Ericsson propels m2m market, buys Telenor's m2m platform

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 23 April 2011 12:28

IT Industry - Deals

Ericsson is to acquire Telenor Connexion's m2m (machine-to-machine) technology platform to help fulfil its ambition to "drive the market for m2m communication," and contribute towards fulfilling its prediction of 50 billion connected devices by 2020.

Telenor Connexion is wholly owned by Scandinavian mobile operator, Telenor, and Ericsson says the acquisition will "add valuable technology and know-how from eleven employees that will be transferred as part of the deal."

Telenor Connexion also becomes the first customer on Ericsson's Device Connection Platform, a service launched at Mobile World Congress in February. According to Ericsson, "The Device Connection Platform offers telecom operators a way to set up tailored m2m services for enterprise customers and is brought to market with a 'software as a service' business model, providing a low initial investment in technology and a fast time to market."

Telenor Connexion CEO, Per Simonsen, said: "m2m solutions have gained momentum and the market is much more mature compared to when we formed Telenor Connexion in 2008. Utilising our offering on Ericsson's platform means that we can focus our resources on value adding services, improved and customised products, and partnerships to further strengthen our position as the leading provider of premium m2m solutions for business and life critical applications."

According to Frost & Sullivan analyst, Yiru Zhong, "This significant acquisition will buoy the overall m2m market from several angles. This move makes Ericsson a credible force in the m2m market and creates conditions for wider market development.

"[It] provides service providers - and not only telecoms players - with an alternative way to achieve faster time to market with regards to deployment of m2m communication services. As such, we see a potential for Ericsson to disrupt traditional m2m players by opening up possibilities for new types of service providers."

Zhong argues that: "Ericsson's customer reach allows it to position its improved m2m offering to a broad range of telecom service providers. This acquisition is expected to set the scene for the second wave of telecommunications entry into the m2m space by overcoming their operational challenges in tapping into this growth area.