INTRODUCING IoT & M2M TECHNOLOGIES IN KENYA

The Internet of Things (IoT)—the practice of capturing, analysing, and acting on data generated by networked objects and machines—is among the hottest technology topics in

Kenyan businesses today. While a growing number of companies are creating business value with IoT applications, the technology is still in its early days. Two trends will dramatically expand IoT possibilities in the enterprise, multiplying practical applications while potentially lowering costs (a prayer of every Kenyan with vision 2030 mind set):

1. The emergence of new wireless communications networks designed specifically for IoT applications, which can lower the cost and extend the reach of connected applications all over our 47 counties.

2. The arrival of “edge computing” IT infrastructure, which facilitates analysing and acting on IoT sensor data close to the source, making applications more responsive to rapidly changing local conditions while avoiding communications bottlenecks.

By lowering IoT solutions’ costs, extending their reach, and increasing their responsiveness, these two trends have the potential to significantly expand the kinds of solutions that will be viable for businesses to deploy. While these trends are important, they are not revolutionary. Rather, they can be seen as part of the continuing technological evolution that is bringing the Internet of Things ever closer to ubiquity.

The IoT is already a large and growing market

The global IoT market is poised to grow briskly, from about 4.9 billion connected devices in 2015 to a projected 21 billion by 2020. IoT technology is projected to support 235 trillion Ksh in services spending in 2017-2019, a majority of that on professional services to design, install, and operate IoT systems.

Methods of connecting IoT devices can be classified as short-range or long-range. Short-range technologies such as Bluetooth, Zigbee(not so widely known amongst Kenyan living outside major cities), and Wi-Fi are the dominant choices for IoT connectivity today but are not well suited for every application due to their power requirements and their need for a local hub to connect to, which can be costly or difficult—in consumer applications—for end users to configure. Many other applications require long-range connectivity. Cellular currently dominates the wireless long-range market.

DEDICATED LOW-POWER IOT NETWORKS GAIN STEAM

A new kind of network, designed specifically to support IoT applications, is spreading across the globe. These networks are known by the generic term low-power wide-area networks (LPWA) and tend to have the following characteristics:

Low power consumption by endpoints with extended battery life—often more than 10 years

Wide area connectivity and higher penetration in dense areas like North Eastern areas

Low-cost chipsets and lower cost of network build compared to cellular technology

Lower connectivity costs

Lower throughput capacity compared to cellular networks

These characteristics are well suited for a range of applications in numerous sectors such as agriculture, construction, consumer electronics, health care, environmental, manufacturing, oil and gas, retail and vending, safety and security, smart cities, and utilities.

We can anticipate a growing number of enterprises to invest in such applications once appropriate networks are in place. These networks could be hugely important for the further development of IoT technology: Kariuki Samwel is forecasting that LPWA network connections will number more than 3 billion devices by 2023, exceeding cellular machine-to-machine connections, becoming the dominant wide-area IoT connectivity technology, and generating connectivity revenues in excess of 100 billion Ksh. We are already seeing clear signs of the build out of these networks: More than a dozen companies, backed by significant investment, are building them, employing diverse technologies. Safaricom is one company that is on the fore front on implementing such technology.

Growing adoption of dedicated IoT network-based applications

As dedicated IoT networks spread, they are likely to encourage the adoption of IoT applications where high connectivity costs and higher power consumption of cellular end devices or other limitations of cellular have thus far deterred deployments. A clear example is the areas of Turkana and far end in Mandera. Early signs of this include new product introductions and planned deployments in a number of areas like for example the digital kplc token unit and the 4G infrastructure laid by safaricom. Indeed, as Kenyans we expect the build out of LPWA to be an important driver of the growth of IoT technology.

These technology trends will make a broader range of IoT applications both feasible and valuable. Leaders who have considered and then shelved plans for an IoT project may want to revisit the business case: Improved economics and improved performance may tip the balance in favour of proceeding. Others who have not seriously evaluated the IoT’s potential for their business may find this is a good time to explore.(Free advice for my country fellow men).

These trends have implications for IT leaders as well. In recent years, many enterprises have focused on creating centralized cloud-based data processing and analytics systems. Edge analytics is a fundamentally different approach: In operations where the volume of data generated is high, and speed and responsiveness to local conditions is critical, localized analytics may deliver significant business benefits. A balanced approach, taking advantage of edge analytics and cloud analytics where each is appropriate, is essential.

Taken together, low-cost, low-power IoT networks and edge analytics solutions have the potential to improve the performance and economics of IoT solutions and are likely to hasten enterprises’ adoption of applications. Business and technology leaders may want to review their plans for IoT initiatives with these important trends in mind.

                                                                                                              Prepared by: Samwel Kariuki

                                                                                                                          Date: 22^nd August 2016