Etisalat Group, one of the leading telecommunications operators in Middle East, Africa and Asia, is to launch the region’s first Internet of Things (IoT) application development and device management platform.

Etisalat will be working with Oberthur Technologies (OT) and ThingWorx, a PTC Business, both global industry leaders in the field of IoT solutions, to build and manage the platform as Etisalat’s partners.

The new service platform will enable customers to develop and deploy innovative new IoT solutions for the growing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) market estimated to be worth billions of dollars to businesses now and in the future, said a staatement from Etisalat.

The number of M2M connections is set to increase rapidly over the next decade, rising from 5 billion last year to 50 billion in 2024, this means that thousands of IoT applications will need to be developed.

“As the world becomes smarter, we need to develop the platforms that enables that digital transformation” said Khalifa Al Shamsi, the chief digital services officer, Etisalat Group.

“Enabling automation and connectivity to billions of objects will transform the way we live. With smart solutions as the norm, Etisalat today is providing the IoT development platforms that will power the future for business and government,” he noted.

IoT and M2M solutions refer to ICT applications and technologies that allow devices and sensors to communicate directly with other systems and devices over wireless and wired networks and build smarter solutions and products, said the UAE telco in its statement.

IoT/M2M solutions are increasingly used by organisations around the globe to improve productivity (through real-time operational measurements and smart controls), reduce costs, enhance customer experience, improve the current services and open new revenue streams. This increasingly complex ecosystem requires more advanced platforms, including IoT device cloud, IoT development and big Data capabilities, working together in full interoperability.

Using these platforms Etisalat will provide standardised components that can be shared horizontally to enable rapid development and lower costs to improve existing industry operations, and will be critical to the realisation of the Smart Cities of the future.

Al Shamsi said: "Etisalat believes that IoT is essential for the regional development and has made a commitment to build the best-in-class IoT capabilities to offer to the market, we have earlier launched the first in the region M2M control centre in 2013 and now we are following with IoT application platform."

"IoT application development platforms will help drive our IoT strategy and build the many innovative services that we are working to bring to market and we are looking forward to bring value to our prospective customers," he added.

Arnaud de La Chapelle, RMEA president and mobile network operators business unit managing director at OT, said: "We are truly excited by this venture and delighted Etisalat chose OT as their partner for this large-scale strategic project, acknowledging the value and leading position of our M-Sense solution."

Russ Fadel, the president and founder at ThingWorx, stated: "ThingWorx is excited at the opportunity of partnering with Etisalat and its Affiliates to develop a world-leading IoT platform for the region. The Internet of Things has fundamentally changed the nature of application development and solution deployment."-TradeArabia News Service