2. Table of contents
4 Executive summary
4 Understanding the potential of connected devices
5 Key verticals as natural candidates for M2M solutions
6 HP M2M Solution for service providers
7 HP M2M Innovation
8 HP and M2M standards
8 An M2M solution that puts you ahead of the curve
3. Machine to Machine (M2M)
Machines with embedded
network communications
technology that monitor and
control through communication
with back end systems
4. 4
Executive summary
Billions of connected devices start to be deployed in the world with
e-readers, smart meters and connected cars, tracking devices on
containers, health monitoring, wearable, home appliances, building
infrastructure monitoring, bridge or dam surveillance, environment
sensors, and so on. Sensor technology is becoming smaller and
smaller; more and more sensitive and accelerometers are now
inserted on chipsets. Communication protocols, especially wireless,
have also developed in many directions to enable very diverse
scenarios from low bandwidth, low power to high bandwidth, more
energy consuming technologies.
Machine to Machine (M2M) is a broad domain if we include Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and consumer electronics
and a fast growing business. Communication technology, wired
with broadband and powerline, wireless with PAN, LAN and
WAN, and wireline and wireless WAN devices represents about
40 percent of overall M2M revenues. According to the independent
wireless analyst firm, Berg Insight, the number of cellular network
connections (wireless WAN) worldwide used for M2M communication
was 47.7 million in 2008.1
The company forecasts that the number of
M2M connections will grow to 187 million by 2014. Which represent
an opportunity of more than $50 billion USD for communications
service providers alone in 2015, according to Harbor.2
All those devices need to be connected to “the” network,
authenticated, provisioned, and monitored. Data needs to be
collected, analyzed, stored, secured, dispatched, presented, or
leveraged by some sort of applications or end users. Protocols
are still proprietary; heterogeneous. The device manufacturer
market is very fragmented. Applications are very diverse. Mass
market solutions appear in some verticals, but many unique
implementations remain necessary in certain domains.
The opportunity is huge for new solutions, new services that
combine connectivity, data and service management, and ecosystem
management. Service providers are uniquely positioned to serve this
market and deliver federated, trusted, and flexible environments
for device and application vendors to collaborate and deliver these
future solutions. Combining its communication, IT, and services
skills, with its vertical domain expertise, HP has implemented an
M2M solution that packages critical components required to speed
up deployment of service provider M2M infrastructure. This solution
is based on proven HP products and delivered by HP M2M Services’
practice teams, combining Communication, IT, and Vertical Service
Consultant Principals.
Understanding the potential of
connected devices
Besides PC and mobile phones, a number of other devices have
started to leverage wireless technology, particularly wireless WAN,
to interact with some remote applications. Fleet Management
solutions and other tracking and tracing applications have started
to develop.
Mobile World Congress 2012 was all about M2M. GSMA conducted
a study with Machine Research and published a forecast of
$4.5 trillion USD by 2020 for the connected devices market;
$2.5 trillion USD of this would come from sale of connected devices and
services, and half of it goes to operators. BMW, Nissan, Porsche, Ford,
and other Connected car demos proved that more and more vehicles
are now shipped with embedded SIM. Ford’s CEO even predicted that
by 2017–2025 cars will drive without human intervention. Something
that is relayed by ETSI ITS standard group. Regarding Healthcare,
Orange, Etisalat, and Qualcomm to name a few, presented mhealthcare
solutions for remote patient monitoring or baby birth mobile
assistance.3
Connected home was also a hot subject with Vodafone,
AT&T, and KT; and different vendors showing sensors, gateways,
and smart applications to control temperature, humidity, access, or
devices in the home or in buildings. Alliances are being formed between
operators: Telefonica and China Unicom, Orange and Sprint , and so on.
These initiatives have shown an inflection point in the industry where
volumes and complexity underscored the need for a more structured
and consolidated approach with some processes and solutions
that would guarantee some quality of service. Service providers
have clearly seen the opportunity to leverage their infrastructure
and capabilities to become a key player in that space, beyond the
opportunity to sell M2M SIM cards with an average ARPU of $5 USD.
AT&T, KPN, Rogers, Telcel/America Movil, and Jasper Wireless began
work on the creation of an M2M Web presence, to serve as a hub for
developers in the field of M2M communication electronics. Vodafone,
Verizon Wireless and nPhase announced a strategic alliance, which
will provide global M2M solutions that offer clients an easy way to
roll out M2M solutions across Europe and the US. More and more
CSPs build solutions and business units to focus on this market.
1
Source: “The Global Wireless M2M Market—4th Edition,” Berg Insight, April 2012
2
Source: “Creative M2M Partnerships Drive New Value For Wireless Carriers White Paper,”
Harbor Research, Inc., March 2011
3
Bill Ford Jr., Ford Executive Chairman, key note session at The GSMA Mobile World
Congress and Mobile World Live, February 2012. mobileworldlive.com/mwc12-ford
M2M Will Extend to an Enormous Device Population*
1+ Trillion
RFID/Sensors
RFID/Sensors include:
Location
Humidity
Temperature
Vibration
Liquid
Weight
etc.
*Forecast of installed base, 2010
Source: Focal Point Group
Info Devices include:
Mobile Phones, PDAs,
Web Tablets, etc.
300 Million
Personal
Computers
500 Billion
Microprocessors
Processors include:
4–64+ bit, etc
2 Billion
Smart Devices
Smart Devices include:
Appliances
Machinery
Vehicles
Building Equipment
etc.
1 Billion
Info Devices
5. 5
If we look at the value chain to deliver M2M solutions, there are
a number of components and players including chipset vendors,
sensor manufacturers, device vendors, communication providers,
application developers, content providers, application service
providers, and so on. Service providers have different options open
to them, to play in this business.
• Communications service providers: They can be a pure
communications vendor and provide embedded SIM cards, with
or without roaming included. M2M SIM cards are shipped to
the device manufacturer and embedded, or sometimes, sealed
in the device. The device is then sold at a predefined price. A
communication fee is then charged either as an extra monthly
fee for communications, or via a revenue-sharing model with
the device vendor. The Kindle and other e-readers that come
with embedded SIM cards are examples where consumers pay
for the reader and then for each download. An agreement and
revenue‑sharing model is in place between the service provider
and the device vendor. The same applies for embedded SIM cards
in cars, and other machines.
Chipset
Vendor
Device SIM
Vendor
Communication
Service
Provider
Application
Service
Provider
Retail
Vendor
Application
Developer
Content
Provider
End User
Third Party
• Device SIM Vendors: They can provide a device, most likely
as a bundle with an embedded SIM card and other embedded
sensors and capability, different form factor, with an Software
Development Kit (SDK); and offer this to developers as a trusted,
certified solution. Developers can then integrate that device in
their solution and write applications for specific markets.
• Application Service Providers: They can offer a backend hosted
environment, M2M management platform, that will manage M2M
devices—Collect data over secured connectivity, Monitor, Report,
Alert, Provision, and offer XML and SOAP APIs to device vendor and
application developers.
• Application Developer Federators: They can offer a hosted
environment where device vendors meet application developers
and build an ecosystem of M2M solution providers, while
exposing their application programming interfaces (APIs),
and promoting their M2M SIM cards. This model makes sense
if service providers can leverage that activity to “upsell”
communication or broader services.
• Content Providers: They can offer information or capabilities via
APIs: location, subscriber information, SMS, charging via XML, or
SOAP API. M2M vendors use these APIs in their applications, and
revenue-sharing is applied each time those services are invoked
by the end user.
• M2M Solution Providers: They can also offer complete end‑to‑end
solutions, from devices with embedded SIM to applications and
sell packages, to end-users directly.
This business is interesting to enterprise and consumer markets
where service providers are particularly well positioned. Depending
on their size and their position in their market, or more globally, they
will choose different strategies.
Key verticals as natural candidates for
M2M solutions
M2M is typically segmented in five to six categories: Telematics,
Smart meters, Telehealth, Home security, Retail, Environment
Monitoring. Among different market segments that plan to leverage
connected devices, Utility, Automotive, and Healthcare are definitely
the key verticals looking at M2M today.
Utility is stimulated by smart grid initiatives; some being
sponsored by the government as in the US with investment plans,
or as in Europe, with institutions where regulation enforces some
deployment timeline.
In 2009, 76 million smart meters have been deployed and this number
is forecast to grow to 212 million by 2014, according to ABI Research.4
Smart meters are typically gas or electricity meters installed in homes
or buildings. They come with some connectivity; typically zigbee or
power line, and connect to a concentrator that uses an embedded SIM
card to communicate with back-end systems. Smart meters need to be
configured to transmit certain data at certain times, and concentrators
need also to be provisioned to have up to date communication
software to transmit that data to the back end system.
A number of vendors have started to position themselves in this
market with smart meters and concentrators. Service providers offer
embedded SIM cards, and utilities perform trials and deployments
of the solution. Many countries have engaged Smart Meter projects,
some face investment issues given the estimated cost of such
deployments is around $250 USD per meter; however, as volume
increases and deregulation invites multiple players to deploy
such solutions, service providers begin to have a bigger role to
play—offering more services as we’ve already seen or becoming
an aggregator for multiple vendors. Beyond Smart Meters, other
extensions are starting to appear with Smart Plugs and Home Energy
Management, for instance. Even more vendors, even more devices
to manage, real time alerts, remote control often from mobile
phones—many requirements that position service providers well.
4
Source: “Smart meters for smart grids,” ABI Research, January 2010
76 million smart meters
were deployed in 2009;
212 million forecast
by 2014
6. 6
Automotive is a heavy user of technology with sensors, electronic,
and navigation systems. Recently, we’ve seen some new
regulations. Emergency call, ecall (3GPP TR 22.967). GM OnStar
is one of the largest projects in this area with over 10 million
connections deployed for in-vehicle safety. Europe is enforcing
car manufacturers to provide ecall with connectivity either via
embedded SIM cards, or interaction with end-user mobile phones.
Ecall is expected to save 2,500 lives per year in the EU.
Electric cars are stimulating the market with battery remote
monitoring or real-time charging station availability information.
Many other value added services are emerging such as car
maintenance, navigation system updates, entertainment update
and download, fleet management, and so on. Market estimates are
that more than 50 percent of cars and vehicles will be connected by
2015. Service providers have already began providing embedded SIM
cards, but so far mainly for high-end cars. They have also started
to implement ecall in their infrastructure to handle those calls with
high priority and route them to proper Public Safety Answering Point
(PSAP) Support Centers. But, they can expand their role towards
back-end systems, value added applications, and include those cars
that do not come with embedded devices.
Internet
Voice call
Data message (e.g. SMS)
In-vehicle
sensor/s
CAN
bus
Telematics
Control Unit
GSM cellular
network
PSTN or IP
network
Call center/
PSAP
Emergency
serviceTCUCrash
sensor
Healthcare is a big market, Over a billion dollars in IT each
year. The worldwide market for mobile health revenue will top
$23 billion USD by 2017.5
With aging population in developed
countries—80 million people aged over 65 in western Europe by
2014—there is heightened cost pressures on social security. The
need for preventative healthcare and healthcare at home is growing.
In developing countries, it is estimated that 50 percent or more of
the population does not have access to healthcare. E-health and
M-health can contribute hugely. Governments are engaging in that
direction but security concerns, regulation, institutions inevitably
slow the process down. Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Digital
Hospital with communication between doctors and hospitals is
currently being deployed. Some other solutions are appearing
that equip doctors with mobile devices, allowing access to patient
records, or mobile health monitoring devices. Video solutions are
also very popular. Sensors with video cameras allow experts to view,
or assist surgery via remote viewing.
At the same time, private healthcare and wellness are making
progress in the area of diabetes and cardio-monitoring devices for
instance. Solutions with devices in the hands of a patient at home
and applications in a healthcare back-end system for diagnostics
and advice are beginning to appear, as are mobile applications to
remotely track the health of senior citizens. Service providers are
starting to offer secured communications infrastructure to carry
confidential patient data or video. SIM cards are also embedded in
remote healthcare monitoring devices, and this could extend to more
applications with partners targeting other areas, such as wellness.
HP M2M Solution for service providers
HP’s M2M Solution offering covers a broad spectrum of service
provider responsibility in this value chain: Connectivity
and Communication, Data and Service Management, and
Ecosystem Management.
Communication includes Device Management, SIM management
and Self Care Portal, Device HLR for authentication, security and
location, USSD & SMS Gateway, And can go up to dedicated M2M
communication infrastructure (MVNO model)
Data and Service Management addresses data collection,
aggregation, correlation, repository, provisioning and control as
well as monitoring, quality of service and usage tracking without
forgetting Authorization, authentication and security. As traffic
grows, big data analytics becomes critical and HP is best positioned
with solutions leveraging HP Vertica real time analytics.
Ecosystem Management is API exposure, policy management,
access control, partner management, development portal, revenue
management, application store, and cloud services.
The HP Solution is delivered in Utility, Healthcare and Automobile
by a combination of HP Communications Consultants and with
HP Vertical Consultants, with expertise in each vertical industry.
For Utility, HP has built a prepackaged solution—the HP Utility
Center solution for meter data and service management. The
HP solution is vendor-agnostic and can scale considerably to enable
service providers to provide this capability to multiple utilities
in a country or across geographies. The solution can be modular
and expand towards device management, analytics, Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) or billing.
5
Source: “Touching Lives through mHealth: Assessment of the Global Market
Opportunity,” Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), February 2012
7. 7
For Automotive, HP combines assets and capabilities acquired in
Automotive with the deployment of some of the most advanced
connected car solutions in the market today. With Communications
and Media Solutions’ assets, HP offers a rich solution that covers
communication, data and service management, ecosystem
management, and automotive specific capabilities.
For Healthcare, HP combines its proven digital hospital offering
with its Communications and Media Solution assets, to expand IT
healthcare solutions towards telehealth and M-health.
This M2M solution is relevant and applicable to other M2M segments,
such as home management, point of sales, or tracking and tracing
solutions—like container tracking for instance.
HP is unique in that it can deliver complete solutions with optimized
hardware, proven software, and experienced services. Combining
network and IT expertise with skills of dedicated practice teams
across the vertical industries of: Utility, Health, Automotive, and
Telecom; HP is “the” vendor that can offer robust M2M solutions with
scalability and integration within Service Provider and other industry
vertical environments.
HP M2M Innovation
HP is currently investigating a number of areas that will contribute
to M2M, including high sensitive sensors, scalability of monitoring
systems, analytics and security.
Central Nervous System for the Earth: HP Labs is developing a
network of tiny, low-cost, tough, and highly sensitive detectors
that will make life more convenient and safer today, while laying
the groundwork for worldwide awareness tomorrow. This is
called “Central Nervous System for the Earth” (CeNSE). This highly
sensitive accelerometer can detect a 10 femtometer change in the
position of its center chip. That’s less than one billionth the width of
a human hair. As a result, it can measure changes to acceleration in
the micro-gravity range. That’s about 1,000 times more sensitive
than accelerometers used in a Wii, an iPhone, or an automobile’s
airbag system.
Scalability of monitoring systems: With billions of objects,
1000 sensors on a bridge just like the Golden Gate, smart meters
with smart plugs in large numbers of homes, and other places,
monitoring systems have to deal with larger and larger numbers
of elements to model, monitor, detect alerts, and display. HP is
conducting important research to expand current capabilities of
relational database-based applications, to improve scalability and
response time.
Analytics: M2M machines communicate with back-end systems
and send data, and most often raw data. The number of devices
and amount of data constitute huge data stores that need to be
analyzed by back end systems to provide relevant information to
the applications.
HP is building a future analytics system to deliver new ways to
leverage data across different formats and business disciplines,
enabling faster, better-informed decision making.
