M2M: Waking Up to the Smart Connected Opportunity

After displaying signs of relative indifference for many years, people and companies across the globe are finally waking up to the fact that we are entering a new era of connectivity, according to Harbor Research, which has been evangelizing M2M (also known as Pervasive Internet or Smart Services) for many years. In a statement to mark the release of its new M2M & Smart Systems Forecast Report, Harbor said:

“The world is rapidly evolving beyond the point of cell phone and traditional PC internet connectivity. In this new cycle physical assets and devices are being connected and enabled with sensors on a daily basis. Many IT equipment suppliers and wireless carriers have made recent pronouncements concerning the scale of the Internet of Things. While we don’t question the eventual scale of the opportunity, there are many structural elements that need to be in place to support such growth.

“Though their business models are intermingling today, all of the major categories of solution suppliers have historically operated within well-established business models that reflected the distinctive competencies that each group believed to be at its core. The advent of Smart Systems is causing a blurring between these legacy business models forcing all the major suppliers to re-think their strategies.

“We do strongly believe that the Pervasive Internet and Smart Systems market opportunity is reaching a new level of maturity; there is now substantially greater recognition of the technological capabilities and the potential benefits of connecting devices to the Internet than there was even two years ago.

“This represents a whole new generation of technology innovation and, if history repeats because certain conditions repeat, we expect to see a significant wave of growth in Smart Systems. Recognizing this scenario, technology suppliers around the world are now devoting more resources to addressing the opportunities associated with Smart Systems. “