M2M: Smarter than Ever (But Still Misunderstood)

Within the next few years, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices will account for more than half of all connected devices shipped annually. Think about that for a minute. There will be more M2M devices shipped each year than PCs, cell phones, tablets, set-top boxes, and gaming platforms put together. There are already hundreds of millions of M2M devices (if not over 1 billion) at work in sensors, smart meters, industrial control systems, SCADA devices, video surveillance, smart buildings … the list goes on. But ask 100 business executives to tell you what M2M is and you’ll get 100 very different answers. Ask those same executives what M2M means for their business, and those who follow the space will say that it will make their businesses smarter.

I can’t think of a technology that is so potentially transformational for business, and yet so poorly understood as M2M. It’s time to bring some clarity and focus to M2M so that businesses can transform the “promise” of M2M and smart solutions into real business results.

So I’ll start with a quick review of what M2M is and where it fits in the big picture of today’s technological landscape.

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