The technologies IoT/IOT/M2M allow to automatize diverse business processes and save on communication and equipment`s services.
Fridges, systems of climate control, surveillance cameras – the huge number of equipment of modern office and home can be connected to the Internet and become a part of a global network.
It means that they can be controlled remotely, for example, through a laptop or smartphone. Technology M2M, or, more precisely, IOT / M2M – is a technology of inter-machine interaction. It allows devices to exchange information with each other or one to transmit, and the other to receive data. The exchange of information is due to the presence of sensors or other devices. For data transfer, IOT / M2M systems can use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technology. But thanks to the widespread use of mobile 3G networks, there is no longer a need to depend on wired Internet providers, it is the 3G Internet that is the best way to transfer data.
The use of IOT/M2M technologies grows much active in the field of safety, guard, also in the bank and agrarian industries. The technology allows to pass information about guarded object online, for example, report you if someone unauthorized disturbed the perimeter. In automatic teller machine, the IOT/M2M sensors are used for the realization of transactions, equipment`s security, control for the technical status of arrangement and for timely information about needed repairing.
M2M can help to automatize flow of cargo system and monitoring going status of cultivation area. Sensors allow determining, in what state is soil – whether fertilizers and watering are needed.
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The technology of machinery cooperation is used wider in many countries. For example, with combining such structure like mobile communication, insurance, and medicine, people got decisions due to that indexes from cardiac sensors or glucometers (vehicle for measuring of the level of blood sugar) are passed real-time in a clinic, where a patient is served. Moreover, indexes are automatically written down in the electronic map of the patient. A computer analyses the dynamics of testimonies and in case of finding out deviations from a norm sends a report on a computer and smartphone of treating doctor. An insurance company covers all charges related to the necessary analyses and treatment.
From this complex chain, it may seem that the consumer needs to find a device (a glucometer or cardiac sensor), sign a contract and get an M2M card from the operator, sign a contract with the insurance company and with the clinic. And make monthly payments to different organizations. In fact, due to the use of the capabilities of the mobile operator, everything is much simpler. The user receives a "boxed solution" from the operator and, concluding a single contract, receives a device with an M2M card, medical insurance, and services in any of the proposed clinics. And the operator is already conducting mutual settlements with other participants of the business process.
In government programs, IOT / M2M provides video monitoring on the streets of the city to prevent delinquency, as well as adaptive traffic light management, depending on the density of traffic, thus reducing road congestion in megacities.
How to connect your own business to IoT/M2M
There are few ways of realizations IOT/M2M technology. It depends on what direction you need to control. For example, to monitor of employees transportation you can use the software that is set up on a smartphone. The app
Starts up at the beginning of a day and informs you about person`s location from time to time. The same way you can control mobile`s run.
For a more complex task, for example, data transfer from an ATM or a coffee machine, are used special offers of mobile operators. The client connects the tariff, buys special M2M SIM cards that are embedded in the device. Such SIM cards are most often protected from dust, moisture and overheating, they have additional levels of protection and are designed so that they can be used up to 10 years. They provide data transfer on any technology used by the device – either in the form of SMS or through a voice channel or via the Internet (e.i. bulk SMS).
By the form factor, M2M SIM-cards can be mini, micro, nano, and in the form of SIM-chips. Protected cards work longer, and they are resistant to corrosion and can function in the temperature range from -40 to +105 degrees.
When purchasing M2M SIM cards, customers can connect special tariffs with per-minute charging and support for a range of data transfer technologies – 3G, GPRS, EDGE, CSD, SMS. Most often, these tariffs are available for connection to corporate customers. At the moment, Kyivstar is the only operator in the country that offers special IOT / M2M solutions for non-corporate subscribers, including on a prepayment basis (connection without a contract).
For corporate clients, the telecom operator offers the ability to manage the operation of IOT / M2M connections. This functionality is called the "M2M Management Center" and is accessible both through a special web service and can be integrated into the CRM system of clients (specialized software complexes for business). Such service will allow you to manage IOT / M2MSIM cards in real-time mode, view analytics and reports, set up tariff plans, set communication limits and receive notifications in the event of any of the programmed events (for example, if you try to use an M2M SIM card in another device the administrator will receive an SMS or e-mail notification stating the SIM-card number and the IMEI code of the telephone set in which there was an unauthorized attempt to use the communication services, and the SIM-card will be quickly blocked).
Subscriber fee for the tariff with a certain number of prepaid minutes, megabytes of traffic and SMS starts from approximately 5 $ / month, which is quite a bit, considering how much IOT / M2M technology can bring to the business.
Besides, mobile operators often offer additional opportunities that will be especially interesting for companies of a certain profile. For example, the opportunity to use this technology in roaming will be especially relevant for companies engaged in trucking.
According to the telecom companies, for the last year, the sales of SIM-cards for use in IOT / M2M technologies have grown by 25%. At the same time, 54% of such cards are used in the security and financial and banking spheres, active growth is demonstrated in the agrarian sector, logistics and industry.
The main customers are large companies ready to invest in the automation of production processes. Quite often, such companies connect several thousand IOT / M2M-cards at once to control their own equipment.
Future of The IoT/M2M
If today the technology is used generally for simplification of business processes, then in the future the range of IoT / M2M usage in the corporate sector will expand, many other tasks will be solved, simplifying communication between devices inside and outside the office. In the coming years, the number of business sectors working with IOT / M2M technologies will increase. Due to the availability of the solution, both small businesses and households will be able to use it. Smart home systems, especially in new homes, will become common, as well as remote device management and gadget interaction among themselves.
Prepared by PST ltd. see more at portal.voiplatinum.com
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