Rating: It will also help create demand for 4G M2M devices
The market for M2M (Machine to Machine) and embedded devices is set to quadruple over the next five years according to a new report from Juniper Research. It will rise from just over 100 million units currently [2012] to reach 400 million units by Q1 2018. The company is attributing this growth to two key sectors: – consumer electronics plus telematics. In particular the automotive industry will play a major part in driving growth in M2M. The report also notes that increasingly more sophisticated APIs will be made available and that the cost of M2M modules should fall.Anthony Cox, an associate analyst at Juniper Research and author of the report – ‘M2M & Embedded Strategies: Telematics, Smart CE, Meters and Buildings 2012-2017′, observes that, “The automotive market is potentially easier to address than other sectors as it contains fewer players.”
The promise of increased driver efficiency and cost management will help to drive success in the automotive sector.
Automotive applications require improved bandwidth and latency so this will create demand for 3G compatible modules – also helped by the fact that in some markets, 2G infrastructure will be retired.
Whilst shipping in very low volumes currently, 4G chipsets will find also find a market in the automotive industry. Live video monitoring will put impetus behind 4G compatible devices, too.
The report says that, “APIs from M2M specialists are becoming increasingly sophisticated with tailored solutions for individual M2M customers now common.”
In addition, the report finds that hardware manufacturers are providing increased support for their products including API and industry -specific modules.
The report contains five year forecasts for M2M devices; service revenues; connectivity enablement revenues; and the value of the hardware market.
A whitepaper – ‘M2M~Building a Connected World’ is available to download from the Juniper website here.
