A new study by Harbor Research shows that product manufacturers are moving quickly to network-enable their products. These new device communication capabilities are broadly viewed as essential for future growth.
San Francisco and London (PRWEB) September 26, 2007 -- M2M (machine to machine) networking for remote device management is now already well advanced across all major industry sectors, according to a new survey of early adopters just published by Harbor Research Inc., the world's leading provider of strategic consulting and research services for the fast-developing M2M/Pervasive Internet sector.
During July and August 2007, Harbor Research conducted an international, sponsored survey of early adopters of device networking, aimed mainly at product manufacturers. The purpose of the study was to determine how important to their future business they consider network-enabled products. Thanks to the support of its sponsors, the report is available for free download at Harbor Research's website: http://www.harborresearch.com.
Some 68% of respondent companies noted Product Manufacturing as their primary activity, substantially business-to-business (B2B). In addition, smaller companies with less than $50m sales made up 34% of respondents, with a further 45% having sales exceeding $1billion.
A very high 77% of respondents viewed the intelligence embedded in their products to be either "Very Important" or "Imperative" for their company in the future. Over 50% of respondents were already supporting and monitoring networked products in the field. In addition, while roughly 37% of the companies today have less than 10% of their product lines network-capable, in three years' time this is expected to fall to less than 12%. At the other end, while just over 36% of respondents today have more than half of their product portfolio enabled, within three years nearly 60% of these companies expect to embed networking capabilities into half or more of their products.
"Given the typical 3 year design cycle, this represents a fast build-up of networked products for these companies and is a very significant finding" said Robin Duke-Woolley, a Principal of Harbor Research who directed the survey program. "It indicates that these companies have recognized the need for speed in being early to market with their network-connected offerings".
The report determines that early adopters of device networking have recognized the strategic implications for their businesses that M2M device networking and remote management represent. They have typically already embarked on significant design programs to embed networking capability into their products and they see both new revenue opportunities from services and strong competitive advantage in being early to market with these game-changing offerings.
The study goes on to conclude that those companies who have not yet investigated and planned for the potential of device networking and remote management on their businesses are missing an opportunity to expand their revenue base and profitability. At the same time, they are clearly risking placing their companies at a significant competitive disadvantage in their own markets in the future.
The survey and report have been researched and published entirely by Harbor Research, an independent analyst and consulting firm that specializes in the Pervasive Internet and serves both the adopter community and technology suppliers. Because this work has been sponsored by a group of technology suppliers to cover the production costs, this report is available free of charge. It should be noted that sponsors have had no influence in any way on either the questions asked in the survey or the content of this report. The content, including all conclusions and highlights, are entirely the work of Harbor Research and are presented as an independent and up to date assessment of the current market situation.
As a result of this sponsorship, this report is now available for free download from Harbor Research's website. To download it at no charge, go to: http://harborresearch.com/harbor/index.php?option=com_papers
Sponsors for this research were drawn from across the M2M solution landscape and are non-competing. They were: Air Products/Skychain (supply chain solutions), Kore Telematics (US-based network provider), Lantronix (LAN, WLAN modules), Maingate (Sweden-based network provider), M2M Alliance (trade association, Germany), O2 (UK-based mobile operator), Orbcomm (satellite operator), Questra (device management software), Sierra Wireless (cellular modems), Tridium (solutions platform), Vianet (UK-based network provider) and Wavecom (GSM/CDMA cellular modules).
More details at www.harborresearch.com
About Harbor Research, Inc:
Harbor Research, Inc. has been providing strategic consulting and research services to clients for more than twenty years. With a reputation as specialists in understanding emergent and disruptive opportunities in high technology, Harbor Research works with clients who seek to establish strategic advantage in changing markets. Harbor Research's ground-breaking Pervasive Internet research is widely regarded as the definitive work on the business impact of integrating networked devices into business processes.
The company also has offices in San Francisco, Boston and London, UK.
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