The machine-to-machine (M2M) world of connected devices and sensors communicating data wirelessly – also known as the ‘internet of things’ – has arrived in Ireland via a deal between Telefónica Ireland (O2) and Jasper Wireless.
Early adopters of M2M include fleet management and transport companies that have installed M2M boxes in their vehicles to enable real-time location updates.
Machina Research has estimated there will be 2.1bn cellular M2M connections worldwide by 2020 and that the addressable global market for mobile operators in M2M will total US$373bn.
Technology market research company Beecham Research projected M2M network connections in Ireland growing by more than 50pc between 2011 and 2014.
Jasper Wireless’ Control Centre is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that provides customers with global visibility of all SIMs connected to the mobile network. It allows customers to quickly distribute connected devices with self-service tools which allow real-time diagnostics and usage controls. It provides powerful intelligence with a live view of how devices are connecting to and using the mobile network.
“The uses of M2M technology are huge and growing across almost every industry, from point-of-sale connections to smart meters to utilities device usage,” commented Alan Brown, business director at Telefónica Ireland.
He added that the new partnership between Telefónica Ireland and Jasper Wireless will allow organisations to bring to the market powerful and innovative M2M applications and services in a robust and secure way.
The partnership is part of a global M2M strategy supported by Telefónica Digital, Telefónica’s new global business division, and has already been rolled out in Spain and the UK.
“The Irish agreement sees Jasper expand its existing relationship with Telefónica,” added Cindy Patterson, executive vice-president, worldwide sales, Jasper Wireless.
“With our platform, Telefónica in Ireland can provide device partners with a highly configurable M2M management solution that can accelerate market entry of connected devices.”
Stream of digital data image via Shutterstock
