AT&T: Security A Top Issue For M2M In 2014

There’s an interesting 2014 predictions blog post by AT&T’s Mobeen Khan that offers some thoughts on where the market for Machine-to-Machine (or M2M) technology is going in the next 12 months.

Machine to Machine (M2M)
Securing M2M technology will be a top priority in 2014, according to AT&T.

 

According to Khan, an Executive Director of Marketing at AT&T Business, the M2M space is poised to take off in the next twelve months, as consumer demand for “smart” devices grows in both developed and developing markets, and as the M2M application stack matures, attracting the interest of developers.

With M2M technology maturing, and the “Internet of Things” exiting its “gee whiz” phase, firms selling the technology no longer need to worry as much about justifying the return on investment for M2M and IoT technology.  As that happens, however, security will become the most pressing issue in the M2M space, Khan believes.

“To date, companies deploying M2M solutions have looked to ROI as the #1 need. As the need/ROI of these solutions becomes well-known, focus is shifting to the security of these solutions,” he writes. And, with that growth, data security will become a top issue, according to an AT&T executive.

As we saw happen with the PC- and Internet revolutions, greater demand for data security and privacy and greater investment from large firms (GE, Cisco, etc.) will encourage specialization. M2M security will be one area in which firms see the opportunity for new businesses to emerge, Khan says.

“Experts in data, device, and equipment security layers in M2M platforms — as well as providers of device authentication technology — are already starting to lay claims to their expertise in their respective areas,” he notes.

Check out the full blog post with all of the predictions here.

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