For the past few years, the machines used to make our lives easier have been getting smarter as their internal computer processors and software tell them what to do based on parameters we, humans, provide. Wireless sensors, the Internet and personal computers are coming together to create Machine to Machine (M2M) communications, expanding telemetry’s role beyond its common use in science and engineering to place it in an everyday setting.
The M2M Evolution conference and Expo brings together experts in transportation, security, health, cold chain, automotive and safety to discuss the strategies for M2M growth, as well as the new business of proactive response centers – people who use M2M technology to buy time and avoid risk.
M2M Evolution kicked off the inaugural Battle of the Platforms, an opportunity within M2M Evolution conference that offered the opportunity to hear and see cutting edge platform solutions from more than ten market leading companies poised to help companies manage and deliver M2M solutions, yesterday at the Austin Convention Center. M2M Evolution is held in collocation with ITEXPO Austin 2012, the world’s largest communications and technology event featuring keynote speakers, conference sessions, exhibitions and more.
The event highlighted innovative platform solutions capable of implementing a wide variety of M2M solutions and gave attendees an opportunity to evaluate and differentiate how platforms serve a wide variety of horizontal and vertical applications.
All platform contestants highlighted solutions that address real business needs with quick, scalable implementations that exploit off the shelf capabilities that succeed in reducing costs, improving efficiency and driving profitability.
Companies like VisTracks showed how its platform solution could benefit fleet management applications using geo location capabilities such as the ones provided by other Battle of the Platform participants, Gurtam and Locaid.
The overall winner was Digi, a provider of wireless products, a cloud computing platform tailored for devices and development services to help customers get to market fast with wireless devices and applications. The company impressed the judges with its rich ecosystem of support for embedded systems and its ability for these systems to be addressed and managed by developers seeking to implement vertical applications.
Digi’s solution connects embedded systems to its cloud service, enables business intelligence to be quickly gathered and acted upon in its ROI analysis and the payback for its implementation was less than four months.
senseaware and Eurotech were the winners of the top platform for enterprise deployment. senseaware delivered the only medical platform implementation, focusing specifically on transporting bone marrow and how M2M was utilized to save a life. Eurotech provided a hands-on demo of a vending machine solution that gave insight into how its customers were not only managing restocking functions but taking advantage of the Eurotech platform for other efficiencies.
Hearing about these very diverse applications, attendees gained an understanding of how almost any enterprise can benefit from M2M implementations these days.
Also recognized yesterday was On Asset Intelligence, a service provider of remote monitoring and freight intelligence solutions, for the platform for best business intelligence controls solutions. With almost every enterprise having the ability to benefit from M2M, the next logical question is, “What can M2M do to improve a company’s business intelligence?”
On Asset showed an amazing ability to provide intelligence not only from internal resources, but from several external resources that were widely available from the Web. On Asset’s solutions help companies develop strategy, devise contingency/disaster recovery plans and implement crisis management. While it is an Internet of things, the truth is it’s about the data and how companies act upon that information to improve business intelligence. This was a key attribute for On Asset’s solution.
The winner for platform for service providers was KORE, a provider of M2M network services . Delivering a worldwide solution in today’s marketplace using any form of cellular technology can be quite daunting, but KORE’s solutions illustrated how service providers could show a global presence by affiliating themselves with KORE’s platform solution. What is most impressive with KORE’s platform is the attention to detail and the ability it gives service providers to seamlessly integrate with their own network controls down to each individual embedded component. KORE’s solution removes the complexity from these implementations and allows service providers to focus on managing their customer’s needs.
RFM, Inc. was recognized for “Enabling Independent Application Developer.” RFM enables original equipment manufacturer (OEM) design engineers to connect and network more devices, equipment and processes than ever before. Its case study showed clear ROI while also solving enterprise sensor solutions in a way that is addressable by developer, integrator or the customer. This solution maximized options within each environment. What was interesting about RFM’s solution was the utilization of RF technology using “hoppers.”
Stay tuned to M2M Evolution for the rest of the week for the latest news, announcements and unveiled resources in the industry.
Want to learn more about M2M technologies? Don’t miss the M2M Evolution Conference, collocated with ITEXPO Austin 2012 happening now in Austin, TX. Stay in touch with everything happening at M2M Evolution Conference. Follow us on Twitter.
Edited by
Allison Boccamazzo
