Machine-to-machine communication (M2M) and the Internet of Things (IoT) permeate all aspects of life and business these days, including in cars, parking spaces, conference rooms – even wrist watches and agricultural irrigation systems.
Everything on earth is in the process of being connected – and it is seen as one of the most pivotal ways of increasing business efficiency.
This is according to Derick Roberts, CEO of wireless communication specialist TruTeq Devices, who comments: “While there are a myriad of market sectors where M2M can be harnessed to increase efficiency levels, one of the core –and most exciting – segments will be in the automotive industry.
“The automotive industry continues to be one of the biggest growth areas. Here, applications such as predictive maintenance, in-car entertainment services and remote monitoring, are creating, not only a fun driving experience, but also for creating the truly connected car.
“But the great opportunity here is for the after-market industry as it will take some time for the world’s automobile manufacturers to effectively introduce the new technology – and introduce it into new vehicle models.
“So after-market players can snatch the initiative at this stage.”
Roberts adds that it is “very likely” that more M2M solutions for car dealers will enter the market – which will offer value-added services to their customers. Additionally, these offerings will be “independent of car manufacturers”.
In addition, since big data analytics entered the M2M fray, several new solutions for different market segments have come to the fore, he says.
“Today, we can analyse massive amounts of data generated by wind turbines or agricultural irrigation systems , for example, to predict potential faults, making sure everything works as efficiently as possible.”
But this is just the beginning, says Roberts. The next phase of big data analytics is set to glue the gaps of different domains and generate new services, by combining machine data with information from the Internet – such as news and weather reports, or posts from social media and other similarly connected platforms.
“The applications are almost endless,” he says.
