PowerLines by Linnea Brush

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PowerLines by Linnea Brush

Linnea Brush June 7, 2010

M2M: 2ManyMeanings?

Power Channels: Batteries and Portable Power, Communications Power, Energy Efficiency, Power Components, Smart Grid Power, Switch-Mode Power

If you exclude semiconductors, the power supply industry is mercifully free of acronyms. Okay – there are some, like ac-dc and DPA, but most of them are leakages from acronym-heavy industries like telecom (e.g. DSL). Of course, the other culprit is the computer industry. That group takes great delight in not only using acronyms, but creating them and then coming up with something they actually stand for.

One could just ignore all this, but power supply makers are, unfortunately, at the mercy of system makers who often create these acronyms. Particularly annoying are those that refer to an over-arching term that tells you nothing about what it encompasses. One that has implications for power supply makers is “M2M,” or “machine-to-machine.” This could mean almost anything, from hardware to software to communication. Turns out it does, perhaps giving marketers leeway for the future.

Not all M2M sub-groups will require new ways of looking at power. For example, M2M magazine defines its mission as, “Connecting people, devices and systems, M2M magazine is dedicated to helping vertical industry thought leaders realize the value of machine-to-machine communications through remote monitoring, RFID, sensor networking, smart services, telematics and telemetry: the Six Pillars of M2M.” At least they’re clear about that.

All of this conjures up many of the emerging trends that genuinely have an impact on power, including energy harvesting, the Smart Grid, new battery chemistries and battery management. “Connected devices,” such as smartphones, e-readers and home automation products, are expected to generate more than 87% of the data traffic on mobile networks by 2014 in the United States, according to a recent report. That’s a lot of power management.

But none of this is news. The real opportunities buried in the M2M acronym are markets that don’t really exist yet, but are expected to. Many people are pointing out the parallels with the deregulation of the telecom industry and the opening up of customer premises equipment (CPE). Money can be made in a tightly controlled industry if the powering moves out of that industry’s purview. That is likely to happen with the electric utilities as Smart Grid technologies evolve. And that scares them.

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We would like to hear your comments on the topics discussed in this column. We welcome the opportunity to publish opposing opinions. Please email Jeff Shepard at jshepard@darnell.com.

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