Smartphone-based models have become the key disruptor for M2M, as sectors such as healthcare, consumer electronics and retail continue to evolve. Juniper Research forecasts that the M2M sector will generate service revenues of over $40 billion globally by 2019 - doubling the size of today’s market.
The new research, M2M & Embedded Devices: Strategic Analysis & Vertical Market Forecasts 2015-2019, observed that the roll-out of smart metering initiatives will see rapid up-take over the next six years, driven in part by governments’ ambitions to increase efficiency. According to research author Anthony Cox, "Both India and China are expected to see rapid adoption of smart metering as new metering infrastructure is installed and smart cities are created."
The utility sector however is not expected to generate similar revenues to that of the connected automotive sector.
Agriculture and environmental applications are starting to emerge as important new sectors in the M2M market, with applications as diverse as wild-life and farm animal monitoring, and increasing productivity through precise field mapping. M&&A is also beginning to bring together some of the industry’s most powerful players, such as the merger of KORE Telematics and Raco Wireless, and the acquisition by Huawei of the M2M technology start-up Neul.