IoT company Telit Communications has announced the purchase of Bluetooth and Bluetooth Smart assets from Stollmann Entwicklungs und Vertriebs Gmbh.
The acquisition will see 35 Stollmann employees transferred to Telit, along with intellectual property relating to NFC and any other wireless communication.
The Internet of Things (IoT) market is predicted to expand massively over the next few years, but one of the stumbling blocks to growth is finding additional power sources for the influx of connected devices. A number of start-ups are looking at alternative options such as self-powering systems, but Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology is also viewed as a viable method for cutting IoT power consumption.
MarketsandMarkets predicts that the global Bluetooth Low Energy and “Smart-Ready” market will be worth $5.6 billion (£3.9 billion) by 2020, with shipments of BLE units expected to exceed 1.2 billion.
Telit’s overarching ambition is to use the Internet of Things to connect physical objects to the cloud, applications and enterprise systems. In order to do so, the company supplies an electronic component, known as the IoT Module, to facilitate the sending and receiving of data over wireless networks. Its connectivity platform, the Telit IoT Portal, then enables business to monitor and manage their IoT resources.
Telit’s chief executive Oozi Cats explained that the acquisition of Bluetooth assets will enable the company to pursue its vision of connecting enterprise sensors and other IoT devices to the cloud.
“The additional IP will provide us with valuable expertise in Bluetooth Smart, which is set to become an important standard for IoT,” he said. “As one of the IoT’s fastest expanding wireless technology areas, this IP will enable us to expand our market reach with a more comprehensive end-to-end connectivity solution.”
Telit has ramped up its expansion plans in recent years, acquiring both CrossBridge Solutions and IoT Portal in the last three years. The value of the Stollmann purchase has not been formally disclosed by the company.