Airtel has partnered with Flickswitch International to complement its Machine to Machine (“M2M”) solutions by providing an online portal for enterprises to manage their mobile connectivity allowing an administrator to create business rules, tailored around the usage of their phones or devices.
“Airtel understands the changing SIM management needs of businesses. The rapid growth of connected devices within many industries means that companies need to manage large numbers of SIMs. Our partnership with Flickswitch is just another way that Airtel is making sure its business clients have access to the best SIM management offerings” said Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi.
The Internet of Things (“IoT”) will ensure that every industry will eventually find a need for devices to be connected. Within this complex eco-system of sensors, devices, platforms and solutions, information needs to be transferred. The preferred, most generally available connectivity method is the mobile network, especially on the African continent.
The SIM card is usually not on anyone’s mind when solutions are developed and tested. But during deployment, enterprises come face to face with a range of challenges. These include how much data has the SIM consumed to date, whether the SIM is still in the device and how problematic SIMs can be suspended.
“Technology companies in the M2M/IoT space have a whole array of challenges to contend with before taking a solution to market”, says Danie Olivier, Director for Flickswitch Kenya.
Olivier adds that the firm is building from its experience in supporting 100,000 SIMs for more than 550 Enterprises, largely in South Africa. Flickswitch is excited to provide managed mobile connectivity to both startups and established enterprises in Kenya.
“Startups prefer the nature of prepaid mobile connectivity to test solutions before taking them to market, as these can be sourced anywhere and topped up from another phone or the web”. “Once you start rolling out solutions that includes tens to hundreds of devices, managing the funds on prepaid SIM cards becomes a big challenge” says Olivier.
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