Last year, the conversation changed from “is it finally the year of the cloud?” to “is it the year of machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions?” And, according to the statistics, the best might be yet to come.

By the end of 2011, it became apparent that M2M was here to stay, as it fully matriculated into the cellular industry and became a key component of it as well. Towards the tail end of the year, nearly every major mobile operator in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region had established M2M business units to focus their efforts in the rapidly expanding market.

But if you thought we had seen the best of M2M in 2011, think again, as the market for cumulative cellular M2M connections is expected to rise from about 110 million connections in 2011 to approximately 365 million connections by 2016. This represents a compounded annual growth rate of roughly 27 percent by 2016 and translates to about $35 billion in connectivity services revenue.

“As mobile operators further develop their M2M service offerings, software platforms and M2M application developer support will feature as increasingly larger components of the operators’ services,” said Sam Lucero, practice director, M2M connectivity, in a statement.

As M2M continues to become more ubiquitous, the segments that will generate the most revenue when it comes to cellular M2M are automotive telematics – including factory-installed systems such as GM’s OnStar service and aftermarket services such as usage-based insurance – and fleet management systems. Together, these two verticals will represent more than $15.5 billion in 2016.  Moreover, smart energy, specifically cellular connectivity to smart meters and data concentrators, will represent more than $7.5 billion in 2016.  

ABI Research’s (News - Alert) new study, “Cellular M2M Connectivity Services,” discusses the key trends, technologies, and players impacting the cellular M2M connectivity services market.

Those members of the M2M ecosphere that are looking for more ways to capitalize on M2M’s market potential by utilizing this technology and the wireless network to manage these assets, will get their questions answered at the upcoming M2M Evolution Conference, a collocated event taking place at ITEXPO (News - Alert) EAST 2012 in Miami, Fla. M2M Evolution will explore everything from the role of the network platform in M2M applications to the increasing variety of M2M enabled devices to M2M medical applications including remote monitoring and diagnostics, patient tracking, claims processing and more.

One company busily gearing up for the conference is embedded M2M solutions enabler Sprint (News - Alert). On Thursday, Feb. 2, Sprint’s Senior Vice President of the Emerging Solutions Group Wayne Ward will take the mic to deliver a keynote session titled “An M2M Industry Update from Sprint.” On Friday, Feb. 3, Sprint will once again take the spotlight to discuss “Why is the Smart Grid an M2M market?”

Want to learn more about M2M technologies? Then be sure to check out the M2M Evolution Conference, collocated with TMC’s ITEXPO East 2012taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. The M2M Evolution Conference is for industry professionals interested in capitalizing on a rapidly growing segment of the telecom industry. The M2M Evolution Conference embraces the any-to-any strategy of the Internet today. Co-sponsored by TMC (News - Alert) Partner Crossfire Media, it showcases the solutions, and examines the data strategies and technological requirements that enterprises and carriers need to capitalize on a market segment that is estimated to grow to $300 Billion in the year ahead. For more information on registering for the M2M Evolution Conference click here.

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