Comms Dealer

The Machine-to-Machine market is set for significant growth 30% in volume and over 10% in revenue, with the market to reach €40bn in 2017.

The 6th edition of IDATE's M2M Market report, covering 2013-2017, reveals that a healthy growth rate has finally taken hold in this promising but until recently, under performing market. This performance is being spurred by increased use within the main areas of application (automotive, consumer electronics and utilities) and is expected to accelerate even further over the next five years as M2M spreads to other sectors of activity.

The M2M market1 represented 175 million modules worldwide in 2013, generating €24.2bn in revenue, which translates in to an annual growth rate of 31% in volume and 11% in revenue. The bulk of revenue was generated by software and IT developments which together accounted for two-thirds of total market value.

IDATE forecasts that global M2M market volume will grow by an average of close to 30% annually between now and 2017, which corresponds to 470 million modules, while market revenue will climb by 13% a year on average, to reach €40 billion.

Europe will be the biggest market in terms of revenue, ahead of North America, even if Asia-Pacific will continue to dominate in terms of volume. At the end of 2013, China rose to the number one spot in number of cellular M2M modules installed, overtaking the US.

Over the next few years, the M2M market's growth will be shaped by three key verticals: automotive, consumer electronics and utilities, says the report. 

While they will theoretically drive the market, certain barriers could nevertheless obstruct their growth. Several long-awaited applications in these key markets have been repeatedly delayed, such as Europe's eCall regulation and large-scale rollouts by utilities.

Added to which certain technical choices can have a tremendous impact on the market, a good example being smart meters connected to the cellular network through a concentrator that would allow large utility companies to further increase their already massive negotiating clout to drive down per-unit prices.

But utilities will dominate the M2M market in 2017 in terms of module numbers, all technologies combined. The rise of M2M in consumer electronics will have a major impact on the market as a whole, especially on the number of active modules. Because it is a de facto mass market, consumer electronics will represent the largest number of modules, all technologies combined.

The market offers M2M application providers with very attractive opportunities, despite the already relatively low and declining average revenue per user (ARPU). The projects have a long lifespan, very low churn rates and average contracts representing several thousand SIM cards. Connectivity alone is expected to represent €10 billion worldwide in 2017, and more than 3% of European telcos' mobile data revenue.

MVNOs are being pushed out of the market and so repositioning themselves as platform providers, while module providers will have to adapt to a market where unit prices are in free fall. Meanwhile, the top telcos are exploring new cloud and big data services that would allow them to find solid and sustainable new business opportunities.

A growth rate of 453% has secured iHub 320th place in the 2013 Deloitte Fast 500 EMEA Rankings. The recognition follows a top 50 finish in the 2012 Deloitte UK Fast50 rankings.

iHub CEO Mike Webb said: "To be recognised for our growth in the Deloitte Technology rankings for the second consecutive year is a tremendous achievement and demonstrates the proliferation of hosted telephony, as well as the dedication and hard work the iHub team."

Webb noted that the company has invested heavily in its network and hosting solution, and reaffirmed his commitment to system and portal development.

"With the uptake of cloud based applications and the increasing trend towards the mobile workforce set to continue, iHub are well positioned to benefit from further growth in 2014," he added.

Virtual1 has added FibreExpress to its portfolio of Ethernet services, providing an entry level fibre connection that delivers uncontended FTTC connectivity and enables partners to provide ultra-fast connectivity directly to their customers' addresses in areas served by FTTC technology.

Customers requiring greater bandwidth to run a larger number of IP-based applications will benefit by using uncontended FTTC with high-speed connectivity.

"With 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15 and 20Mb options available at key locations across the country, it is quick to install and is available for both existing and new customers," said Virtual1 Managing Director, Tom O'Hagan. "FTTC is suitable for WAN, Internet, Cloud and SIP services."

He claimed that FibreExpress is a cost effective alternative to other Ethernet services. "With the Virtual1's service and monitoring through the 1View platform it offers our partners another string to their bow."

Virgin Media Business is on the hunt for three new technology innovations that will change the way we live and work. The search will give three innovators a platform to promote their game-changing ideas, with winning prizes including mentoring from Richard Branson and up to £25,000 in free business telecoms.
 
he search aims to unearth ideas and projects that have not yet gained attention and give them a platform that will propel them into the public domain.
 
The company is hunting out innovations, whether it is one line of code or an entirely new piece of tech. Each needs the potential to change the way we live or do business.
 
The 'Three New Things' will be unveiled at Virgin Media Business' 2014 annual event in March.
  
Throughout 2014 and beyond the company will track the progress of these innovations, from 'neat idea' to serious tech player - charting the highs and lows of bringing a new idea to life and to market.
 
Peter Kelly, MD, Virgin Media Business, said: "Britain has a digital competitive advantage that we should all be proud of. That advantage has been born out of a desire to adopt new technologies and transformative ideas that can often start from something small and simple.
 
"Digital could and should power Britain's economy and change the way we live and work for the better. We're committed to helping others make the most of that potential. Today I'm calling on innovators to grab this unique opportunity to make their idea a reality."

Exertis Micro-P has recruited Paul Lomas to head up its Large Format and Signage product portfolio.

With the AV market in professional and touch screen displays set to grow significantly into 2014, Exertis Micro-P is on a mission to capitalise on this growth.

Lomas has spent the last ten years of his career at TV and Video Direct. Seven of those years were as Commercial Operations Manager and then Head of Operations. His main focus was on the supply and installation of all AV products into a wide variety of business sectors.

Lomas said: " The next year looks to be an exciting time in the AV industry with a range of innovative new products and solutions coming into play, so we aim to help and support our channel to grow their businesses even further."

Ian Aitken, General Manager Visual division Exertis Micro-P added: "With industry professionals like Paul Lomas leading an already experienced team we are confident we can add value to our growing reseller partners. Paul's appointment comes alongside the expansion of our BDM team and the expansion of our vendor funded product management team based in Basingstoke."

An independent survey of 300 businesses, commissioned by web infrastructure and cloud hosting provider Peer 1 Hosting, reveals that a quarter plan to move their company data away from the US due to NSA-related privacy and security concerns.

Privacy concerns are growing after the NSA scandals and the "summer of Snowden," with 82% of companies indicating that privacy laws are a top concern when choosing where to host their data. Further, 81% want to know exactly where their data is being hosted.

The survey revealed that the top three concerns for UK businesses when choosing where to store sensitive company data are security (96%), performance (94%) and reputation (87%). Nearly 70% of respondents agree they would sacrifice performance to ensure data sovereignty.

Despite these new attitudes, organisations admit they are struggling to fully understand current data laws, with 60% agreeing they don't know as much as they should about data security laws. Additionally, 44% feel that privacy and security laws confuse them.

"With data privacy and security concerns top of mind after NSA, PRISM and other revelations around the world, businesses in the UK are taking real action," said Robert Miggins, SVP business development, PEER 1 Hosting. "Many are moving data outside of the US, and even more are making security and privacy their top concerns when choosing where to host their company data.

It's clear that hosting and cloud providers need to take note and offer businesses true choice in terms of the locations and environments where they store their data, ensuring they can maintain security, compliance and privacy to the best extent possible."

AdEPT Telecom has been shortlisted for Telecom Share of the Year at the UK Stock Market Awards.

Ian Fishwick, Chief Executive said: "It is a great honour to be nominated alongside such industry giants as BT and Vodafone and shows just how far we have come as a business.

"We doubled our share price in 2012, and then doubled it again in 2013. In an era of low interest rates, investors are clearly looking for companies with dividend growth, consistent and predictable profits, and high cash generation.

"Changes in technology and products are a constant in our industry, and often dominate our conversations, however we must never lose sight of the primary objective: we are here to make money for our shareholders.

"It was interesting to see that the Fixed Line Telecoms sector saw the second highest growth in share prices in 2013 (up 58.5%), only beaten by the Leisure Goods sector (up 89.3%).

"|This is in marked contrast to 2009 when the Fixed Line Telecoms sector was in 36th position."

Both IDC and Gartner say PC shipments fell again last quarter. They respectively estimate PC shipments fell 5.6% and 6.9% Y/Y in Q4. Those numbers represent improvements from estimated Q3 declines of 7.6% and 8.6%, however.

For the full year, both firms think shipments dropped 10% (to 315m and 316m, respectively). Gartner thinks US PC sales (which outperformed in Q3) have bottomed, but nonetheless estimates they fell 7.5%, and says "consumer spending during the holidays did not come back to PCs as tablets were one of the hottest holiday items."

IDC thinks U.S. shipments only fell 1.6%, thanks to healthy enterprise demand. EMEA and much of Asia-Pac remained weak, it says, but Japan delivered positive growth.

Lenovo added to its market lead in Q4: IDC assigns the company an 18.6% share (+250 bps Y/Y). #2 HP, which performed well in its October quarter, is given a 16.8% share (-50 bps); both IDC and Gartner think HP's US sales were weak. #3 Dell, which has been cutting prices to gain share, is given a 12.2% share (+130 bps). HP and Lenovo have each rolled out a slew of new Windows and Android notebooks, tablets, and convertibles at the CES event this week, where Lenovo's pricing has arguably been more aggressive than HP's.

Ericsson has teamed up with AT&T to offer improved connectivity for products powered by the Ericsson Connected Vehicle Cloud aimed at the automotive cloud ecosystem.

Connected Vehicle Cloud is based on Ericsson's Service Enablement Platform, providing drivers and passengers with access to applications directly from a screen in the car. This includes the ability to detect vehicle repair issues, book service appointments, subscribe to in-vehicle Wi-Fi and on-demand infotainment.

Connected Vehicle Cloud leverages Ericsson's M2M service enablement capabilities and portfolio in the OSS/BSS domain and can be deployed on standard cloud infrastructures, it says.

"AT&T recognises the vast potential that exists to transform digital experiences in and around the car, and has built a wireless network that can truly bring the connected vehicle ecosystem to life. As Ericsson ramps up connected efforts with AT&T, we continue to expand the value and direct consumer impact of the Connected Vehicle Cloud service offering. When selecting and consuming services, drivers will indirectly benefit from faster response times, data security and Quality of Service," says Per Borgklint, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions, Ericsson.

French IT group Altran has started its second innovation competition for its staff with a €100,000 prize. THE iPROJECT (where 'i' stands for innovation) is designed to promote in-house research and innovation by way of a competition open to all Group employees, whatever their profession, industry or country of operation.

Candidates must submit their proposition of a useful innovation, either in the form of a concept or a prototype, to a jury.

Altran's programme aims to encourage personal initiative, promote team work and give employees the opportunity to come up with and develop concepts which they are passionate about.

Because of the Group's strategic objective to anticipate its customers' new and future needs, these projects must demonstrate the potential benefits they can offer Altran in terms of business (customers, reputation, appeal) new markets, and innovative, added value.

The most innovative projects selected within the context of the in-house competition receive financial support of €100,000 each. For Altran, the ultimate objective is to flesh out and complete its offering so that the Group can better meet its customers' needs.

Commenting on the success of the first season of the programme, Michael Bailly, Executive Vice-President in charge of programmes and innovation for the Altran group, said: "The first season of THE i PROJECT has been a veritable success in terms of the commitment demonstrated by the Group's Innovation Makers and the quality of the projects presented. This perfectly illustrates the fact that innovation is indeed the DNA of the Group!"

For the first season of THE i PROJECT, five project winners were selected out of a total of twenty finalists. The first season rallied a truly enthusiastic response within the Group resulting in the participation of 340 people from 15 different countries on 104 projects.

The second THE i PROJECT season is now underway with another wave of candidates. The new projects are due to be unveiled on 5 March 2014.