How The Internet Of Things Is Changing Field Service

By Field Technologies magazine

The IoT Is Changing The Future Of Field Service Forever — Get On Board Now

The buzz about the IoT (Internet of Things) is everywhere you turn these days, and the topic is certainly making a splash in the field service industry. We’ve been covering M2M (machine-to-machine) technology for a number of years. But it’s interesting to look at where the two terms — M2M and IoT — intersect and to think about why and how the technologies are really taking off in the field service and related industries right now.

According to M2M solutions provider Axeda in a blog titled IoT vs. M2M... There’s a Difference, “Axeda defines M2M as the communication between a machine or device and a remote computer. M2M is about connecting a device to the cloud, managing that device, and collecting machine and sensor data. In essence, M2M is about connecting and communicating with a ‘thing’ where a thing can be a machine, device, or sensor — basically anything that can send data. IoT goes beyond M2M — beyond computers connecting to things. IoT represents things connecting with systems (including business applications, ERP/CRM/ PLM [product lifecycle management] systems, analytics systems, data warehouses, and control systems), people (including workers, consumers, employees, partners, and customers), and other things (including machines, devices, sensors, consumer products, vehicles, etc.).”