Ericsson furthers M2M and video commitment

Steven Hartley, telco strategy analyst, Ovum

SPAIN: “Ericsson added to its flurry of recent announcements at this morning’s press conference at MWC 2013. Today’s announcements follow similar themes to their predecessors (M2M and video) and fit neatly with Ericsson’s vision for the “networked society”.

However, this is more than theory or a new product. Ericsson has revealed that operators are using the services, although in the case of M2M we question if there could be greater opportunities for Ericsson if it were to bypass operators, albeit at the risk of alienating its close customer relationships.

“The first announcement relates to M2M. Ericsson and SAP have combined to provide cloud-based management of M2M implementations. Ericsson’s Device Connection Platform & Service Enablement Platform is to be combined with SAP’s HANA platform in an offering to mobile operators that provides enterprises with end-to-end management of M2M solutions. Closer integration of the M2M operational ecosystem has been needed for many years and this is another sign that M2M is maturing.

“Significantly, operators were rolled out to boost the solution’s credibility – Telenor Connexion and 3UK on this occasion. However, the value added by the telco beyond connectivity strikes us as muted. As we have said in the past, there is certainly an opportunity for SAP and/or Ericsson to sell directly to enterprises and bring in appropriate operator support when necessary, although the risk to Ericsson’s extensive operator relationships will be a key barrier.

“The second announcement – Ericsson’s Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) to deliver broadcast video over LTE – also comes with operator support. Ericsson’s Consumer Labs found that 67% of consumers use mobile devices to consume TV services, so managing the traffic efficiently is vital for profitability and the customer experience. Significantly, Ericsson announced that Verizon Wireless will launch the service in 2014, while Telstra will trial the solution later this year.”