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M2M Now: ISSN 2046-5882
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Industry prepares for transition from M2M to Internet of Things The changing face of Wyless
AUTOMOTIVE M2M Connected vehicle technology now a key buying factor M2M Now Insight Out May 2014
FLEET & ASSET MANAGEMENT Solution market for vehicles consolidates M2M Now Insight Out July 2014
SMART UTILITIES
mHEALTH
SMART CITIES
Communications integration in utility assets speeds up M2M Now Insight Out September 2014
Wellness is just the opening gambit in mobile health! M2M Now Insight Out December 2014
Better lives not bigger profits push up interest in smarter cities M2M Now Insight Out February 2015
PLUS: Cellular M2M Devices count nears 500 million Worldwide • CEO Guide to MWC 2014 in Barcelona Inside • Jobs and Career News • Google Glass embarrassment! • Top-level Interviews • Glut of M2M Acquisitions • Investors see value in IoT • Smart Cities launch Data Platform • How to accelerate M2M success • News & Videos at www.m2mnow.biz
P R O F I T
F R O M
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W O R L D
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C O N N E C T E D
D E V I C E S
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CONTENTS
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18
VIEW FROM THE TOP
TALKING HEADS
15 INSIGHT REPORT
34 SECURE M2M
52 SMART CITIES
IN THIS ISSUE 4
EDITOR’S COMMENT Time to break the rules
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MARKET NEWS Investors see value in IoT; M2M revenues to treble by 2018
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COMPANY NEWS M&A activity at Sierra Wireless, PTC, Wyless and Wasserstein
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CONTRACT NEWS & HOT LIST New orders for Cityzenith, TeliaSonera, Telit and many more
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PEOPLE NEWS New names at DCN, Stream Communications, DataSift, Seamless, Qortus and Jasper Wireless
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PRODUCT NEWS u-blox partners ARM; Digi’s tank solution; Embarrassed by Google?
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M2M NOW INSIGHT REPORT In the first of our new series of specially commissioned Insight Reports, Matt Hatton of Machina Research gauges business prospects in five industry sectors: Automotive M2M; Fleet, Manufacturing & Remote Asset Management; Smart Utilities; mHealth; and Smart Cities.
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SUPPLEMENT: CEO GUIDE TO MWC 2014 See our 12-page Supplement previewing the M2M and IoT product launches, debates, and networking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
Cover Sponsor: Wyless is the leading global M2M managed services provider. Its platform, delivered in partnership with the world’s largest network operators, provides secure, reliable communications with wireless devices in over 120 countries. Powerful management tools offer real-time reporting and control over all devices connected to our network. Wyless delivers a comprehensive suite of managed services with unrivalled expertise, professional support and competitive pricing. Wyless enables its customers and partners to deploy M2M applications and services faster, cheaper and more effectively. www.wyless.com
M2M Now
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COMMENT
Time to break the rules Don’t fix what ain’t broke, that’s the rule. But sometimes there are better motivations than repair. We have been overwhelmed by the support you have shown for M2M Now magazine, in print and online at m2mnow.biz. You have catapulted us from zero to more than 25,000 readers worldwide in months, and we want to say thank you. So why, I hear you ask, are we radically overhauling the title’s contents barely three years after we launched? Simple; because we are bringing you more and better coverage of the market than we (or anyone else, come to that) have offered before. We work hard to bring you the latest news, views and interviews in machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and the Internet of Things (IoT). And rest assured, that won’t change.
Jeremy Cowan, Editor & Publisher, M2M Now
Now, however, you will find a new backbone running through the magazine as we’ve commissioned a leading analyst firm – this month it’s Machina Research – to write an Insight Report for M2M Now analysing the market as a whole. At our invitation, they have prepared a special report covering 5 growth sectors; automotive M2M, fleet management & asset tracking, smart utilities, mobile health, and smart cities. Our experience has shown these to be among the areas of greatest reader interest. They also present some of the biggest business opportunities. The report in the first of these new-look issues covers all five sectors, giving you a taste of the detailed Insight Reports to come. In future, M2M Now will focus on one sector in each issue, bringing you analysis of business opportunities, challenges and key vendors, that will complement our unrivalled news coverage and exclusive access to C-Level executives. For now though, just sit back and see for yourself if the best M2M coverage in the world just got even better (and bigger too).
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Jeremy Cowan Tel: +44 (0) 1420 588638 j.cowan@m2mnow.biz DIGITAL EDITOR Nathalie Bisnar Tel: +44 (0) 1732 808690 n.bisnar@m2mnow.biz BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Cherisse Jameson Tel: +44 (0) 1732 807410 c.jameson@m2mnow.biz
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PLANNING Charlie Bisnar Tel: +44 (0) 1732 807411 charlie@wkm-global.com
PUBLISHED BY WeKnow Media Ltd. Suite 138, 70 Churchill Square, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4YU, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1732 807411
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M2M Now is distributed free to selected named individuals worldwide who meet the Publisher's terms of Circulation Control. If you would like to apply for a regular free copy supplied at the Publisher's discretion visit www.m2mnow.biz If you do not qualify for a free subscription, paid subscriptions can be obtained. Subscriptions for 5 issues per year cost £125.00 worldwide (or US$210 / €160) including post and packing.
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EDITORIAL ADVISORS
Erik Brenneis, head of Vodafone M2M
Alexander Bufalino, SVP, Global Marketing, Telit.
Robin DukeWoolley, CEO, Beecham Research
Baard Eilertsen, president & CEO, Maingate
Gwenn Larsson, director, M2M Global Expansion, Telenor
Andrew Parker, project marketing director, Connected Living, GSMA
Gert Pauwels, M2M marketing director, Orange Business
Bill Zujewski, CMO & EVP, Product Strategy at Axeda Corp All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored, published or © WeKnow Media Ltd 2014 in any way reproduced without the prior written consent of the Publisher. M2M Now: ISSN 2046-5882
M2M Now
MARKET NEWS
Analysis: Investors see value in IoT Companies expanding their IoT horizons are attracting support from venture capitalist firms. In September 2013, Neul Ltd, secured an initial US$5 million of equity funding from its existing investor base: DFJ Esprit, IQ Capital, and a group of Angel investors. Neul is expected to use the financial injection to develop its Network-asa-Service offering to assist operators deliver IoT in 2014. In October, eConais Inc received a boost from Odyssey Venture Partners. While the actual amount remains undisclosed, eConais is one of three companies benefiting from a total of €2.7 million (US$3.7 million) invested by the venture firm. The financing will help the company to grow global sales and distribution networks, and release Wi2Smart™ which it claims is the world’s smallest device with fully embedded WiFi, TCP/IP network protocol stack, and software functionality for a number of IoT applications. In the same month, Arrayent, raised US$11.9 million from DCM Ventures, Opus Capital and Intel Capital,
bringing the total investment to date to US$13.4 million. The company provides a cloud for connected sensors with clients including Whirlpool, LiftMaster, and Mattel. The funding will help expand the company’s presence as platform providers race to offer IoT connectivity. Another platform provider, Fidesmo - a start up from Sweden - has secured seed financing from Jan Bosch and Niclas Lilja. The capital will accelerate its development for the remote management of secure applications in smart phones and connected devices (regardless of operator, handset manufacturer or operating system). SmartThings, also an IoT startup, received US$12.5 million (£7.8 million) in November 2013 thanks to funding from venture capitalists Greylock Partners and Highland Capital Partners. The company will use the investment to open up its SmartThings platform and technology stack to the developer communities, device manufacturers, and service providers. It will also expand product retail distribution channels for its consumer IoT starter kit, Smart Hub.
Cellular M2M device installed base to approach 500m as focus shifts to IoT Analysis from Juniper Research entitled, M2M & Embedded Strategies: Telematics, POS, mHealth, Metering & Buildings 2013-2018, found that the M2M space is increasingly focused on the development of open platforms, which simplify connectivity to a wide range of isolated devices, through the cloud. It states that Big Data, emerging from M2M service provision, will pave the way for improved interrogation of M2M data and open doors to new revenue streams for companies and operators. Its prediction, for cellular M2M device installed base units, is that we’ll reach 500 million units by 2018. According to the report this will largely be driven by more open M2M ecosystems and improved cloud-based APIs. The report also found that M2M rollouts are becoming increasingly global as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) facilitate M2M roaming and tailored service approaches to industry verticals. “Mobile technologies will play an important M2M Now
role in the creation of the Internet of Things, particularly as mobile chipsets and modules continue to reduce in price,” said Anthony Cox, the report’s author. New initiatives, including the use of the ‘white space’ spectrum released from the digitisation of TV, will eventually create new platforms for widespread roll out, particularly in the US and the UK. The report cautioned, however, that the prospects of M2M services in certain sectors, such as mHealth and consumer electronics, have been adversely affected by improvements in the smartphone/app ecosystem and the increased ubiquity of the tablet. This is allowing hub-based models to replace services that may have previously been offered by bespoke M2M devices. Telematics remains the anchor M2M industry sector with virtually all the major vehicle manufacturers now deploying, or planning to deploy, M2M modules in new vehicles.
NEWS IN BRIEF Ovum says M2M revenues will more than treble by 2018 Forecasts from the global analysts Ovum show that over the next five years, M2M revenues will grow to reach US$44.8bn, with more than a third coming from the AsiaPacific region. Ovum's new forecasts reveal that revenues will grow slightly more slowly than connections, reflecting the increasing competitiveness of the market and the extension of M2M into lower-value applications. Total global M2M connections will more than treble from 106.4 million in 2012 to 360.9 million in 2018, at a CAGR of 22.6%. There will be growth across all regions, but it will be fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. The key industry verticals in 2018 will be healthcare, manufacturing, and energy & utilities.
World’s largest M2M association Eclipsed The M2M Alliance has joined the Eclipse Foundation, a not-for-profit, membersupported corporation that helps cultivate both an open source community and an ecosystem of complementary products and services. The Eclipse M2M Working Group is a collaboration of individuals and organisations whose community goal is to provide M2M frameworks, protocols and tools that can be used in commercial products and applications. As a full member the M2M Alliance will support the globally operating open source community and contribute to the development of new technologies, solutions and standards. Eric Schneider, chairman of the M2M Alliance, said: “By joining the Eclipse Foundation, we enable our members to find the right platforms, solutions and partners for their projects.”
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COMPANY NEWS
Sierra Wireless to buy In Motion for US$21m as it aims to lead in public safety and fleet markets
NEWS IN BRIEF PTC spends US$112m on IoT platform provider ThingWorx PTC has acquired ThingWorx, creators of an award-winning platform for building and running applications for the Internet of Things (IoT). The deal is worth approximately US$112 million, plus a possible earn-out of up to $18 million. The ThingWorx acquisition extends PTC's ability to support manufacturers seeking competitive advantage as they create and service smart, connected products. As part of PTC (Nasdaq: PTC), ThingWorx will continue to help customers in a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, utilities, medical devices, agriculture, and transportation, as well as an emerging partner network of IoT-enabled service providers.
Wasserstein buys Globecomm for $340m An investor group, led by Wasserstein & Co, an independent private equity and investment firm, has completed the acquisition of Globecomm, a global provider of managed network communication solutions for media, wireless, government, maritime and enterprise customers. The merger, worth US$340million, was approved by stockholders at a special meeting in November. "Globecomm is a leader in developing and managing complex communications solutions with a strong track record of growth and innovative engineering that leverages its global communications network," commented Anup Bagaria, comanaging partner of Wasserstein & Co. "Globecomm has also made successful investments in new product development that we believe will drive future growth in both the company's existing and new markets." Around the same time the nonprofit World Teleport Association named Globecomm as one of its Independent Top 20 Operators in its annual ranking of teleport operators. The company scored seventh among the independents (companies that operate satellite communications facilities on the ground but do not own satellites in space).
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Sierra Wireless has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vancouver-based In Motion Technology Inc. for US$21 million in cash consideration, subject to certain customary post-closing adjustments. Jason Cohenour, CEO, Sierra Wireless
In Motion is a provider of mobile enterprise solutions, supplying rugged in-vehicle mobile routers tightly integrated with an advanced mobile-optimised security system and a powerful management and application platform. The complete solution enables organisations to connect and manage mobile operations, vehicles, and workforces
more efficiently, reliably and securely. “In Motion will strengthen our leadership position in M2M and broaden our Enterprise Solutions portfolio,” said Jason Cohenour president and CEO of Sierra Wireless. “The Sierra Wireless and In Motion businesses are highly complementary, and together will hold a unique competitive position. We will have the products, channels, and technology needed to offer the most comprehensive suite of solutions to our customers and expand our market share in high growth, high value markets such as public safety and commercial fleets.”
Dutch firm ASPIDER bought by Wyless Wyless has acquired 100% of the stock of Netherlands-based M2M company, ASPIDER. ASPIDER is not only active in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, but also has offices in Germany. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
grown rapidly in North America lately.
The deal is intended to provide greater balance between Wyless's activities in Europe and the US. Although the company began life in the UK it has
(See our Exclusive interview with Wyless CEO, Dan McDuffie on pages 18-20. Plus new appointments report, pages 38-39).
Jan Willem van Doorn, chairman of ASPIDER Holdings, will join the Wyless Board of Directors.
Sprint Velocity Connect accelerates development for auto manufacturers Sprint’s business unit, Sprint VelocitySM, has expanded capabilities for automotive manufacturers with the debut of Sprint Velocity Connect. The enhancements will support additional hardware on Sprint Velocity’s cloud-based platform, such as TCUs (Telematics Control Units), OBD-II (On-Board Diagnostic) devices, and embedded in-dash head units. Vehicle manufacturers with access to the platform will be able to streamline their design and development processes, simplify the integration of complex components, and better manage ecosystem partners. “With more than 14 million vehicles sold in the United States yearly, auto
manufacturers are in a constant race to bring the newest, most versatile and technology-packed products to market,” said Ben Vos, vice president and general manager, Sprint Emerging Solutions. “Sprint Velocity makes it easier for automakers to win that race by offering the most advanced connected services available today, supported by unsurpassed telematics integration and consumer-focused resources that can translate into increased revenues and stronger customer loyalty.” Sprint Velocity offers data analysis to help automakers identify product improvements, reduce operational costs, and potentially increase revenue opportunities.
M2M Now
CONTRACT NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF
TeliaSonera connects Tesla electric vehicles TeliaSonera Global M2M Services is to provide the connectivity in Tesla Motors’ Model S to customers in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Latvia. For example, the digital instrument cluster, steering wheel controls, media, communications, cabin controls and vehicle data are all available through a 17” touch screen. Superior mobile connectivity also enables remote vehicle diagnostics to relay information about the car’s safety, security and performance to the driver and Tesla service staff in real time.
Cityzenith launches smart city dashboard Agreements are in progress with Amsterdam's Economic Board, the Barcelona City Council, and San Francisco's Department of the Environment, to launch a software platform to transform the collection, visualisation, analysis, and management of municipal data around the globe. This is the first time cities have joined forces to establish a common platform for using and sharing their data within, as well as between, capitals and
citizens via simple mobile applications. Due to the limitations of existing systems, most city data generated currently goes uncollected, unused, or is potentially misunderstood. Cityzenith’s 5D SMART CityTM – developed by one of the principal creators of Google EarthTM – provides a platform to connect, collect, and access a diverse crosssection of city data sources through a dashboard.
Cellular technology embedded for rugged, solar-powered monitoring Telit Wireless Solutions, along with Digital Matter Telematics, a provider of technology for embedded electronic devices and software, have unveiled a solution for remote mobile asset monitoring, tracking and management from a broad range of environmental conditions–with no need for external power supply. Digital Matter Telematics' selfpowered G52 Solar, and its OEM
server platform, uses Telit's HE910 Series for 3G and the GE910-QUAD V3 for 2G mobile data connectivity. The G52S' solar panel keeps the internal battery charged to enable regular updates from the unit even when the asset (such a trailer) is disconnected from a vehicle. A multi-axis accelerometer monitors movement and status to generate alerts and live tracking.
THE CONTRACT HOT LIST M2M Now March 2014 It's free to be included in The Contract Hot List, which shows the companies announcing recent contract wins or product deployments. Email your contract details to us now, marked "Hot List" at <jc@m2mnow.biz> Vendor/Partners
Client, Country
Product / Service (Duration & Value)
Awarded
ClearConnex
GeoTelematic™ Solutions, Inc, USA
Partners to combine platform for GPS tracking and telematics with agnostic wireless devices
10.2013
Cityzenith
Amsterdam Economic Board, Holland
Multi-city collaboration to transform collection and management of municipal data
11.2013
Cityzenith
Barcelona City Council, Spain
Multi-city collaboration to transform collection and management of municipal data
11.2013
Cityzenith
San Francisco Dept of Environment, USA
Multi-city collaboration to transform collection and management of municipal data
11.2013
ClearConnex
GeoTelematic™ Solutions, USA
Partnership to advance M2M fleet tracking with ClearComm and GTS platform combination
10.2013
EnTouch Controls
RACO Wireless, USA
Partnership to provide energy management solutions
12.2013
Giesecke & Devrient
Verizon, USA
Partnership to deploy 4G LTE rugged SIMs for US M2M communications
11.2013
Giesecke & Devrient
Telenor, Norway
Co-operation for Norway’s first commercial NFC project for financial services group, DNB
11.2013
Jasper Wireless
Tele2 AB, Sweden
Partnership to provide cloud-based platform for SIM connected M2M/IoT devices
12.2013
Parkopedia
Volvo, International
Deal to provide global in-car parking assistance services
11.2013
Sparkassen DirektVersicherung
Telefónica Digital, Germany
Deal enabling first ever vehicle insurance telematics product for car insurance in Germany
11.2013
Telenor
Kyocera, Japan
Partnership to provide M2M solutions for international automotive and industrial markets
11.2013
TeliaSonera Global M2M Services
Tesla Motors, USA
Contract to provide connectivity in electric vehicles in Nordic and Baltic markets
11.2013
Telit
Digital Matter Telematics, SA
Embedding cellular technology in rugged remote monitoring & tracking solar telematics device
11.2013
More information on all these and other News stories can be found at www.m2mnow.biz
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M2M Now
PEOPLE NEWS
locate, communicate, accelerate
Wireless industry veteran joins Device Cloud Networks
David Williams, CEO, Device Cloud Networks
Dave Williams has joined Device Cloud Networks as chief executive officer. He will work to expand DCN’s global connectivity and device management solutions in the M2M ecosystem of OEMs,
carriers and enterprises. Previously CTO for Telefónica Europe, Williams worked at uniting the company in developing one of the most profitable wireless networks in the world, the AT&T network.
NY State Smart Grid Consortium adds to Advisory Board of GRID4EU The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC), a publicprivate partnership devoted to state-wide implementation of the smart grid, has welcomed James T. Gallagher to the Advisory Board of GRID4EU. The largest smart grid
project, funded by the European Commission, GRID4EU is comprised of six European energy distributors with the goal of implementing large-scale demonstration projects for advanced smart grid solutions.
Stream appoints new director of global satellite for M2M
Martin Wiesner, Stream Communications
M2M specialist, Stream Communications, has appointed Martin Wiesner as director of global satellite for machine-to-machine. Wiesner takes on a pivotal role in support of the company’s strategic, international expansion of satellite-based
services for M2M, which extends the company’s current GPRS, 3G & 4G GSM based services. Previously he was responsible for business development at Honeywell Global Tracking where he was regional manager for Africa, Europe & Australasia.
DataSift expands executive team Tasked with driving DataSift’s next growth phase, Beth Beld has joined DataSift, the platform that powers the social economy, as chief marketing officer. With more than 20 years of experience leading
enterprise global marketing and product management teams, Beld was previously chief marketing officer at California-based Attensity, a customer analytics and engagement provider.
Mobile payment specialist Seamless gains new EVP As part of a rapid expansion in SEQR mobile payment solutions, Seamless has successfully recruited Ingrid Lindström as executive vice president. Most recently Lindström was the chief executive officer for
mobile payment company, WyWallet. Prior to that she held management positions at Digital River World Payments, Netgiro and Payzone Nordic (previously Alphyra Nordic AB).
Director of business appointed at Quortus Quortus has announced the appointment of Gabriel Hincapie Yepes as its new director of business development. Yepes joins the company’s senior management team following a career including
terms with both Ericsson and O2 UK. In his new role, Yepes will help to develop Quortus’ business portfolio, with particular interest in delivering intelligent small cell networks to enterprises.
New head of finance joins Jasper Wireless
Rajat Bahri, new CFO of Jasper Wireless
M2M Now
IoT platform provider, Jasper Wireless, has welcomed Rajat Bahri as its new chief financial officer. Bahari brings more than 20 years’ experience in financial leadership at publicly listed
companies and will head finance, accounting and legal operations for the company, headquartered in Silicon Valley. Previously, he was CFO of US-based Trimble Navigation.
u-blox u-b b lo ox SARA-U2: S SA A RA RA-U2 U2: the th h e world’s wo o rld ld’’s smallest small lle le e stt 3 module 3G modu dule le
PRODUCT NEWS
NEWS IN BRIEF People are 'too embarrassed' to wear Google Glass, says new research
The mbed-enabled u-blox C027 ‘Internet of Things Starter Kit’ includes cellular and positioning modules plus a powerful ARM Cortex-M3 microprocessor.
u-blox and ARM help developer prototypes with IoT cellular development kit Google Glass is rumoured to be launching sometime around April 2014, but is this much talked about product set for failure before it even hits the shelf? LoveMyVouchers.co.uk, a UK discount code site, recently surveyed 1,132 people to find out whether or not they plan to embrace this new wearable technology. In all, 68% of those asked said that they were unlikely to invest in Google’s latest invention because they would feel too embarrassed to wear it in public. A similar number also said that they would not feel comfortable talking to somebody else who is wearing the device. With safety and privacy issues being hot topics of discussion on the web, perhaps it is not difficult to see why. It is thought that the stateof-the-art glasses, which enable users to experience augmented reality, will start at around US$600 when they eventually hit the shops, and according to the results of the survey, this will also put a lot of people off. A total of 53% of the people who participated in the survey said that the price was too high, while 61% stated that they had no need for another gadget of this kind.
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Swiss-based u blox, a provider of cellular and positioning modules and integrated circuits, has joined forces with ARM, a semiconductor IP company, to create a prototyping kit for designing wirelessly connected, location-aware internet devices. The ‘Internet of Things (IoT) Starter Kit’ makes design processes easier with support from the open-source ARM mbed development platform, which offers free software libraries, hardware designs and online tools.
at u-blox. “To help engineers jump start their design of these types of internet-connected devices, the C027 delivers out-of-the-box wireless internet connectivity based on a compact u-blox 2G, 3G or CDMA cellular modem plus a global positioning module. Together with the ARM Cortex-M3 32-bit processor and access to all the resources of the ARM mbed project, this is an extremely powerful and flexible prototyping tool.”
“The internet is reaching into every aspect of our lives, connecting everything from smartphones and tablets to devices for security, safety, surveillance, navigation, healthcare, convenience, and fun.” said Michael Ammann, vice president of platform partnerships
Enabling straightforward development of location-aware, global communicating applications, an application board provides access to Ethernet and CAN interfaces as well as a variety of HW interfaces (22 GPIOs with SPI, I2C, UART, I2S) through a standard-based header connector.
Digi Connect Tank offers cost-effective, wireless monitoring and control of single remote tanks The latest addition to Digi International’s family of tank-level monitoring offerings is the Digi Connect® Tank. This is a fully integrated, cellular-enabled, level monitoring solution for single tanks, totes and containers that will help companies to better manage their remote asset levels and location data.
The system integrates data into Device Cloud by Etherios™ which enables companies to connect and manage their remote assets using any application. Leveraging APIs, Digi Connect Tank can be enabled to report data only as needed (such as low-level alarms), therefore minimising costly and perhaps unnecessary cellular data charges.
Reported to be ideal for oil, waste oil, chemical, water, wastewater, agriculture and other inventory level monitoring applications, Digi Connect Tank features both CDMA and 3G GSM cellular technologies, an integrated ultrasonic sensor with non-contact liquid levels, integrated GPS, a durable enclosure, and a two to three year battery life.
Benefits from automated tank data and real-time analytics decrease the need for manual inspections at remote sites, resulting in a more predicable supply chain. Inventory levels can also be more tightly monitored and managed, helping to ensure that tanks do not run out or overflow. In turn, customers are provided with exactly what they need when they need it.
M2M Now
VIEW FROM THE TOP
Big data challenges and crisp replies as Oracle and partners leverage its platforms for IoT devices
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every sector has specific challenges, but there are common ways to address them.â&#x20AC;?
M2M Now
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VIEW FROM THE TOP
Dave Hofert (right). His team is developing new ecosystem partners and business opportunities that leverage Oracle’s platforms with a focus on devices running Java. His experience spans nearly two decades in the high-tech industry, leading teams in engineering, marketing, sales, and business development covering Java, Solaris, and various internet, embedded, and industrial technologies. Dave holds a patent for cross-language search and retrieval techniques. He has a degree from the University of Rochester and an Executive MBA from Boston University. He lives in Boston, MA.
As we enter the age of the Internet of Things (IoT) Jeremy Cowan asks Oracle’s Dave Hofert how we can benefit from the burgeoning data streams now available to service providers. What lessons in device and data management have been learned in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications?
Dave Hofert, Oracle: IoT and M2M solutions are in many ways all the same, but they are also unique. Every problem, or every solution is very specific. “How can I operate this machine more efficiently? How many lights are needed on in this particular building? Where is the patient?” Those questions are extremely specific and so are the rules around collecting and handling the data needed to answer them. That said, the solutions follow something similar to an 80/20 rule. Every M2M or IoT solution collects some kind of sensory data appropriate to the problem, communicates it back to a data centre, performs some kind of an analysis, and compares that analysis against predicted or past performance. While everything has a specific objective they also have a common set up, a common design that they can share. You can have specific solutions or techniques across all of these industries that can be leveraged, reused, designed or improved to take advantage of deploying solutions more quickly and easily. M2M Now: Clearly the industry has moved beyond rebuilding and reinventing the wheel almost every time. DH: I believe that this is the year IoT will blossom. You are right, M2M has been around for well over a decade. Just as in the embedded market, solutions were designed to solve a specific
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problem, create a one-off solution, and then let’s just go do the next one, we will just start over and solve those problems. But with the combination of cheaper processors, better connectivity, more advanced processing capabilities and data transmission and sharing standards, developers can now take advantage of more consistent platforms. At Oracle we view this as three steps. Number one; acquire and manage. Get your data in a standardised, scalable, secure device platform. Then integrate and secure that data into your business systems in a cost-effective and leveraged manner. Then analyse and act; extract the business value from that data and take some action. If you can make these individual steps more of a common platform, then you can apply this many places across your organisation. M2M Now: Among the most commonly reported problems for M2M and IoT service providers are making services scalable and simple to deploy. How does Oracle address these issues? DH: We believe in a platform architecture and model that address the issues of scalability and deployment. Oracle’s model allows customers to deploy and create solutions, but also to take advantage of improvements ‘under the hood’. On devices, Oracle believes the Java platform is the key for acquiring and managing data. Java is both a language and a run-time. The language is widely known and something of a standard in IT for developers. Then Oracle and partners create the run times across a wide range of hardware.
▼
M2M Now: Are there many common problems and solutions when extracting data from devices in industries within M2M that differ as widely as automotive, healthcare and utility services?
M2M Now
Now you have this platform that allows you to share business logic, and algorithms up and down the solution stack which gives you tremendous flexibility. As Oracle improves the platforms, you automatically see the benefits. This allows you to focus on your logic while Oracle focuses on better performance, functionality, and scalability. M2M Now: Even when those twin barriers have been overcome, some IoT enabled services that seem wonderful in the pipeline can still fail to be cost-effective. This seems to be a constant challenge. DH: For early IoT services or solutions, cost-effectiveness was somewhat subjective. Obtaining information that wasn’t readily available; such as the temperature or the location of something,and you were able to realise direct business benefit –then you had a win. The cost of this solution would be weighed against not having the data at all and the benefit seemed obvious. However, the question is what happens over time? How much does it cost to maintain that solution? More importantly, how much does it cost to evolve that solution? I think IoT solutions are a bit like eating a packet of crisps; you have one, you get one piece of data, and then you just simply want another piece of data. And modifying that solution in place becomes really expensive when it is hand crafted. For example, we talked with a partner that was working on an automated parking solution. The goal was to look at a parking space, is it available? Can I transfer the data to some central server so that people who are looking can buy a parking spot? That is a great solution on its own merit. Then the city says, “Well, I have all these sensors at work, can you tell me the temperature or measure the rainfall at this spot?” That is a good idea, there is infrastructure in place, there is a device there. The question is, how hard will it be to modify? That is really the issue for long term cost-efficiency. A point solution may be fine, but they won’t be a point solution for long. Everyone is going to want to know more. M2M Now: Are the cost pressures that can hamper profitable service delivery in modification?
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DH: Yes, again going back to the platform discussion, let’s use some examples. We have set up this IoT solution; “Where are my trucks? I am a crisp delivery business, and I need to know where my trucks are, because if I need to divert one, I want to pick the one that is closest.” So, you have collected data from a GPS module, you’ve sent that location to a server, which connects it to a map and gives you a picture on the screen showing you where all the trucks are. Now the mechanic says, “Can I also know how fast it is going on average? Can you look at the tyre pressures?” To do this you have to modify that device, or add another inside the truck. If you have got a device that has a particular OS or development environment, you probably have a software team that handles it; they are going to have to do some work to make changes and collect more of this data. This is not particularly hard, but now you need to look at the gateway. It is a different operating system, tool chain, and device. You are going to send the data to the back end which, of course, has the IoT development team. You put the first solution in place and everything is great, but now we want to modify it. Now there are three different teams to coordinate, collaborate, and share information back and forth. The testing is really the killer. Testing and maintenance costs escalate tremendously, because you may have individual environments, you might have an integrated environment. If something goes wrong, who figures out who is at fault? Then you have to fix it and then you have to deploy it. So it quickly spirals out of control, and what happens is the answer comes back, “Sorry no, we can’t deal with the tyre pressures, it is too hard.” If you are using a platform-based solution such as we propose with Java, you can have Java running on all of those devices. You can have one team working on the full solution. If you want to collect more data it is much more manageable, much easier to maintain and to test. M2M Now: Dave, are better organisational processes as important as better platforms? DH: Yes, I think you have got it right. Of course we support and develop a wide range of standards, not only for the back end business integration side of the world, but for the device side in terms of communication and data format. ▼
When you create a Java application, you can run it without change across multiple different devices. So you can leverage business logic or algorithms, or just interface code across a wide range of devices, from the device side through the gateway, to the server side.
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VIEW FROM THE TOP
Fundamentally, the platforms plus the standards help keep the costs lower, but the point about organisation is important. Keeping with our example with the delivery truck, let’s assume we are able to collect all of the data. Now we are saving a ton of money, operating this crisp delivery service much more efficiently. All of this data, and the devices, have become critical parts of an organisation’s infrastructure. Many, if not all of these M2M devices need to become first class citizens in an organisation’s IT infrastructure – this is a bit of an eye opener for the IT department, and probably for the product guys who are instrumenting the trucks. The IT department is saying, “Okay, you want me to control and manage what? It’s not in my IT server room. How am I supposed to control access to that?” The product guys are saying, “You’ve now got to follow IT rules for how I make changes, this is now really hard to do.” There is no question it is a challenge, but I think it is a big opportunity, because IT in general has been working for decades on problems like provisioning systems, creating unified profiles for systems, security, distributed computing, and even data lifecycles. These are precisely the problems that IoT devices have when they move out of the one device, one solution silo. They need to be remotely provisioned, updatable, secure, controlled and uniquely addressable. These are all attributes of a typical IT system. The good news is, while it can be a challenge, Oracle and other companies have been working for a long time on how to solve these problems. But the process challenge is even more interesting when you engage in an IoT solution that works with the environment. For example, your infrastructure on your trucks might also share data with the city, because they are looking at traffic. Or the city might have sensors out there that the trucks utilize to anticipate problems. We are starting to comingle these infrastructures. They want to work together. Your company’s IT, which has always been something of a ‘walled city', now has this outer layer that can potentially interact or engage with other players out in the open. How will we handle that? Again, we have very good ideas and techniques, but there are new languages and new vocabularies that need to be created to enable us to work together seamlessly.
where we are today. So, where does this intelligence live? We are evolving into a world of what I call “dynamic intelligence” which means both devices and servers are intelligent, but they have different responsibilities. Devices at the edge of the network need to be intelligent enough to react, they have to sense changes in the environment, the context, and then act. This is based on logic or models derived from the core functionality of the device and a longer-term analysis of how the functionality was delivered or executed. The job of a server is to collect this data from the edge devices and continue to perform the ongoing analysis across all the devices out there, to look for patterns or exceptions and develop new, or better responses to input. Then over time these algorithms are tweaked, updated logic is sent to the edge, and the cycle continues. The overall solution continues to get smarter. You can do all of this on the server side. But then you have the issues of connectivity and scalability. If connectivity is interrupted, then the device is extremely limited, and maybe even useless. As well, having more devices feeding in more data only increases pressure on the network, the storage, and on analytic components, which then start to become individual choke points. What we propose is more of a distributed computing and processing model, where data is analysed, reduced, and enhanced at every stage to transmit the best and most relevant data possible. The device can make a few decisions about what is going on, and it can pass data onto a gateway, which can look at the inputs from multiple devices, and make some decisions, and reduce the raw data and send on what’s important. Everybody wants more data, but everything has a limit. If we all start passing on every single bit of data that we all are collecting, everything just comes to its knees. We need to be smart about how we handle this. M2M Now: Thank you.
M2M Now: Are users best served by having more intelligent devices in specific sectors like utilities, building automation and healthcare? Or should IoT service providers build the intelligence closer to the heart of the network? DH: Users are best served by more intelligent devices. What I mean by “intelligence” in devices is that there is a combination of contextual data plus some processing logic. You have some rules that this device is supposed to follow, and additional information that provides some context. Now you are a bit smarter because you can react to changing scenarios and conditions. This is what we want from devices, right? In a smart home scenario shouldn’t my house recognise that I am leaving for work, and automatically lock the doors, turn down the temperature, and turn off any lights? We want devices to adapt to help us, because if they can adapt and act more intelligently, then we spend more time benefiting from them, rather than managing them, which is
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EVENT PREVIEW
Nuremberg, Germany. February 25 – 27, 2014:
embedded world Exhibition & Conference 2014 Some of the most progressive companies in the industry aim to bring the entire embedded ecosystem to life, through dedicated classes and talks, at embedded world Exhibition & Conference 2014.
The event venue NürnbergMesse in Germany
David Kleidermacher, Green Hills Software
M2M Now Jargon Buster EGNOS: European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service HLL: High Level Programming Language IoT: Internet of Things M2M: Machine-to-Machine MSAS: Multifunctional Satellite Augmentation System WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System
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David Kleidermacher of Green Hills Software will open the proceedings with a conference keynote presentation entitled: ‘Securing the Internet of Things’. This will set the tone for ensuing discussions around embedding design and security. As networked devices gather momentum, they will start forming the basis of cloud computing and industry 4.0. However, this will result in a new influx of vulnerable assets and even new connectivity routes. Tackling this head on, for the developer community, conference topics range from software development (HLL- and modelbased) methods and tools, as well as their efficient use across wired and wireless connections. Other discussions will address: security fundamentals for embedded software, workshops on cryptography and embedded security, design, engineering and debugging methods, rounding
up with a panel discussion on multi-core processors for embedded systems that will ask: ‘Are we ready?’
M2M focus M2M-specific sessions will cover: ‘Secured wireless M2M communication for medical environments’, delivered by brightONE Embedded Systems; ‘Applying Connectivity, Manageability and Security to Critical Infrastructure’, from Wind River; ‘M2M and Embedded Processing – Advantages of Multicore & Asymmetric Processing’, by Freescale Semiconductor; and, ‘How To Overcome Integration Barriers’, delivered by Telit Wireless Solutions. Also of interest, as industry chatter grows surrounding ‘Low Power Technologies and RF Paving the Way for the Growth of IoT Applications,’ is the so-called session scheduled from Silicon Labs. The event should also provide inspiration for future-orientated innovations. Special shows in the M2M Area (Hall 4) will showcase the latest products and applications from suppliers including: Deutsche Telekom AG, m2m Germany GmbH, m2mtec Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Walter-M2M Klaus-Dieter Walter, and Atlantik Elektronik GmbH. Others, such as Lantronix, will be demonstrating their wares and sharing views. At the end of 2013, Lantronix, a global provider of smart networking and communications for M2M applications, ▼
Encompassing maintenance, tracking, payments, mobility, machinery and plant engineering, the aim of embedded world Exhibition & Conference 2014 is to help orient this burgeoning market. For machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) communications – right through from integration to security – a mixture of learning, listening, and networking will be available for those interested in the development and application of technologies for hardware, software, tools, and services.
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Nuremberg, Germany
launched the XPort® Pro Lx6 embedded device server. This is an IPv6 offering from the company’s module family for wired IoT deployments. The latest version is a powerful, embedded ethernet networking engine that enables customers to deploy advanced M2M applications in a thumb-sized package. Also exhibiting will be u-blox, which serves markets including fleet and asset management, marine navigation, consumer electronics, as well as industrial M2M and security systems. u-blox 7 is the company’s seventh generation satellite positioning platform, supporting all global positioning standards with extremely low power consumption, boasting the fastest acquisition time on the market. The company also supports satellite-based augmentation systems: WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS. Kontron, a global provider of embedded computing technology, will be there too. The company recently announced its ULP-COM-sAT30 product, which is a rugged and scalable building block for industrial tablets and imagingcentric applications where power consumption must be extremely low such as within the infotainment, digital signage, security & surveillance, medical, and military markets. Another exhibitor, Allis Communications Company (ALLISCOM), designs, manufactures, and markets antenna products to the GPS, GLONASS, WCDMA, and LTE sectors. ALLISCOM will have a range of antennas on show to help with communication and the monitoring of assets in different environments. One of them is the M2M Wireless GatewayMG700, which is Linux-based and designed with WiFi, 3G, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and GPS. This all-in-one wireless gateway is easily configured for a variety of uses including telematics, automotive, marine, smart grid metering, telemetry, home automation, remote monitoring, medical, and defence applications. ALLISCOM has also developed a microprocessor-based modem specifically for cost-effective 3G and 4G transmission of data. Its M2M Wireless Modem-MM400 is light, compact and easy to fit into any M2M wireless enclosure.
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Java class Reaching right inside embedded opportunities, Oracle’s Terrence Barr, a senior technologist for mobile and embedded technologies, will deliver a morning Java class, on Thursday 27 February, in which he will delve into ‘Desktop to Internet of Things in 12 Seconds with Java ME Embedded’. Later the same day, during the ‘Security & Cryptography III’ sessions, delegates will also be privy to Barr’s experience and insight with an address entitled: ‘Trust me, I’m an M2M Device’. So, if you’re looking to advance your product or service to the next level from a collective or analytical viewpoint, this event could be your backstage pass to the industry. Around 900 exhibitors, over 22,000 visitors and almost 1,500 congress participants and speakers came together for the embedded world Exhibition & Conference 2013, affirming the organiser’s claims that it is the largest international, and annual, event addressing the whole value chain of embedded system technology. Professor Dr.-Ing. Matthias Sturm, HTWK Leipzig, chairman of the embedded world conference committee, said: "The development of the conferences is extraordinary. Here trends are set and the way paved for future developments. “The smartest minds on the embedded scene from all over the world meet in Nürnberg. They exchange ideas at the highest level and advance the sector with their ideas, developments and innovative products. Safety, security and ultra-low power were the key pioneering themes [in 2013] and were discussed intensively in the halls and at the conferences." Situated in the heart of Europe, in the Bavarian city of Nürnberg, the event is easily accessible by car, rail and air. The venue, the NürnbergMesse, Messezentrum, features two restaurants, a bistro, VIP lounges and offices with daylight everywhere including the show floor. High-speed WiFi is available throughout the conference centre at a cost of €5 per hour or €25 for the entire day. You can register in advance for free entry at: www.embedded-world.de
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OPINION SPONSORED COLUMN
An evolution in store for one-stop shops? In my last column here in October 2013, I discussed how the supermarket model – dubbed one of commerce’s greatest “inventions”– bears so much significance for M2M as we witness the rise of one-stop-shops in our space. Today, I want to explore what comes next. Is there an evolution in store for one-stop shops?
The author is Alexander Bufalino, senior executive vice-president Global Marketing, Telit Wireless Solutions
The answer boils down again to the power of convenience, and how much more convenient you can make the experience for customers. Once a shop supplies a comprehensive set of ingredients necessary for complete solutions, in the supermarket case, it has followed that consumers start clamouring for groups of these ingredients also being made available in solution bundles such as ‘heat & eat’ food which is also available on supermarket shelves. The availability of semi-ready solution bundles is not incompatible with the offer of ingredients. It is not the case for supermarkets, and it is certainly not the case for technology, particularly enabling technologies such as M2M. But the design of the solution-as-a-component model bears scrutiny. This is an undertaking that
can make companies appear to compete with some of the value-add from their own customers. However, there are ribbons of value-add that are natural for a one-stop shop to incorporate. What the market has frequently witnessed is that, solution providers are sometimes ‘forced’ into delivering certain value-add, not because it is rich for them but instead because there is a gap without which the solution cannot happen. With that said, it is clear that Telit’s ONE STOP. ONE SHOP. will continue to expand, not only with more ‘ingredients’ but also with semi-ready solution bundles and platforms based on these ingredients which can further accelerate the exponential connection of devices to the Internet of Things.
EVENT DIARY M2M Telematics for Usage-Based Insurance February 19-20, 2014 Marriott Regents Park Hotel, London, UK M2M Now readers can receive a UK£300 discount by registering online using discount code: SMI8C7Q www.smi-online.co.uk/2014m2m4.asp
GSMA Mobile World Congress 2014
Telematics for Fleet Management Europe 2014
February 24-27, 2014 Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain www.mobileworldcongress.com
March 12-13, 2014 Mövenpick Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.telematicsupdate.com/fleeteurope/
embedded world – Exhibition & Conference February 25-27, 2014 Nuremberg, Germany www.embedded-world.de/en/
European Smart Grid Cyber and SCADA Security March 10-11, 2014 London, UK www.smi-online.co.uk/2014 cybergrids25.asp
HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition February 23-27, 2014 Orlando, Florida, USA www.himssconference.org/index.aspx
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M2M Zone at CeBIT 2014 March 10-14, 2014 Hannover, Germany http://m2mzone.com/events/CeBIT20 14/M2M_CeBIT2014_Pavilion.asp
Big Data World Show Singapore March 25-26, 2013 Singapore www.bigdataworldshow.com/singapor e2014/
Smart Utilities Scandinavia April 17-18, 2014 Sweden www.european-utility-week.com
Meter Asset Management June 23-24, 2014 Holiday Inn Regents Park, London, UK www.smi-online.co.uk/meter11.asp
M2M Now
MHEALTH
mHealth Summit showcased new opportunities for M2M The recent 2013 mHealth Summit held outside Washington, D.C. had an impressive mix of attendees from across the mobile health ecosystem and connected health value chain from more than 50 countries. As Richard Scarfo reports, the conference offered insights into this emerging marketplace – from mobile start-ups, business, telecom, pharma and tech sectors, to those in non-profit, public sector, non-government, and academia.
The author is Richard Scarfo, vice-president, Events & director of the mHealth Summit at HIMSS
For more information about the 2013 mHealth Summit, go to www.mhealthsummit.org
M2M Now Jargon Buster HIMSS = Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
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As the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) trend with internet connectivity is pervading all healthcare delivery and electronics, the mHealth Summit sessions covered key market drivers, challenges, future roadmap, value chain analysis, deployment case studies, as well as service and product technologies, strategies and opportunities. During the summit’s four days, we observed that this Internet of Things pervasiveness is moving beyond the core mHealth categories, and extending to include personal health and connected health. The summit offered a forum for established and young companies to showcase their innovations, as well as to pitch and meet with potential investors and other dealmakers. Other mHealth Summit programmes included the role of mHealth in developed and less-developed countries – as well as the multitude of opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry ranging from research and development (R&D) activities, consumer education, post-market monitoring, social media to patient compliance and retention.
Products launched The flurry of new product announcements and demonstrations in the HIMSS Media mHealth
Summit Exhibition Hall ranged from wearables, services and products for preventive care and personal care, fitness tracking and monitoring to gaming for health. Showcased were products that more effectively enable managing chronic disease like diabetes, and those that address the growing needs of ageing populations around the globe, as well as developer platforms, personal emergency response systems, and much more. In the machine-to-machine communications (M2M) space, the summit underscored the centrality and opportunities in health and wellness sensor monitoring, disease surveillance and remote monitoring, diagnostic tools and technical logistics, including interoperability for better outcomes. In the spotlight was the Vital Connect HealthPatch MD biosensor, an integration of Aventyn's Vitalbeat remote patient monitoring and chronic disease management platform with Vital Connect's Healthpatch MD wearable biosensor technology. The wearable patch sensor, worn on the chest, captures biometric measurements and transmits that data back to healthcare providers, allowing them to monitor single-lead ECG, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, body posture, steps and fall detection/severity. ▼
“Glimpse a world where the IoT and M2M … increases engagement between consumers, patients, providers, and caretakers for better health.”
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With diabetes fast becoming one of America’s most prevalent health issues, there was no shortage of devices and programmes focused on managing this chronic condition. One of the newer entrants into the market is Rimidi Diabetes, an Atlanta-based start-up that made its debut at the summit. The company, founded by Lucienne M. Ide, MD, a physician with a PhD in pharmacology, and A. Michael Albisser, MD, one of the inventors of the first artificial pancreas, is set to deploy Diabetes+Me, a cloud-based platform that enables patients to chart and manage their blood glucose levels with fitnessbased metrics and input from healthcare providers.
Managing treatment costs As populations age at home or in other facilities, the Stanley Healthcare Patient Safety Monitoring Solution provides a solution for patient and staff safety and workflow monitoring solutions. This mattress pad fitted with sensors is tied into a remote monitoring platform that enables caregivers to monitor a patient's movements in bed, their sleep patterns and some vital signs. The pad, designed by Silicon Valleybased BAM Labs, fits underneath the mattress and sends information wirelessly to a caregiver's PC or mobile device. This particular solution, addresses such issues as pressure ulcers, which develop when an immobile patient isn't moved on a regular basis, and this occurs in 16.7% of patients in skilled nursing facilities and can cost between US$7,000 and $50,000 to treat, according to Catherine Thomas, senior marketing manager, Stanley. Mobile network operators also view mHealth as a lucrative opportunity for the monetisation of their mobile connectivity services. Given that most operators have established themselves as reputable consumer brands, they are also eyeing opportunities to offer services beyond simple connectivity. Many operators already offer branded or co-branded, end-toend mHealth solutions to their customer bases. AT&T introduced EverThere, a mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) that automatically detects falls and connects the wearer to a call centre for communication with emergency response services. The solution is being marketed to both enterprise customers – such as payers, healthcare providers, home health agencies and skilled nursing facilities – as well as to consumers. The device was developed by Numera and is part of AT&T's ForHealth unit, the company's mHealth-focused enterprise launched in 2010. Among the new apps introduced at the summit this year was AppScript, a health app prescribing solution developed by IMS Health. Stefan Linn, senior vice-president of strategy and global pharma solutions, said AppScript wades into the "wild, wild west" of healthcare-related apps and gives providers and health plans a tool to determine which apps would be best for their patients or members. AppScript is a platform for providers and health plans. It analyses more than 40,000 apps now on the market based on attributes such as functionality, peer and patient reviews, certifications and their potential to improve outcomes or lower cost of care. Through AppScript, a doctor or health plan can then prescribe an app, much like one would prescribe medication.
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"You find that there are many apps out there that really don't do that much”, said Andrew Kress, senior vice-president of IMS Health's Healthcare Value Solutions business. He said AppScript is designed to "share information about what apps work and what apps don't".
Infant mortality Along with AppScript, IMS Health also unveiled AppNucleus, an app development tool and hosting platform that enables developers to accelerate product development by using plugand-play solutions along with IMS Health information and analytics to achieve HIPAA and HITECH compliance. Of particular relevance to the international market, Masimo unveiled the iSpO2 Rx Pulse Oximeter with M-LNCS connector. It is designed to help detect health conditions in newborn children in low-resource settings, most particularly in developing countries. The sensor provides data on oxygen saturation, pulse rate and perfusion index and can be accessed on the iPhone, iPad and iTouch, and soon on Android devices. The iSpO2 Rx is the latest effort in a collaboration with the Newborn Foundation and marks the launch of the BORN (Birth Oximetry Routine for Newborns) Project, a global health initiative to cut down on the estimated 3.3 million newborns who die each year in the first month of life. Pulse oximetry screening has been used to help detect pneumonia, early-onset sepsis, neonatal infection and pulmonary hypertension, as well as congenital heart defects. “This check of oxygen levels in newborns is among the most effective health measures that can be deployed to reduce newborn mortality,” said Annamarie Saarinen, co-founder and chairman of the Newborn Foundation. “We just saw how valuable this is, first hand, while in the Philippines during Typhoon Haiyan.” As healthcare providers seek to maximise their patient outreach while minimising costs, many view mobile and connected healthcare as the solution to improve healthcare delivery and cost-efficiency. This year’s summit delivered pragmatic solutions – and it also provided a glimpse into the world where the Internet of Things and M2M connects and increases engagement between consumers, patients, providers, and caretakers for better health. Stay tuned for the mHealth Summit in 2014, scheduled for December 7-10 at the Gaylord National Harbor, Washington, DC.
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BACK PAGE
Survey reveals that three out of four consumers want wearable technology to improve lifestyles Research from QlikTech, a provider of user-driven business intelligence (BI), has shown that nearly three quarters (73%) of consumers want to be able to analyse their spending habits and health issues in order to lead a better life. According to the research, these are the aspects of our lives we want to track through wearable technology. The ability to track sleep patterns, energy use and personal fitness data were also considered important by the majority of people surveyed, with nearly two thirds (62%) wanting more information on their slumber, 61% wanting to know more about the way they were consuming energy and 57% eager to find out how many calories they had consumed/burnt off during the day. The research from QlikTech surveyed over 1,000 people between the ages of 14 and 65+, looking at the ways consumers want to be able to use wearable technology for health, fitness, finances and personal activities. The survey, which included consumers in Germany and France as well, showed surprisingly similar results across Europe.
Wearable tech was seen by 55% of those surveyed as a way to help them change their lives
When the research delved further into the reasons for why we want to track these aspects of their lives, it found 59% thought having quantifiable insights would motivate them to improve their performance. Breaking the research results down by gender, QlikTech found that men were more likely than women to want to track sports performance (46% to 39%) – especially among men aged 1624 (69%). Women, however, were more interested in learning about their sleeping habits than men (64% compared to 60%). “We’re quickly turning into a society where people want to be able to analyse information about their own lives – not just business data or information on their organisation,” comments Sean Farrington, UK MD & RVP Northern Europe, QlikTech.
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