(Event Preview: Acropolis Convention Centre, Nice, France. September 24-26, 2013) — More than 60 speakers from the connected world will be at the M2M Innovation World Congress to present implementations in smart grids, retail, smart homes and connected devices.
So, where better, asks George Elrington, than Nice to address topical M2M challenges across M2M ecosystems, business models, technologies, implementations, delivery, and management?
Despite tremendous leaps over the last 12 months, the full potential of M2M services has yet to be achieved. What is certain is that the M2M revolution is in full swing and, according to some analysts, the number of global M2M device connections will grow between 20% and 50% per annum for at least the next five years.
As a collective, we know that the success of the industry hangs largely on partnerships and collaboration. The M2M Innovation World Congress is, say the organisers, an opportunity to expand your peripheral industry vision, learn from the pioneers in M2M, discover innovation and practical applications, view the latest devices, and mingle with your peers as you experience M2M live in action with 100 special demos and pre-arranged tours.
The event is dedicated to discovering, assessing and discussing the latest M2M services from around the globe. Speakers will detail the most innovative service cases for smart grids, smart and connected cities, retail, and smart home/device applications. Special sessions will also address ways to overcome the voluminous ecosystem, emerging business models and technological challenges. In its entirety, the event will showcase best practices, strategic insights and exemplary business cases to foster innovation in M2M services.
Getting your M2M services to market quickly and profitably
A plenary opening session will kick-start the conference proceedings with a discussion entitled, M2M Services Innovation Sources. Chaired and moderated by M2M Now’s editorial director, Jeremy Cowan, a carefully selected panel of major players from different parts of the M2M value chain will look for ways to achieve faster service roll-outs and greater profitability.
Keynote presenters include Scott Kurth, director at Accenture Technology Vision, who will highlight emerging trends and their impact on the future of M2M. Sven Krey, from the M2M competence centre at Deutsche Telekom, will talk about enabling, orchestrating and developing the M2M ecosystem, innovative and flexible business models to create end-to-end solutions and value, and increasing productivity and efficiency through secure and complete M2M solutions.
Achieving the full potential of M2M
A double-edged conference programme will tackle both sides of the industry. No fewer than 28 Track 1 presentations will focus on M2M for Verticals and cover the latest application implementations, lessons learned so far, as well as advanced solutions in smart and connected cities, smart grids, retail and smart home and smart devices.
If you are interested in finding out more about a current use cases – and the evolution towards smart grid data platforms – check out the M2M for Utilities session with Regis Hourdouillie, smart grid director at Ericsson. Or perhaps you’ve been looking at software defined networks (SDN) to provide the flexibility needed in smart grid M2M networks. If so, Ashish Singh, director and global head of product management at SK Telecom Americas, will be sharing insights on this topic.
Running concurrently, Track 2 will address Strategies & Implementation. During a further 28 talks, M2M industry players from vertical markets will find examples of tomorrow’s ecosystems and ways to drive M2M growth. Sessions include: Business Models and Ecosystem Integration, Big Data for M2M, Platform Interoperability, Security, and Connectivity Challenges.
M2M connectivity futures
How to deal with keeping connections light, open and running for longer, especially when monitoring in remote locations, has been creeping onto the M2M radar.
Discussing this in more detail, Jim Morrish, director and founder of Machina Research, will host a session focusing on the impact of emerging Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) wireless technologies in future M2M markets. This type of connectivity could boost the forecasted 18bn ‘established’ M2M connections to 15.5bn by 2022.
Morrish told M2M Now: “These alternative wireless access technologies are a potential substitute for cellular (and other) connectivity technologies. While being a niche feature of the M2M world for some time now, recently companies like Weightless and SIGFOX have raised the profile of such solutions to a new level. In particular, SIGFOX is actively recruiting national network operators with a view to chaperoning the offering into the mainstream.”
Ludovic Le Moan, CEO of SIGFOX, the only operated cellular network built for the Internet of Things (IoT) and M2M – will deliver an address on The M2M Future of Low Power WAN Technologies. His presentation, Solving Connectivity for the IoT, will cover the requirement for a new connectivity offering, as well as introduce SIGFOX to delegates.
Mahbubul Alam, head of IoT platform and M2M systems at Cisco, will share insight on the topic: From IoT Vision to Reality – The keys are the platform and ecosystem. Also of note is the Big Data for M2M session, in which Machina Research’s Emil Berthelsen, Digi International’s Joel Young, and Preston Johnson from National Instruments USA will look at how to monetise data and turn it into actionable business information.
M2M in action with exclusive live experiences
The French Riviera’s capital is one of the most advanced e-cities in the world, making it a great place to experience M2M cases in situ. Encompassing Connectivity Challenges and Security as part of the programme, the event organisers have arranged a series of live experiences where delegates can see the potential of M2M services. One example is the future of energy management at Nice Grid. Arranged for the morning of the last day of the event, this will be a private demonstration of a pioneering, solar-energy smart grid that is said to be unique in the world by its scale and ambition.
Congress delegates will also be able to take part in a workshop and guided visit that will demonstrate how M2M services can change city’s management, and citizen’s life, in the world’s first connected boulevard. Claimed to be the first real-world connected services project at city level, it involves 200 sensors and detecting devices in downtown Nice, providing context-aware information on parking, traffic, street lighting, waste disposal, and environmental quality.
Co-located events, too
While the agenda at M2M Innovation World Congress offers many opportunities to discover and experience the potential of M2M services, the co-located International World Smart Week Exhibition allows even deeper exploration into M2M possibilities regarding complementary technologies. Smart Week events include: NFC World Congress, World e-ID Congress and Chip-to-Cloud Security Forum.
With 1,700 participants there should be some good networking opportunities at the conference, as well as at a special Gala evening at the Palais de la Mediterranean.
www.m2minnovationworldcongress.com
The event is organised by Strategies Telecoms & Multimedia
