Launched in November 2016 as an independent business unit of the Reliance Group, Unlimit recently expanded its IoT Portfolio with the launch of Unlimit Enablement Platform at MWC Barcelona. With strict focus on IoT and the enterprise (B2B2X), the company plans to announce a wide breadth of vertical solutions in the coming months.
Vision of Unlimit as an organization
Our vision is to be the first in India to offer a comprehensive IoT platform including connectivity, application enablement, devices, analytics and incidence management.
“With IoT, mobile assets can be monitored real-time and/or logged. This makes it possible to implement usage-based pricing models and move away from traditional “blind” rental schemes.”
Chris Johnston
Vice President Product Marketing
Unlimit
A Reliance Group Company
We leverage the best-in-class 4G LTE coverage along with 2G from several carriers including Reliance Communications and roaming partners. We are the only provider in India that has the Cisco Jasper cloud-based connectivity platform which we call Unlimit Control. It enables our customers to get to market faster, manage operational costs and achieve high service reliability. More than four thousand companies across dozens of industries in more than 100 countries already use this platform.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we announced our application enablement platform which we call Unlimit Enablement. It makes the creation of cloud-based IoT applications simple and fast. In addition to Unlimit Control and Unlimit Enablement, we will be announcing a wide breadth of vertical solutions in the coming months.
IoT-driven technologies slotting in as growth drivers
IoT is undoubtedly one of the hottest topics in the tech sector. However, it is often associated with large enterprise and government deployments like smart cities. The reality is that IoT can also deliver significant benefits to SMBs.
IoT makes it possible to pursue entirely new business models. We are rapidly moving into a world of XAAS (everything as a service). With IoT, mobile assets can be monitored real-time and/or logged. This makes it possible to implement usage-based pricing models and move away from traditional “blind” rental schemes. Also, IoT enables organizations to save money and increase asset utilization. Savings can be reinvested to drive growth.
Quote: “With respect to IoT, India is a relatively untapped market. We estimate that there are fewer than five million SIM-based IoT devices in India.”
IoT Market in India and the business opportunity
With respect to IoT, India is a relatively untapped market. For example, my team recently completed a market analysis and we estimate that there are fewer than five million SIM-based IoT devices in India. By comparison, there is one carrier in the United States that has over forty million devices on their network alone. The upside potential of IoT in India is enormous.
Accordingly, the business opportunity for Unlimit is very promising for a number of reasons. As I mentioned earlier, there are thousands of companies that have already made a system integration investment in the Cisco Jasper platform. When these multinational companies come to India, they can seamlessly use our service without incurring additional integration costs. In effect, this makes Unlimit the “gateway to India” for IoT.
Our customers are primarily businesses and utilities with both fixed and mobile assets that they want to track or monitor to improve efficiency and profitability. There are countless commercial IoT use cases and more being conceived by developers every day. For established use cases, we will offer vertical solutions. Beyond these, Unlimit Enablement can be utilized to accommodate almost any conceivable IoT use case.
Another reason to be optimistic about Unlimit’s IoT prospects is the favorable position of the Indian government. They have been instituting a number of smart, common sense policies such as smart cities, support for agriculture and the “Clean India” initiative. All have significant IoT components.
Global IoT trends that you foresee becoming big in India
I see several global trends that will bode well for India. After the United States and the UK, India has the third largest startup community. It also has a vibrant developer community. It is quite possible that major IoT breakthroughs will come out of India. This is a primary reason why we launched Unlimit Enablement. It will directly benefit the Indian developer community and facilitate IoT innovation.
Another global trend, although technical, is LPWA (low power wide area). It relates to technology that extends the life of battery powered devices. In 2016, we saw two standards ratified (i.e. Cat-M1 and NB-IoT) that will enable certain cellular modules to operate for about ten years on two AA batteries. This is a huge leap forward from even a few years ago and will enable IoT advancements in areas like agriculture and smart cities.
With its “Smart Cities Mission”, the Indian government is well positioned to leverage the global smart cities trend. I have seen a lot of creativity and innovation as a direct result of this initiative.
Unlimit’s IoT offerings for Indian SMBs and Startups
Unlimit has a variety of products that can be utilized by SMBs. SMBs can benefit by gaining better visibility of, insights about and control over their assets. Cost drivers like theft of diesel, water and power can be identified and reduced. Utilization of assets can be increased. High value assets can be tracked as they are shipped regardless of the consignee.
One big cost associated with IoT is the development of portals and their associated UI. This can often take months and cost tens of thousands of dollars. With Unlimit Enablement, startups and developers can use preexisting widgets and code blocks to quickly create a compelling UI to display, analyze and report collected IoT sensor data. It makes it easy to create advanced dashboards and alerts that can be displayed on any type of device. This enables developers and startups to focus on their core competency without having to learn or invest in developing a new skill set.
USP of the Unlimit IoT platform
At Unlimit, we differentiate ourselves in a number of ways. First, we have the stability from being a Reliance Group company. We have a comprehensive IoT platform as opposed to just offering a part of what a customer needs to fully utilize and realize the benefits of IoT. Also, we are the only IoT offering in India that is based on the Cisco Jasper platform. Lastly and probably most important, we have developed a vast partner ecosystem in India. These partners include device manufacturers, system integrators with specific domain expertise, analytics partners and those that can provide various types of incidence management.
Offerings for larger enterprises
Unlimit has a variety of products for the large enterprise from the management of various types of fleet vehicles to the remote monitoring of fixed assets like diesel generator sets and transformers. We frequently engage with our enterprise customers on a project basis to provide a comprehensive IoT solution
Advice for CIOs planning to leverage the power of IoT
First, start with a manageable initial IoT deployment. This will make it easier to get the various stakeholders in your organization familiar with IoT so that you can fully exploit the ROI. Then repeat with subsequent deployments. Identify assets and operations that are expensive to operate or mission critical. These can make excellent first use cases for IoT. Work with an IoT partner who has credibility, referenceable use cases and a global reach. Because IoT is relatively new in India, chances are that some of the use cases that you are considering have already been deployed in North America or Europe. This can help you to minimize risk.
Consider using a consultant to assess or validate your IoT ROI assumptions. There are credible, affordable firms that specialize in this.
About the spokesperson:
Chris Johnston has over 18 years of product marketing experience in mobile computing and wireless communications including AT&T, Honeywell and Trimble. He has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago.
