Spark Digital launches cloud M2M platform

Spark Digital has launched a new cloud platform to help businesses to automate machine-to-machine (M2M) deployments.

Called Connected Mobility, the new service allows businesses to manage smart objects in a wide range of environments.

A new partnership with ThingWorx means Connected Mobility customers can take advantage of a powerful rapid application development platform to build apps that connect systems, sensors and devices.

Spark Digital head of mobility, Richard Adams says that objects – everything from vehicles to medical devices, cars and buildings – will generate tens of billions of new connections worth trillions of dollars globally by 2020.

“We’re already surrounded by intelligent sensors that measure environments, personal gadgets and appliances,” he says.”M2M services like Connected Mobility extend this idea and provide businesses with remarkable control over product and service experiences.”

He says that while New Zealand businesses are moving to connect their physical world and include this information in their networks, they’re often frustrated by having to physically manage individual objects. “Businesses are essentially running blind. They must shift to automated systems that provide better visibility and control. Self-service is key.”

Several Spark Digital customers and resellers who use the Jasper M2M platform (on which Connected Mobility is based) to manage vehicle tracking and healthcare services in other countries were keen to use the new service, adding their New Zealand operations to a single, global platform.

New Zealand telematics solutions provider International Telematics Limited (ITL), whose ibright platform is used to monitor vehicle fleets around the world, is gearing up to promote Connected Mobility to New Zealand customers and resellers, Adams says.

ITL spokesperson Geoff Fowke says at least 2000 SIMs connected to fleets monitored by ibright were managed on the Jasper M2M platform. “We’re thrilled that the Jasper platform will be available to our New Zealand customers. It nails the pain-points for our business and provides automation and controls essential to smart service providers like ITL,” he says.

The foundation of Spark Digital’s Connected Mobility service is a cloud-based control centre, where administrators launch and manage thousands of mobile SIMs contained in physical objects and devices. Simple controls and rules mean new SIMs can be tested and activated, rate plan changes can kick in automatically if data caps are exceeded, and alerts can be sent if connections are lost.

“We’re providing businesses with autopilot controls that will streamline SIM management,” Adams says. “We expect they’ll be able to solve 90% of their own support questions, getting their objects back online faster and providing a more reliable service.”

Spark Digital indicated that later this year it plans to add new capabilities to Connected Mobility, including voice, 4G LTE integration and, soon after, a global SIM offering.