While corporate giants and big cities are adopting Internet of Things (IoT) technology at a fervent pace, a new venture seeks to help smaller businesses and towns take advantage of IoT’s vast potential too.
Telecommunications consultancy B2 Group announced that it was launching Directed IoT. The focus of the new division is to aid the implementation of “last mile” IoT initiatives for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) and mid-sized towns and cities.
“In today’s market, many segments of the IoT ecosystem are under-served and we believe that the Directed IoT division can fill the gap in needed services and expertise,” said Bob Bilbruck, CEO of the Irvine, California-based B2 Group.
The new venture aims to help modest-sized businesses and urban areas manage, operate and monetize IoT-based business models to get the most out of the new technology.
B2 Group says its new division will help bring affordable IoT tech to small businesses and towns to help them compete in the future connected world.
“There are too many advantages for SMBs and smaller municipalities to ignore the IoT era, and we are here to make sure they have expert advice all along the way,” said Bilbruck.
B2 Group will also host an “advancement lab”
Directed IoT will also host B2 Group’s IoT Advancement Lab, which will work with such technologies as Bootstrap Profiles and eSIMS. The aim of the lab will be to develop ways to reduce costs relating to data monitoring and connectivity, which are often quite high in the IoT marketplace.
“We anticipate a world where ‘everything’ is an IP address on the network, increasing efficiencies and reducing costs in all activities,” said Bilbruck. “With our longtime telecom integration experience, we can make sure SMBs and cities achieve desired results from their IoT programs.”
The advent of IoT technology is touted as a potential game-changer in most sectors, involving consumer-facing products and services, as well as industrial processes.
Smart cities are also predicted to be huge drivers of the global economy. According to report by research firm Frost & Sullivan the smart city market is anticipated to grow to $1.57 trillion by 2020.