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Retail M2M adoption gains traction

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 29 Jul 2015
Sectors like retail, automotive, and energy and utilities lead in M2M adoptions.
Sectors like retail, automotive, and energy and utilities lead in M2M adoptions.

The retail sector is the most improved sector when it comes to machine-to-machine (M2M) adoption, according to Vodafone's M2M Barometer 2015, which is based on an independent study conducted by Circle Research.

This year, the report interviewed 659 business and IT executives in seven industries across 16 countries.

The countries covered in the report are the US, Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Turkey, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, China, SA, Canada and New Zealand.

Erik Brenneis, director for M2M at Vodafone, says the research is also supported by insights from analyst company, Analysys Mason.

The report's latest findings reveal the retail sector experienced the most improvement in M2M adoption, increasing from 17% in 2014 to 32% this year.

According to the report, the majority of surveyed retailers say asset tracking, smart vending machines, smart payment and digital advertising are valuable tools.

"Retailers are enthusiastically adopting solutions like asset tracking to streamline the supply chain, digital signage for interacting with customers, and energy data management for reducing their facilities costs," it notes.

An analyst from Analysys Mason says: "Retailers are gaining awareness of the potential benefits that connected services can bring to their businesses. Benefits include strengthening the relationship with their customers through personalisation of the shopping experience as well as streamlining retailers' own internal operations."

Lead sectors

In terms of overall M2M implementation by industry, the energy and utilities sector leads with a 37% adoption rate.

The report notes the energy and utilities sector is highly regulated, and operates largely independently of the broader economic climate. Much of its investment is in applications such as smart metering.

"Government regulation on smart energy metering in many countries has fuelled strong M2M adoption in this sector. This should continue for the foreseeable future, although take-up may slow in countries where penetration of electric smart meters is already high," says the analyst.

The automotive sector's M2M adoption still remains one of the top industries, with 32% of businesses having implemented M2M technologies.

The large consumer OEMs have a "connected car" strategy, and are pushing M2M technology as a way to improve driver services, the report notes.

"Automotive OEMs are fully aware of the benefits that M2M connectivity affords with regard to reducing their operating costs, such as those for maintenance and warranties.

"89% of new cars sold worldwide will have some form of connectivity by 2024," says an analyst in the report.

Other sectors that have implemented M2M technologies in their business include consumer electronics, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, transportation and logistics, and manufacturing with 29%, 28%, 19% and 17% respectively.

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