AT&T Making Strong Push for IoT
Yesterday, communications giant AT&T hosted the 2015 AT&T Developer Summit and made some exciting announcements relating to their latest IoT push. The most significant was the announcement of their M2X Data Service which was launched in beta last year, is now commercially available. The service its first Internet of Things (IoT) data storage and management service specially designed for developers. Businesses are able to make quick decisions by gathering real-time data from millions of connected remote devices and equipment. Additionally, the data is translated it into meaningful information for further improvements in the design of automated systems, and conduct strategic analysis.
Since launching last year in beta, several companies have begun integrating and using the M2X Data Service, including: Emerson and Manitowoc Foodservice, Rockwell Automation, Ericsson, WiPro, and Numerex.
Mike Troiano, vice president, Industrial Internet of Things, AT&T Mobility is reported as saying “In the Industrial IoT world, connecting devices and machines to the Internet only has value if you can effectively store, analyze and leverage the data that’s being transmitted. Our M2X Data Service allows businesses of all sizes to manage and better utilize the data they collect from connected devices.”
With this announcement, AT&T also announced the move of their Flow Designer service into Beta testing. This is a cloud-based visual development tool aimed at making it easier for enterprise developers to create new IoT apps and solutions for their employers and end users.
Joe Bossalini, an AT&T product development engineer said “You can really see the value of AT&T Flow Designer in a development sprint like the Hackathon. We had developers coming in with almost no IoT development experience and walking out 48 hours later with polished prototypes.”
AT&T has been working in the IoT field for the past two years, and has built up an already diverse portfolio including a smart home (AT&T Digital Life), and smart car offerings (AT&T Drive platform). Last year AT&T said it had more than 18 million connected devices on its wireless network.
It was also announces on Monday that AT&T will be opening their Digital Life platform to integrate with third-party products and services. Some of these providers include: Lutron Electronics, Samsung, Qualcomm Life and LG Electronics. This should have a significant impact in the growth of the platform.
Kevin Petersen, senior vice president of AT&T Digital Life said, “Innovation in home automation is skyrocketing, but to really drive mass adoptions, we need to leverage the strong platform that we have built by working with key industry leaders and developers to bring the best ideas together to benefit the customer.”
Not much was said about the AT&T Drive platform which was announced last year. However a few partnerships were announced, such as Subaru, AetherPal, Audiobooks, Dash Radio, eventseeker and Glympse.
