Internet of Things China gains momentum

The Chinese are appearing quick to embrace the Internet of Things, in turn driving demand from businesses and app developers for enabling technology.

Jasper, a global Internet of Things (IoT) platform leader, says three months after it made its enabling software available in China, more than 500 enterprises have activated trial accounts on the China Unicom Control Center IoT platform.

The enterprises, serving a growing demand for Internet of Things China services, included retail, connected cars, theft prevention and wearables.

A large number have already converted their trial accounts into paid accounts enabling them to deploy their IoT services to customers across China.

“We see significant appetite across China to capitalise on the Internet of Things,” said Cindy Patterson, chief customer officer at Jasper.

“The response and market adoption illustrate the demand for an IoT platform that can help enterprises rapidly and cost-effectively launch, manage and monetise their IoT services throughout China and globally.

“Forward thinking companies across industries have been quick to adopt the Control Center IoT platform. These innovators are seizing the opportunity to transform their businesses with IoT services in ways that add value for their customers while growing their revenues,” she said.

“The diversity of industries represented by these companies is remarkable and it is exciting to see this level of activity in such a short time period.”

The combination of China Unicom’s mobile network and Jasper’s IoT service platform enable fast time-to-market for businesses, and provides a flexible, turnkey solution that can be configured to meet the specialised needs of businesses across any industry. For example:

• Several major retailers have selected the IoT service platform from China Unicom and Jasper to deliver wireless POS and mobile payment services.
• Jasper’s Control Center is being used to connect aftermarket theft detection devices to enable more robust theft prevention services nationwide.
• Two of China’s 10 largest auto manufacturers are now using Control Center to cost-effectively deliver connected services in cars. One manufacturer is using Control Center to enable a new line of budget-friendly vehicles, giving more people access to value-added connected services in their cars.
• A large provider of consumer hotspots, which wanted powerful nationwide connectivity and mobile service management, provisioning and real-time diagnostics, chose to deploy on Control Center to ensure the best service for its customers.
• Several aftermarket telematics service providers have selected Control Center to deliver connected IoT services to vehicles in China.
• Personal health device manufacturers are leveraging Control Center to transform their hardware-based businesses to service businesses.

China Unicom is the only operator in China using the same 3G and 4G technologies as the majority of mobile operators worldwide, enabling seamless entry into the Chinese market for multinational enterprises. Jasper partners with 27 mobile operator groups worldwide, representing over 100 mobile operator networks – enabling enterprises to configure their services on Jasper’s platform once and easily turn on services on other operators worldwide.

Jasper describes itself as a global Internet of Things (IoT) platform leader. It has designed a cloud-based IoT platform to enable companies of all sizes to rapidly and cost-effectively launch, manage and monetise IoT services on a global scale.