Increasing adoption of machine-to-machine (M2M) technology in the country is creating new business opportunities for the industry and enhancing consumer experience. M2M is a technology revolution enabling businesses to gain efficiency and automation in a sustainable environment, said Abdulla Hashim, Senior Vice President, ICT, Etisalat.
His comments came at the end of the M2M Middle East Forum 2013, which saw participation from over 200 attendees from the private and public sectors and regional and global experts. Topics discussed at the event focused on smart cities, smart enterprises, smart governance, smart grids, smart metering, remote monitoring, smart healthcare, security and smart retailing.
Describing the forum as a ‘success’, he said: “Events, such as this, are crucial to bring together all stakeholders. At the event, we witnessed keen interest from several government entities and enterprises to deploy Etisalat’s M2M solutions for their businesses. The decision to host this event, which was a regional first, was aligned with Etisalat’s business strategy to focus on M2M as a main investment area this year.”
During his keynote speech yesterday “Driving Sustainable M2M Solutions in UAE”, Hashim said, “As the leader in M2M connectivity, made possible through Etisalat’s advanced infrastructure, we consider it our national responsibility to drive progress through research and innovation into cutting edge technology. We are geared for more investment in the latest M2M service enablement and application development platforms.”
During the forum, Etisalat hosted a panel ‘How will M2M solutions shape the future of UAE’, which had participants from its partner Pacific Controls and customers Higher Colleges of Technology and Fraser Suites who discussed their success with the Emirates Energy Star program.
Stressing on the role of partnerships as a key part of the company’s future goals, Hashim added: “In the future, Etisalat will provide crucial regional connectivity and M2M management platforms. We are already expanding our partner ecosystem by becoming a part of the international M2M global alliance which will help us partner with global M2M hardware manufacturers, M2M applications and platform providers.”
Through M2M communication, devices can exchange data automatically in real time without human intervention. This can drive innovation, create new revenue streams, shorten product cycles, increase agility and reduce costs. The reduction of energy costs, as a result of this, is also aligned with Etisalat’s focus on a sustainable future for the UAE.
