LAS VEGAS, May 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- What do your car, a heart monitor, and the electrical meter on your house have in common? All are being outfitted with communications technology and connected to the "Internet of Things" to provide significant new functions. The International M2M Council is a new trade association that aims to make this kind of connectivity – known as machine-to-machine communications (M2M) – ubiquitous by helping companies install and manage communications between machines.

Launched at this week's CTIA Wireless Show in Las Vegas, the IMC already includes influential connectivity providers, software developers, component makers and integrators – the group's founding board is comprised of senior executives from Deutsche Telekom, Digi International, Kore Telematics, Oracle, ORBCOMM, and Telit. The IMC will help those deploying machines in wide-ranging vertical markets – like automotive, healthcare, and energy – by showing that basic M2M technology already exists that can create new revenue, cut costs, and ease regulatory compliance.

The new group aims to prove the business case for M2M. Unlike existing standards bodies that concentrate on developing technical specifications, the IMC will publish use-cases and business benchmarks that show ROI for M2M deployments. And the IMC intends to be the first trade organization to service the entire M2M ecosystem, including suppliers and users globally.

"As the M2M industry enters a phase of broad-based growth, now's the time for leadership companies in the M2M community to create a forum where they can share lessons learned, best practices and ideas for future growth," said Patrick Shay, EVP of sales and marketing of ORBCOMM, Inc., a charter board member, and a leading provider of satellite connectivity. "The IMC will bridge suppliers, M2M users and standards organizations around the globe."

In addition to ORBCOMM's Shay, the IMC founding board also includes:

• Juergen Hase, VP M2M Competence Center, Deutsche Telekom
• Matt Jennings, VP Digital Solutions Group, Digi International
• Alex Brisbourne, CEO, Kore Telematics
• Chris Baker, SVP ISV/OEM/Java, Oracle Corporation
• Alexander Bufalino, SEVP Global Marketing, Telit Wireless Solutions

About the International M2M Council (London): the IMC mission is to increase adoption of M2M technology. The group will achieve this by promoting M2M technology to relevant vertical markets, establish business metrics and best practices for M2M deployments, educating professionals about M2M, and advocating for M2M technology with regulators. For more information, please contact Keith Kreisher, +44 20.7596.8777, or info@im2mc.org.

SOURCE International M2M Council