Vodafone Germany, in cooperation with Recogizer Analytics, a German company, is offering an analysis tool for companies using the Internet of Things. Business customers can evaluate large quantities of data from building technology, machines and sensors, with the goal of increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, reducing machine downtime and improving the reliability of installations. With the Big Data Analysis cluster, Vodafone is offering a complete product range consisting of hardware, a Vodafone Global SIM, data analysis collection, secure data hosting on German servers and intelligent data analysis. The service is based on Vodafone’s LTE grid and, in future, will be based on the operator’s 5G network.

Tarifica’s Take

This ambitious offering targeted at business subscribers appears to be an excellent way for a mobile operator to create revenue and innovative opportunities for itself beyond traditional mobile services. The rapidly growing IoT sector is already a promising source of revenue for operators, as we have written in the past; providing an analytic tool for the IoT is a new and creative way to grow within that sector. Not only is Big Data Analysis potentially very useful to companies in the building industry and therefore an opportunity to enhance Vodafone’s brand, but the fact that it runs on Vodafone’s LTE network makes it a source of ongoing revenue, a way of more fully utilizing the operator’s capacity, and a way of increasing Vodafone’s customer base (via the Global SIMs). Partnering with a technology company to develop this complex system looks to be a savvy move, and on the whole, we see Big Data Analytics as a likely win-win situation.