Is there money to be made in M2M? Clearly the answer is a resounding yes, given the dedicated corporate departments, products and solutions, business models and partnerships that carriers are committing to this space. Christian Solomine, GM of Digital Services for the US Market for Telefonica, and Markus Breitbach, VP of Global Sales for Marketing at the M2M Competence Center for Deutsche Telekom, joined U2U Connect show host Limor Schafman for a reveal on how these global carriers are approaching M2M.
It is clear that both carriers see current and future investments in the M2M space as a balance between good business planning and innovative opportunity. Mature markets, as described by Solomine, can show a 20-25% compound annual growth with quick ROI, and massive and expanding global markets. These include fleet management, POS, and telematics. Other growing segments such as smartgrid, healthcare, usage based insurance and agriculture, promise significant opportunity in both the variety of products and services and the business models that can be developed to support them.
Both companies are willing to work with startups, conduct R&D tests on their networks, and work closely with companies to figure out the product or service that can be offered. But notes of caution were also sounded by both carriers. They want to see a vision, an understanding of the targeted marketplace, and an understanding of and commitment to what it takes to work with a large carrier.
