Overview

Not so long ago in the mid-nineties, only a few million people were online, and companies used the Internet primarily as an “electronic brochure”. It was hardly even imaginable that over 60% of US households would have Internet access or that nearly 200 million people around the world would regularly login to the net. That transformation in just a few short years has been so profound that we rarely leave the house without checking the Internet for some key piece of information: the weather, product information from a retailer, the latest sports scores, or directions to a business meeting.

Examples of Intelligent Devices include kiosks, automated teller machines (ATM), vending machines, traffic light controllers and vehicles. With industry-specific solutions, MapFusion is targeting Solution Providers in five industries within the IDM market: Retail, Consumer Services, Government, and Medical. Harbor Research estimates that the IDM market opportunity across all industries will grow from $15.9 billion in 2003 to $101.7 billion in 2006.

Now imagine a world where there are trillions of new users connecting to the Internet over just a few short years — and almost none of them are human beings! Machines connecting to machines (M2M), forming a global digital nervous system — intelligent devices everywhere, networked together to share data, monitor status, even self-repair. From smart buildings where security, fire alarm, and heating/cooling systems are all remotely managed to medical devices sharing information for real-time remote diagnosis to the proverbial Internet-connected refrigerator or toaster, “wired-up” devices will pervade all aspects of modern life. Is this the plot line for an upcoming science fiction movie? No. It’s a new reality; a quiet revolution is already underway that presents enormous business opportunities for intelligent device manufacturers, service companies, and software firms engaged in segments that leverage networking technologies to gain business advantage.

Virtually all devices today are “intelligent” by virtue of embedded microelectronics and computing technology. They contain a wealth of performance and usage data that can be used to monitor device activity and analyze performance.

MF-IDM Device Monitoring Solution

With MapFusion’s expertise in this field, the company is focused on responding to the strong market demand for SIM-based business solutions that is emerging as a result of adoption of M2M networking as well as the widespread use of intelligent devices. The retail market, in particular, with its low margin, highly competitive playing field; intense focus on customer service, and access to commercially valuable data is well positioned to take early advantage of Intelligent Device Management (IDM). The pervasiveness of intelligent devices that already exists within the retail market, such as kiosks, vending machines, multimedia signage, and self-checkout terminals as well as adoption of new technologies such as RFIDs (Radio Frequency Information Devices) further increases demand within this segment. As a result, powerful new SIM-based IDM applications are being developed by MapFusion to assist companies with visualizing complex data for monitoring purposes, as well providing a range of reporting, analytics, wayfinding and routing-based solutions, all within a spatial context.

The Internet is a profound driving force on the path to a truly connected world. Companies wth the ability to manage and use the volumes of disparate data that these remote devices are creating will benefit most from this “connected world.” They will be able to increase revenues and decrease costs by optimizing equipment performance. Further, they will have the opportunity to gain revenue and strategic advantage by capturing system-generated information and using it to refine programs for maximum results.