At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Verizon Communications, Inc. made some announcements regarding the scope and security of its ThingSpace Internet of Things (IoT) platform. The move marks a milestone in the telco industry, as IoT services move closer to computing’s core.

ThingSpace is a platform that serves as place for developers to create apps, for end users to better manage their devices, and for partners to market their services. Since its launch in October 2015, ThingSpace now hosts more than 4,000 developers and is expected to grow to nearly 200 countries by the end of the year, according to Verizon. Revenues from IoT and telematics businesses totaled $690 million as of year-end 2015.

Now, Verizon is opening up the platform to third-party network and technology service providers, rolling out new tools to address industry-wide security concerns as part of the company’s plan to reduce IoT complexity.

“By addressing key barriers at the network, platform and application levels, our mission is to make IoT more accessible to consumers and public sector organizations while allowing businesses, and developers of all sizes to compete in new markets globally,” said Mike Lanman, senior vice president of IoT and Enterprise Products at Verizon. “That’s why we’re so bullish on driving investments, innovations and partnerships on ThingSpace that make market adoption for IoT more pervasive.”

Commercializing ThingSpace 

To expand the reach of ThingSpace, Verizon is actively engaging other network and technology services to provide their customers the ability to consume IoT services designed by Verizon’s product technology team – VZ Labs. This aims to help companies that may not have the scale, technical requirements or capital budgets to build end-to-end IoT solutions on their own, but still want to make IoT solutions for their customers.

Securing the Internet of Things

Verizon also launched the new IoT Security Credentialing (IoT SC), designed to secure sensitive data at the edge of the network. It is specially designed to help prevent security threats linked to some of today’s IoT deployments. IoT SC also adds an ‘over the top’ (OTT) layer of security that enables developers to better protect devices and applications regardless of service provider or type of transport deployed such as cellular, Wi-Fi or wireline, to name a few. IoT SC will be available on ThingSpace in Spring 2016.

Other Verizon IoT news from MWC

Verizon also announced new deployments and partnerships at MWC designed to tackle some of the biggest issues in agriculture, healthcare, sustainability, public safety and urban development.

Some of the new projects underway include:

• Verizon’s partnership with France’s ITK to provide farmers, vineyard owners and growers better intelligence needed to improve planning, crop yield, and sustainability through robust data and analytics tailored for the agriculture industry as a component of Verizon’s AgTech platform.
• Verizon is deploying its Intelligent video solution to expand public safety. Georgetown University in Washington D.C. has installed the solution to enhance security efforts for students, faculty and facilities on university grounds. Napa County Airport also used the technology as an extra layer of protection to allow local law enforcement to quickly identify and assess potential threats that would negatively impact fans and business partners attending Super Bowl 50 along with the community-at-large.
• Establishing the Village of Bedford Park, IL (a Chicago suburb) as a Verizon Smart City Municipal Innovation District. With the help of Verizon’s IoT technology solutions for lighting, public safety and traffic,Bedford Park aims to transform its existing infrastructure into a smarter digital infrastructure. The improvements are intended to fuel economic development by attracting millennials, enterprises and start-ups to the community.
• Introducing Intelligent Track & Trace, a new application on ThingSpace designed to drive innovation in the healthcare industry. A near real-time supply chain management platform, Intelligent Track & Trace will help pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies in the U.S and select European countries track, trace and monitor the condition of their shipments, particularly high value assets. Slated for commercial availability this spring, the solution is currently in deployment with a global pharmaceutical company.
• Becoming a champion for “ideas worth spreading,” through its new partnership with TEDxCambridge — a premier independently organized TED event experience and technology exhibition celebrating innovation from across the United States. Held in Boston, Massachusetts, Verizon will participate with leading thinkers and doers ranging from CEOs and scientists to academics and policy makers. Verizon will also showcase groundbreaking new IoT technology through its Boston-based innovation center.

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