While managed services providers (MSPs) have been analyzing various ways to control mobile end users through bring your own device (BYOD) and corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) mobility models, others have been focusing on making data available. Machine-to-machine (M2M) is nothing new to the IT channel, but its momentum has been pushed aside by mobile device management (MDM), said SAP (NYSE: SAP) Vice President of Product Management Benjamin Wesson (pictured) in a phone interview with MSPmentor. Here's what you need to know about his vision for M2M.

Let's start with a definition. Wesson defined M2M as a bidirectional communication with control over remote assets deployed in the field. He explained that M2M started out as a way to collect data from devices, but it slowly disappeared into the distance. Wesson attributed this outcome to a procedural uncertainty: What do I do with all of this collected data?

The next generation of data M2M, he explained, will address this underlying issue. He described the next generation of M2M as a world where business owners can create predictive models and correlate data. In this model data can be collected from multiple sources without human intervention. It is a self-learning system. Wesson said M2M aims to provide businesses and employees with greater insight which informs their response to real world events, as well as increased efficiency, productivity, and collaboration.

M2M is BYOD's distant cousin

BYOD and M2M are distant cousins, Wesson said. A BYOD administrator is an IT person, while those involved with M2M are business owners searching for ways to differentiate their products — they're different buyers.

"BYOD is all about control and locking down functions" he said. "M2M is about enablement, making data available."

Where should M2M implementation begin?

According to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of SAP, 30 percent of IT decision makers believe that smart cities would more than likely benefit from M2M technologies. This includes highly intelligent cities capable of analyzing large amounts of data from connected devices to improve urban life. Increasing mobiliy among the work force was also identified as a opportunity for M2M in the workplace.

Will companies fall behind the competition if they do not implement M2M technologies? When will our mobility discussion shift more toward M2M, instead of BYOD and COPE?