Global M2M Surges Ahead but U.S. Lags

July 23, 2014

By J. Sharpe Smith–

July 23, 2014–While machine-to-machine (M2M) adoption has increased 80 percent in the last year, the United States and Europe lag behind Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, according to an executive survey published by Vodafone and Machina Research.

M2M is set to continue its growth pattern from 4.4 billion connected devices this year to 10.3 billion by 2018, according to Machina Research.

The adoption rate in the Americas grew from 13 percent to 17 percent, while adoption in Africa, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific (AMEAP) jumped 15 percentage points up to 27 percent since 2013. The variation in M2M uptake results from the diversity in applications, according to the report.

“It’s not a single type of application that is being adopted universally. Whether it’s usage-based insurance in Italy, stolen vehicle recovery in South Africa or smart cities initiatives in China, certain countries, and regions, have particular quirks in terms of which verticals have seen the most substantial growth,” wrote Matt Hatton, principal analyst, Machina Research.

Although the applications of M2M are diverse, three sectors have emerged with nearly 30 percent adoption rates: automotive, consumer electronics, and energy and utilities. In cars, M2M enables remote maintenance and infotainment. Smart homes and offices use M2M intelligent heating/cooling and connected security.

Nearly three quarters of consumer electronics companies will adopt some form of M2M by
2016, whether for new products, logistics or production.

“Consumer electronics is undeniably becoming a leader: its percentage of adoption has increased to 29 percent; and based on this year’s responses it should maintain that lead until at least 2016,” according to the report.

What is M2M?

Machina Research defines M2M as the plumbing for the Internet of Things, connecting devices and transferring data.

“M2M is becoming fundamental to how organizations do business; in some cases, M2M adoption is also creating new business opportunities. These technologies are radically changing the way in which companies serve — and communicate with — their customers,” Hatton wrote.

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J. Sharpe Smith is the editor, AGL Link and AGL Small Cell Link, and is a contributor to AGL magazine