M2M Technology Decoded By Jitender Sandhu, Gemalto

Machine to Machine communication or M2M Technology is one of the swiftest growing innovation. The kind of connectivity it provides has eased the functioning of businesses. M2M can connect a large number of devices within a single network. Where the diversity in connected devices comprises vending machines, medical equipment, vehicles and buildings.

M2M technology and the Internet of Things has made our homes, health, business and traffic management smarter with its connectivity. And to further intensify our knowledge of Machine to Machine communication, Jitender Sandhu, M2M Director, ASEAN & India, Gemalto shared the following insights.

Importance and Growing Scope of Securing M2M Technologies in India

For growing and securing of M2M technologies in India - the first step was to establish connectivity in India. The target was to connect the machines, metering and extracting solutions. Earlier, nobody was thinking that there will be a need for security as well. Security is required at every point where the data is transferred.

Whereas, Gemalto, is providing an m2m security from the initial phase where the data is generated to the end phase where the data is analyzed, downloaded and reported. The whole ecosystem is secured with Gemalto’s trusted key management solutions, hardware security module and special T generation for access.

Challenges - M2M technologies

There is only one challenge right now for the machine to machine technology in India - “On the m2m front whenever there is a clear-cut government guideline then the technology adoption period reduces. Its like if someone is pushing you then technology is adopted. Otherwise, we keep telling our customers or our clients that maybe you need the security but until there is a directory coming from the government, then only it gets adopted”.

M2M Technology & IoT - Smart Cities, Smart Mobility and Smart Health

The smart city is how best we can use our resources available in a smart city. When we talk about available resources such as managing traffic solution, the transport solution and medical facilities - be it ambulance within the hospitals -its just how can we give the basic necessities to people.

To supplement these needs, the first step is to understand the exact usage of these resources. For example - how much water do I need? Or How much electricity this household would need? Thus, the profiling has to be done and m2m application helps in profiling this. It is a continuous process for optimizing your needs.

Your take on the DoT Guidelines on M2M SIM and eSIM

Recently, the Department of Technology issued guidelines for telecom operators that offer machine-to-machine (M2M) communication services to follow KYC norms before issuing suitable SIMs.

On this Jitender said, “It’s a good initiative! Gemalto has been manufacturing eSIM sims since last 5 years. We have been trying to push that in Indian Market that eSIM should be used. The reason for that is the security with which eSIM created. Embedded system or embedded sim are a very good step in going forward in securing the m2m feature”.

Future Trends To Look Forward in M2M technology

Jitender concluded by sharing the future trends in M2M technology. “I think the way we are moving forward on the tech front like we started with 2G in India and then slowly moved to 3G and now we are talking about 4G - there was a challenge using 2G, 3G & 4G in some applications. So with the evolution of new technology coming in like NBIOT, which is low power consumption but still working on a 4G network. Many applications which we were not using and connecting earlier will connect now. The tech trend adoption cycle in India was longer earlier. As we took a long period in shifting from a black & white TV to a colour one but the movement from LCD to LED Tv was quick. Thus, the adoption of 4G and NBIOT have been much faster. So I’ll say tech adoption cycle is reduced. It's not in years now, it's in months”.