Maxis taps into rising enterprise interest in IoT

• Convergence of IoT, Big Data Analytics, AI paving the way for adoption
• Partnership with Vodafone to bring in more end-to-end solutions to optimise costs

AS telcos seek to take advantage of the increasing dependency of enterprises on mobile connectivity for not just their people but also their assets, a new revenue stream in services has emerged in the form of IoT or Internet of Things. For example, Vodafone, a world leader in offering IoT services, already manages 40 million IoT connections a month on behalf of its customers.

Analysts predict the global IoT market to be worth US$400 billion by 2020. In Malaysia, the market is expected to be worth US$700 million (RM2.99 billion) in 2018. In making this prediction, IDC Malaysia specifically sees four verticals that will lead the way; connected vehicles, insurance telematics, personal wellness, and smart buildings.

Aiming to tap this lucrative market and position itself as a leader, Maxis has launched its IoT suite of solutions targeting the early adopter industries of logistics, fleet management and utilities.

Commenting on the timing of its move to offer IoT solutions, Loong Tuck Weng (pic), Head of Enterprise, Maxis talks about how the convergence of IoT, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and big data analytics have paved the way for businesses to become more digitalised and tech savvy, in the hope of gaining a competitive advantage.

“Now more than ever, industries in Malaysia are looking into smart solutions, such as smart metering and smart building, as part of their business operations,” he says. Another push factor in IoT adoption, he adds, has come in the shape of regulators in Malaysia who are actively developing IoT policies and providing grants for development of IoT projects.  

M2M base for IoT services

For Maxis, it was not too much of a leap to offer its IoT suite as for the past five years, it has been offering M2M services which are now part of its IoT solution. As Loong notes, “M2M was our first step in transitioning to IOT, in the sense that it was very point to point - data is collected from the same set of devices and then information is provided based on data gathered - while IOT utilises data from multiple sources and delivers insights, information, services utilizing analytics.”

Aligned with various analyst predictions, Loong feels that IoT adoption will only increase over time as businesses have started seeing the benefits of IoT.

Having already anticipated the rising adoption of IoT by industry, Maxis, in preparation, had embarked on its own digital journey over the past two years. “This saw us changing not only how we operate as company but how we offer our products and services to customers. We are making fundamental changes in our operational setup, IT and processes to support our goal of becoming fully digital,” says Loong.

He feels that Maxis is now in a very good position and more prepared to offer IoT to customers, as it understands the importance of how the right technology and solutions can transform a business.

Partnering with a world leader

In its desire to offer a compelling suite of IoT solutions to the market, Maxis decided it could not go it alone and has chosen to partner to with UK operator, Vodafone which has been a world leading IoT provider among telcos.

Explaining the rationale, Loong says, “This partnership allows us to equip businesses in Malaysia with a global standard IoT managed connectivity solution through our advanced data network. It also opens the doors to bring in more end-to-end IoT solutions to optimise costs, improve operational efficiency, create more value and ultimately deliver a better customer experience.”

On the question of pricing, Maxis is moving away from quota based packages and pricing. The investment to deploy its IoT service depends on how extensive the customer solution is in terms of number of sensors and depth of information that needs to be collated. “Based on customer requirements and types of use, we are creating tailor made packages e.g. Smart Metering package, POS package, etc,” says Loong.

Besides customized solutions, Maxis also offers ‘plug and play’ solutions with one such service, mDrive, being offered from as low as RM59 a month. Operating on a worry-free opex model (no upfront payment), the fleet-tracking solution works seamlessly across neighbouring countries while offering support for real-time tracking of vehicles and business reports with UBI (Usage Based Insurance) adoption built-in ready for adoption.

With security being of paramount concern and embedded in Maxis’ approach to building its solutions, a multi layer security design is adopted between the IoT devices and applications to reassure customers.

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[Ed Note: This article first appeared in Telco Deep Dive 2017. You can download the entire pdf through the image of the cover above. We will also be running each of the stories from the Telco Deep Dive on DNA. Please send us your feedback at [email protected].]