Adoption of M2M, it’s no longer an option

By James Hyung-tae Im

Recently, I was on my way to a M2M (Machine to Machine Intelligence) seminar when I had an interesting thought pop up in my head as I drove through a highway tollgate. The “Hi-Pass” machine on my windshield prompted “The toll is 950 won” as I cruised freely through, leaving behind a trail of cars lined up to pay cash at the toll booth.

It was a testament to the ultimate convenience and impact that IT technologies bring to our daily lives. It was also a testament to the growing pervasiveness of M2M machines around us.

The simplicity and effectiveness of services like this belies the vast amount of complex network infrastructure, M2M devices, GPS systems and data platforms necessary for its servicing.

My imagination raced on. I started wondering “How large is the volume of data processed, stored and analyzed in the “Hi-Pass” system at this moment?”“ If it were to be integrated with other M2M services such as traffic message channel (TMC) to provide real-time traffic information, how much data storage and processing capabilities would be needed?” The questions kept coming.

By merging several existing groups into the new AMS (Accenture Mobility Services) organization, Accenture now provides five mobility offerings. Accenture’s offerings related to M2M correspond to those denoted as “C–Devices and Platforms” and “D–Managed Services in the figure below.”

It is Accenture’s point-of-view that the M2M market will take shape around the automobile industry and rapidly expand to other industries. Thus, Accenture has been a long-time provider of services in the IVI (In Vehicle Infotainment), SDP (Service Delivery Platform) and high capacity user/data collection & management platform field. Recently, Accenture’s experience in these fields has enabled the firm to help develop fundamental technologies in the Mobility Health industry.

There still are barriers to overcome in mass adoption of M2M technologies such as standardizing technology, securing interoperability, developing common platform, and establishing terminal certification system. However, continuous growth and advancement in M2M filed is expected as multiple M2M services integrate with one another to create new services that surprise us with more creativity and innovation than those we experienced from the proliferation of internet and smart phones.

James Hyung-tae Im is Accenture Korea Technology Growth Platform Mobility Services Lead.