogers Wireless of Canada. The agreement will expand Numerex’s M2M business in Canada by allowing the company to offer high data rate services to its customers. Some M2M applications are beginning to require higher bandwidth and the new agreement will allow Numerex to better address the needs of its Canadian customers. Additionally, the company also announced deals with Tekelec and Blueslice Networks over the past week.
With all of this activity occurring M2M firms can hardly afford to stand “on the sidelines”. Sierra Wireless is aware of this point and recognizes the need to continue to innovate in the M2M marketplace. As such, the company announced a deal with Bouygues Telecom that bundles a Sierra Wireless M2M modem with prepaid Bouygues airtime. The agreement introduces a “pay-as-you-go” system to the M2M marketplace. Some machines only need to be “checked-on” occasionally for diagnostic, upgrade, or management purposes. As such, there is no need for 24/7 device connectivity and a monthly airtime fee. Instead, money can be saved by only paying for the amount airtime required by the device. Thus, the end-user saves by not over-paying for “unlimited” connectivity each month.
Alliances and partnerships are an important part of M2M market development. As the market continues to progress, it will be interesting to see which partnerships prove to be the most beneficial. Stay tuned to Connected Device World for more coverage.
