Directory: M2M vendors in Australia

With the number of devices contributing to the rising "Internet of Things" phenomenon, so too has the number of companies that have machine-to-machine (M2M) offerings. To help IT professionals and technology decision makers navigate who the major players in the M2M market are, ZDNet editors have compiled a shortlist of M2M vendors in Australia.

This is not a paid listing, nor is it an exhaustive list; it's an alphabetic glossary of vendors that provide sensors, connectivity, and systems integration.

Alcatel Lucent
Company profile: Alcatel Lucent has a long history in networking and communications technologies, such as mobile, fixed, IP, and optical services.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise, small-medium businesses
Featured M2M products: Motive Machine-to-Machine Platform
Contact: 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes, NSW 2138, Australia. Phone: +61 2 8306 5222
Key links: Motive Analytics; Motive Optimisation

Cisco
Company profile: M2M and the Internet of Things are obviously network-intensive concepts, with each "thing" representing a connected device. It's difficult to consider networking without considering Cisco, and most of Cisco's thinking around M2M is centred on network technologies.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Various; Internet Business Solutions Group is Cisco's primary M2M point of contact
Contact: L10, 80 Pacific Highway, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia. Phone: +61 2 8446 6000
Key links: The Internet of Things (infographic); The Internet of Things: How the Next Evolution of the Internet is Changing Everything (PDF)

Digi International
Company profile: M2M is at the core of this business' functions, with it developing embedded devices for M2M use, as well as standalone products.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Embeddable modules and sensors, USB devices, console servers, iDigi Device Cloud
Contact: 11001 Bren Road East, Minnetonka, MN 55343, United States. Phone: +1 877 912 3444
Key links: Products; Services

Ericsson
Company profile: Sweden-based company Ericsson has the dream to connect everything possible to a networked society and is naturally casting its bet on M2M to blossom.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Ericsson Device Connection Platform
Contact: Level 8, 818 Bourke Street, Docklands, Vic 3008, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9301 1000
Key links: Ericsson Device Connection Platform; User Data Management

General Electric
Company profile: American conglomerate General Electric (GE) recently announced a major effort to drive industrial progress using M2M solutions, starting with nine technologies and services that range from transportation, to energy, to healthcare.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Grid IQ, Fuel & Carbon Solutions, Real-Time Operational Intelligence, Hospital Operations Management
Contact: 5/379 Collins Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia. Phone: +61 3 8807 6510
Key links: GE unveils M2M tech for global energy, transport, health industries; Industrial Internet: Pushing the Boundaries of Minds and Machines (PDF)

Huawei
Company profile: Huawei's enterprise arm develops networking, IT infrastructure, and security products and services.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Sensing, surveillance, GIS technology
Contact: Level 6, Tower B, 799 Pacific Highway, Chatswood, Sydney, NSW 2067, Australia. Phone: +61 2 9928 3888
Key links: Oilfield M2M Network Solution; eSpace Safe City Solution

IBM
Company profile: The big names in consulting (Accenture, Deloitte, etc) all have research and offerings around M2M; however, IBM seems to do the best job in articulating a series of products that include M2M through its Smarter Planet offerings.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Smarter Planet
Contact: Level 13, IBM Centre, 601 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia. Phone: +61 13 24 26
Key links: Smarter Planet

Intel
Company profile: Intel has been perceived by some analysts as lagging competitor ARM in the mobile and M2M space, since M2M focuses on smaller, low-powered devices rather than raw processing power, Intel's traditional space.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise, SMB, Consumers
Featured M2M products: Intelligent Systems Framework, low-powered mobile processors
Contact:Level 27, 525 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9935 2822
Key links: Intelligent Systems Framework; Intel Intelligent Systems Framework Simplifies "Internet of Things"

Iridium
Company profile: Iridium bills itself as the world's only truly global satellite communications company, making it an ideal choice for applications that require more coverage than a national mobile provider can accommodate.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Short Burst Data Transceivers, Trident Sensors
Contact: 1750 Tysons Boulevard, Suite 1400, McLean, VA 22102, USA. Phone: +1 703 287 7400
Key links: Iridium 9602; Trident Sensors

Optus
Company profile: Often seen as one of the closest competitors to Telstra, Optus is also in the M2M market, describing itself as a specialist, working with hardware distributors to deploy M2M rollouts.
Geographical region: Australia
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: N/A -- Solutions provider only
Contact: 1 Lyonpark Road, Macquarie Park, NSW 2113, Australia. Phone: +61 2 8082 7800
Key links: Machine to Machine

Oracle
Company profile: Oracle has its fingers in a lot of pies, and it hopes to use that experience, whether it be databases, analytics, or security, to partner up with those hoping to jump on board M2M.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: M2M Platform
Contact: Riverside Corporate Park, 4 Julius Avenue, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia. Phone: +61 2 9491 1000
Key links: M2M Platform Knowledge Zone; M2M Solutions: The Move to Value Creation and the Internet of Things

Qualcomm
Company profile: Although more commonly known for its processors, Qualcomm also branches out into areas including augmented reality products and wireless technologies.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Supplemental Downlink, Multi-Carrier HSPA+
Contact: Suite 301, Level 3, 77 King Street, NSW 2000, Australia. Phone: +1 858 587 1121
Key links: M2M Solutions, Industrial Automation and Enterprise; M2M Search

Sierra Wireless
Company profile: Best known as a maker of mobile broadband devices, Sierra Wireless also creates embedded wireless modules and gateways for the M2M market, along with an M2M-focused cloud platform.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: AirPrime Embedded Wireless Modules, AirLink Intelligent Gateways, AirVantage M2M Cloud, Sagemcom M2M
Contact: Level 4, 45 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia
Key links: Solutions; White papers and webinars

Telstra
Company profile: Formerly owned by the Australian government, Telstra owns some of Australia's largest communications infrastructure, including fixed and mobile networks.
Geographical region: Australia
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: Wireless M2M Control Centre
Contact: 242 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia. Phone: +61 3 8647 8475
Key links: Machine-2-Machine, Telstra Wireless M2M Control Centre

Verizon
Company profile: Verizon's business arm has placed M2M among the top trends for 2013, and shifted parts of its organisation as testament to its belief that the market will boom. Last year it purchased Hughes Telematics and, through the acquisition and with partnerships with players in the automotive sector, is focusing on bringing M2M technology to vehicles, among other areas.
Geographical region: Global
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: M2M Management Center
Contact: L3, 201-203 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia. Phone: +61 2 9434 5000
Key links: Verizon Business Machine-to-Machine Solutions; Verizon Wireless Machine-to-Machine Overview

Vodafone Hutchison Australia
Company profile: Although better known for its mobile network, VHA also has M2M offerings for enterprise customers who might want to use its network for monitoring or other M2M services.
Geographical region: Australia (the wider Vodafone group has other M2M offerings for other parts of the world)
Target market: Enterprise
Featured M2M products: M2M SIMs, M2M billing
Contact: 40 Mount Street, North Sydney NSW 2060, Australia. Phone: +61 1300 650 410
Key links: Machine to Machine