NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jul 15, 2015) -
- More than nine out of 10 companies in the Americas using M2M have experienced tangible ROI from M2M products and services
- 41% of M2M adopters in the Americas saw ROI within the first six months of implementation
Vodafone announced today Americas findings from its third annual 'M2M Barometer,' the leading global survey of the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) sector. This year's survey results show that more than a quarter of all businesses worldwide are now using M2M technology, while more than nine out of 10 (93%) of companies in the Americas using M2M products and services have experienced tangible return on investment (ROI).
M2M is the technology that connects devices to the internet and makes the Internet of Things (IoT) a reality. Businesses in the Americas -- the US, Canada and Brazil -- are ahead of the rest of the world in the adoption of connected consumer devices and smart home applications. Analysys Mason, a global specialist advisor on telecoms, which provided commentary to the 'Vodafone M2M Barometer,' reports that M2M connections in the Americas have increased by nearly 30% since 2011 and forecasts that the number of M2M connections in the region will more than double between 2015 and 2020.
The 'Vodafone M2M Barometer' also found that adoption is leading to fast ROI with 41% of companies in the Americas stating that they had achieved ROI within six months from their use of M2M. Benefits to using M2M technologies include increased business agility, higher customer satisfaction and direct cost savings.
Vodafone's Head of Machine-to-Machine for the Americas, Andrew Morawski stated, "M2M is ushering in a new era for the way companies do business by connecting consumer devices, smart offices, and buildings to the Internet around the world. It's clear from this year's report that with more and more devices introduced to organizations each day, M2M solutions will continue to transform businesses -- how they operate, how they grow and how they keep customers happy."
On a global level, four sectors have shown the greatest growth in adoption:
- Retail has seen the fastest growth -- up 88% year on year -- where typical M2M applications include in-store digital signage, smart payment systems and supply chain optimisation.
- The M2M barometer also found strong growth in the healthcare sector (up nearly 47%) -- where M2M is used for applications such as remote patient monitoring and patient record systems -- and the utilities sector (up 32%), driven by the global expansion of smart metering systems to enhance energy efficiency.
- Meanwhile, the automotive industry continues to embed M2M as a core technology within the designs of new vehicles, with the accelerating production of so-called 'connected cars' accounting for a 14% year-on-year increase in M2M adoption in the sector.
This year's research also revealed that companies have been expanding the use of M2M technology across different areas of the business. Once M2M projects are started, companies are quickly adding new connections to initial schemes and four out of ten companies that have adopted M2M are expanding projects into more countries. Companies are also increasingly becoming more sophisticated with their use of M2M by linking it with cloud platforms as well as pairing it with data analytics to drive the greatest impact on their businesses. In fact, 69% of sophisticated users say M2M has "fundamentally transformed" their business.
Analysys Mason Principal Analyst Michele Mackenzie said, "There are two really striking results in the Vodafone M2M Barometer Report for 2015. First, retail and healthcare stand out as sectors demonstrating considerable growth in adoption as an increasing proportion of companies transform themselves to compete more effectively in the digital economy. Second, there are some very interesting insights into the diverse measures used by companies to assess the value of M2M. There are compelling examples of cost savings; positive impacts on customer retention and the ability to unlock new revenue streams are also cited as tangible benefits that continue to drive investment in M2M."
The survey -- conducted by Circle Research -- has been expanded for the 2015 report to include new countries, small and medium size enterprises for the first time and an 80% increase in interview respondents.
The report is available to download from
http://m2m-mktg.vodafone.com/barometer2015.
About Vodafone
Vodafone is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies and provides a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 55 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 31 March 2015, Vodafone had 446 million mobile customers and 12 million fixed broadband customers. For more information, please visit: www.vodafone.com.