Clearing up Cellular Data Confusion

The M2M value chain represents the way forward for machine-to-machine, providing customers with what they need to succeed.

 

As an industry we have grown along with the cellular carriers in terms of their network technology advancements and their impact on M2M (machine-to-machine) solutions. And after more than 15 years the landscape is still confusing and littered with bodies. With each new regime change at the carrier level comes dramatic strategic changes as to the carrier’s role in end-to-end M2M solutions. The cyclical “we’ll do everything approach” and “owning” the customer swings back to the “see these hands, they don’t get dirty” approach to being just the pipe.

 

Add to that the growing lack of direct sales by the leading cellular modem device providers, systems integration companies, and application solution providers and you have a market niche looking for a champion. Call them a “partner and not a vendor.” Call it opportunity!

The steady and continuous growth of the machine-to-machine market has finally started reaching critical mass. External drivers such as the changes to our economy, environmental concerns, and the need to re-energize our infrastructure have placed new expectations on the M2M value chain. Even after years the CTIA, www.ctia.org, Washington, D.C., which has thrown a bone to M2M at the convention with the M2M Zone, has finally seen the need to acknowledge M2M as a core competency with its inclusion in the daily CTIA SmartBriefs. For those of us that have been on the front lines for years, we are feeling vindicated, but at the same time a little resentful. Do we want to share and do these folks belong in our sandbox? Do they have the pedigree to hang out an M2M shingle saying, “Ok we’re here!”

 

Those of us that are the true wireless data M2M pioneers—the ones with all the arrows in our backs—get this, and the term “value chain” has never been more important. How many times has a new client finally stumbled on you, bloodied and beaten? After allowing them a chance to vent about the hours and the frustration of trying to find the right person to talk with and that understands that it’s a machine and not a smart phone, you start your process.

First you find out the basics: What is it they are trying to do, how they do it today, where do they need to do it, etc. Then all of a sudden it’s like an epiphany. The breathing slows down and maybe just maybe you’ll get a laugh in there somewhere as well. Hey, someone is listening and more importantly understands what I’m saying. They even know my industry’s terminology. This is what we do. We do the heavy lifting. It’s called value added but it’s really the right way. The only way we know how to do it.

 

The only way we can assure the continued growth and prosperity of our industry is to ensure that each client is treated the same, understanding they need to have a single point of contact who stands as the conductor of the symphony and eliminates as many of the side trips as possible to secure the many and diversified components of a complex end-to-end M2M solution. The days of a client securing modems one place, carrier services another, antennas and accessories somewhere else, and then trying to do the integration themselves are over.

We either step up or step out and the client needs to understand that going it alone in this business is risky at best. The battlefield is really a mine field and even if the initial planning stages go well the final deployments and on-going post sales technical support are critical to the overall success of the project. What happens when the next PRL (preferred roaming list) update throws their devices off the network, when a modem dies, or when they have lost connectivity? PRL is information provided by the specific carrier networks. This information is downloaded into the firmware of a cellular device and it basically instructs the device as to what frequency bands the device can use in the different markets around the country.

At the end of the day isn’t our job to make the client look good while understanding that it may be harder in some cases than others? Those of us that have been around long enough know how this works and that it is our responsibility many times to actually do the job for our vendors and our partners.

The lines of responsibility continue to blur. The finger pointing and the ‘it’s not my job’ attitude left a long time ago. It’s been replaced by the concept of the value chain and working together with your vendors behind the scenes to make it happen for your clients. If you do your job right your clients will never know and you don’t get extra points for doing it right.

Truth be known, your clients would probably puke if they knew what went on behind the scenes. But someday, somehow the covers come off and on that day you stand proud and your client then understands the “value add” and he will in fact look very good and really smart as well.

As you have noticed, there is not one technical word in the article. This reflects the need I see to focus on the real-world business issues. Help your clients utilize enabling technology to address operational cost reductions, productivity increases, or to gain a competitive market advantage if that’s what they need. The ability to wirelessly reach out to remote assets for data collection, monitoring, and control is part of the critical path to success for any industry today and what M2M is all about.

Why let anyone go it alone? It’s still a jungle out there.

About the Author
David Schwarz is the president of Access Wireless Data Solutions, www.accesswds.com, Land O Lakes, Fla., a wireless data communications consulting and project-management company specializing in M2M solutions. Prior to founding Access Wireless he was senior VP at Mobile Electron. He can be reached at 813.751.2039 or daves@accesswds.com.