Singapore-based Internet of Things (IoT) start-up W-Locate has selected digital infrastructure provider Tata Communications to help accelerate its international growth.
W-Locate will make use of Tata Communications MOVE platform and IZO Private Cloud to expand its real-time location-based information services across South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and eventually other Asian countries, expanding its footprint beyond its existing markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
“We are a fast-moving start-up, and we want to work with like-minded businesses to accelerate our growth,” W-Locate founder and CEO Stevie Ooi said. “The Tata Communications MOVE platform helps us do just that, and offer borderless connectivity to our customers in new markets.
“We estimate that working with a single global IoT partner like Tata Communications will help reduce our capital expenditure (CAPEX) by 35 per cent while giving us the agility we need to stay ahead in this constantly changing industry."
The digital infrastructure provider’s MOVE platform will provide W-Locate with a fully managed solution for cross-border cellular connectivity necessary for international IoT services.
Specifically, this solution will allow W-Locate to focus on providing its IoT services to customers while Tata takes care of global connections including last mile cellular and radio access, eliminating the need to negotiate separate data connectivity agreements with different local mobile network operators in each country, significantly reducing roaming costs.
"IoT start-ups that are looking for swift global expansion need to capture, move and manage information seamlessly, reliably and securely worldwide,” Tata Communications chief product officer Anthony Bartolo said.
"Through the ubiquitous nature of the Tata Communications MOVE platform, businesses like W-Locate are able to give their global customers the secure and seamless IoT experiences they expect – without making huge investments in their own infrastructure in new markets."
W-Locate uses its technology including a SIM-based location-based service called XimLoc that can accurately track any mobile phone that uses a SIM card, without relying on GPS alone.
On the other hand, W-Locate’s other offering, fleet intelligent dynamics (FIND), provides a means to track and analyse key parameters in real-time through a suite of fleet management and analytics tools tailored for always on the move industries such ready-mixed concrete supply, telematics and logistics.
Furthermore, all data generated from both XimLoc and FIND will be stored using Tata’s IZO Private Cloud allowing it to scale fast as demand increases.
One of the first customers to use the MOVE platform and IZO Private Cloud as part of W-Locate IoT offering is building materials manufacturer LafargeHolcim Malaysia.
The expanded capabilities provided by Tata will expand W-Locate’s ability to collect and manage LafargeHolcim Malaysia’s data securely and seamlessly across borders.
