Novatel Wireless hopes strategic buys will help it accelerate Internet of Things (IoT) growth
What is in this article?
Novatel Wireless hopes strategic buys will help it accelerate Internet of Things (IoT) growth
With this in mind, Novatel Wireless hopes to build from its IoT hardware position—anchored in its popular MiFi products, which typically leverage carrier connectivity to provide Wi-Fi hotspots to customers—to assemble other pieces of the IoT ecosystem in a manner that makes it easier for enterprises to make IoT visions a reality, Sklansky said. A recent example of this philosophy was the Novatel Wireless purchase of Feeney Wireless earlier this year, he said.
“We have trusted hardware, hooks into all platforms, and we have Feeney Wireless, who has an expertise of going in house, setting up the IoT program, being able to advise the client on the best connectivity package, and managing the devices, once they’re in place,” Sklansky said.
“So, we can say, ‘Hey, AT&T, your business is just putting SIMs into devices; we’ve got it from here.’ We’ve got the hardware, we take care of the platform, and we’ll go right to the customer and get them up and going in a month, instead of the six- to 12-month process that it currently takes to get an IoT initiative up and running … The idea is to make implementing an IoT project as simple as flipping a switch.”
Novatel Wireless is in a position to make acquisitions, because its MiFi business has matured to a point that it has manufacturing-process advantages that other IoT companies lack, Sklansky said. In addition, Novatel Wireless has “have a number of very interested investors in our stock that are eager to contribute more capital and enable us to do mergers and acquisitions,” he said.
Given these circumstances, the market can expect Novatel Wireless to make more IoT-related acquisitions in the future, Sklansky said.
“Our CEO has been very vocal that we’re going to be very acquisitive,” he said. “This is not just a roll up of sorts, where companies just try to get bigger for the sake of getting bigger and buy unrelated assets. We’re trying to be very strategic, to make acquisitions that position us well in the ecosystem and that accelerate our long-term growth.
“We think there are companies out there that are doing everything right but just don’t have access to capital. Those are the companies we like to look at.”
Isn’t the slower growth
Isn’t the slower growth experiences for companies like MIFI and SWIR based on the fact that they are focused on Mobile Carrier connected devices? Cisco & Ericsson benefit from all connected IOT products as a majority of them will be connected via WIFI.