How M2M Is Enabling The Internet Of Things

By Brian Albright, Field Technologies magazine

Cloud computing, sensors, and Big Data analytics will enable new M2M applications and functionality.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity has become one of the primary enabling technologies of the Internet of Things (IoT) — a global network of equipment, appliances, computing devices, and other objects that can communicate in real time. For field service organizations, M2M presents a way for companies to communicate directly with equipment, provide remote maintenance and troubleshooting services, and avoid unnecessary (and costly) truck rolls.

M2M is now a truly global technology, with connectivity solutions available in remote and emerging markets. This expansion has been enabled, in part, by the availability of higher-speed wireless networks with more available bandwidth; in turn, these faster networks have made it possible for M2M solutions to provide greater opportunities for remote analytics.