Mobile Network Operators' enterprise business world over is poised to benefit from the rapid growth in the Internet-of-Things (IoT) as more and more businesses start to connect their products, services and assets to the Internet. Enterprises are turning to IoT to connect their work processes along the production value chain by linking up machinery, equipment, workforce, inventory, delivery fleet, offices, factories and more importantly, their suite of IoT products and services in their bid to speed up their delivery times, improve the quality of service and ensure that their businesses are not left behind amidst the revolutionary changes taking place in the era of digitalization. By 2020, 38 billion end devices will be linked within the IoT, says Juniper Research in a recent report.
The Complexities
As enterprises explore the various means of benefiting from the growth in IoT, most of these players will agree that the complexities that abound in delivering a fully fledged IoT service to the end customer as well as in adopting IoT for their own production processes, efficiently and effectively, have to a certain degree, delayed their foray into this area. From embedding M2M modules into their end products, for example street furniture or remote surveillance cameras, to selecting the cloud based platforms that can best serve the real-time information needs of end users, enterprises must first understand the workings behind IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies and determine how adopting them can raise productivity and improve their services and products.
A large number of independent IoT service providers have since emerged in this space, allowing enterprises to outsource their IoT needs to third parties. Major IoT components such as cloud based platforms that collect the information from various connected end nodes; analytical tools that filter and process the information; and end-user applications that are integrated to these platforms require the capabilities and niche solutions that are tailored to meet very specific use cases. IoT service providers not only provide the infrastructure and the software and the platforms, they also invest heavily to secure and ensure a high degree of reliability to keep their clients connected to thousands of nodes throughout the year.
The Cloud, the Pipes and the Coverage
MNOs, leveraging on the strength of their nationwide cellular coverage, specifically, with their fast growing LTE and LTE-A networks and their data center and cloud infrastructure capabilities, are a natural fit in the IoT service provider market. While not all IoT connected equipment run on cellular networks, a large number of them do and strength in cellular network coverage and capacity works in favour of MNOs in competing with other service providers in the market.
Increasing M2M Deployments To See More Enterprises Turning to MNOs for IoT Platform Services.
While IoT meant that there will be increased demand for fixed, cellular and M2M focused connectivity technologies such as SIGFOX as well as Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connections such as Zigbee and LoRa, the adoption of M2M sees the rise in the need for ready-to-deploy, cloud-based end-to-end solutions which are able to manage the devices, the connection and the IT requirements that span processing capabilities, storage, analytics and sharing. Most enterprises are already leveraging cloud-based IT infrastructure for their enterprise IT needs, but to connect their business processes directly and in real-time, in their bid to increase productivity and retain their competitiveness as other firms work towards increased efficiency and faster response times, means that they now have to remotely connect and manage a large number of assets deployed in production - things such as delivery vehicles, machinery, sensors, cameras, employee devices, tracking devices, inventory etc. Read More.
This week, EE of UK launched its first 4G-capable dedicated M2M service, the EE Connect, which offers enterprises IoT services that enable them to tap onto EE's extensive LTE network to connect their assets, products and services all over UK. According to EE, there are currently more than 2 million machines connected on EE's 2G and 3G network and predicts the number to grow to 4 million by 2017. With the arrival of 4G, these machines will now be able to send and receive richer content, for example, transmit real-time video footage, enabling EE to support newer and more challenging use cases such as healthcare applications and security services
Gerry McQuade, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, EE Business
Every day, the strength and reliability of our 4G network allows businesses to develop innovative connected products and services that improve our lives – whether it’s telematics in cars that help improve driving and road safety, healthcare applications that drastically cut testing and diagnosis times, or connected infrastructure that creates smarter and more efficient public services. EE Connect provides the best M2M management capabilities, on the best network, with the best service through a dedicated support team, which together is helping businesses create the connected technologies of tomorrow.
EE's enterprise clients will be able to view, access and manage their connected devices/machines via the EE Control Center and will be supported by a dedicated M2M team. The Control Center enables clients to leverage on EE's cloud storage, processing and analytics capabilities to power their IoT services, allowing them to offer real-time data and insights to users within their organization and to their customers.
Mike van Bunnens, Managing Director at Comms365, an EE M2M Partner
Our business requires the best possible M2M service and support. EE has been a strong and dependable partner as we’ve grown, and we’ve developed new advanced connected products and services such as our Fixed IP SIMs and Fibre Failover solutions on EE’s network. EE Connect provides us with even more flexibility, giving us the ability to offer granular level support to our customers and faster, tailored M2M solutions. The strength of EE’s 4G network and EE Connect are helping us to enhance our capabilities including our popular Continuum bonded services for rapidly deployed, mission critical internet access and corporate network connectivity, ensuring that we’re able to meet customer expectations the first time, every time.
Big Business for MNOs
A growing number of MNOs and communication service providers such as Deutsche Telekom of Germany, AT&T of the United States, Orange of France via its Orange Business and Sweden-based Tele2 continue to beef up their IoT platforms and specialized IoT service verticals, tapping on the surge in the demand by enterprise customers across various sectors including industrial, smart cities, utilities, automotive and connected homes.
IoT: What's in it for the Operator?
Coupled with strenght in network speeds and coverage, and the partnerships being formed with other MNOs for global coverage and also providers of alternative connectivity for IoT such as Sigfox and LoRaWAN, enterprise customers will benefit from the growing expertise and experience offered by MNOs as well as the increasing speeds and quality of service, especially on LTE-A and in near future, 5G.