Johannesburg, 02 Jun 2015
MTN is set to unveil Africa's first pan-Africa IOT platform to catalyse M2M adoption and Africa's move to an Internet of things (IOT) era.
Melao Mashale, Senior Manager: Enterprise Mobile Solutions at MTN Business, says there is strong interest in IOT among businesses and public sector organisations in South Africa and across Africa. However, M2M technologies cannot realise their full potential in a vacuum, he notes.
"Ultimately, IOT is built on connectivity, and its success depends on an ecosystem that includes carriers, developers, innovators and service providers. MTN is taking the initiative to build the foundations for that ecosystem," he says.
Mteto Nyati, MTN's Group Chief Enterprise Officer, officially launched MTN's pan-African IOT platform and its dedicated network in Johannesburg this month. MTN is also supporting a Mind2Machine M2M solutions development challenge to spark M2M innovation in Africa and fast-track the growth of an IOT ecosystem. Later this year, a software developers' kit will become available from MTN to allow innovators to partner with MTN in developing M2M applications.
The ambitious move to position itself as the future hub of IOT development and innovation in Africa comes off the back of several years of operating in the M2M space, says Mashale. While some local organisations are already successfully making use of M2M solutions, many others are still under the misconception that M2M is a new set of technologies for use at some point in the future.
"This is not the case," he says. "We're already seeing any number of products - from cars to fridges - shipping with SIM slots. Now they just need a SIM card and a use case within a relevant ecosystem to become truly smart products that add value to business and everyday life. MTN is building that ecosystem."
Share