With Sprint M2M deal, Axeda seeking direct links with operators

Axeda has teamed up with Sprint (NYSE:S) to directly integrate Axeda’s machine-to-machine (M2M) communications application platform with the operator’s CDMA network in what Axeda CEO Dale Calder said would be the first of several alliances made directly with wireless operators.

As M2M becomes a bigger and more high-volume business, operators have started to work more closely with platform companies like Axeda and serve enterprise markets and verticals directly rather than rely on reseller and MVNO partners to do the heavy lifting for them.

Axeda, which counts more than 100 device manufacturers among its customers, has worked primarily in the US with Kore Telematics, which maintains MVNO agreements with all of the major operators so it can supply connectivity to M2M solutions. Calder said Axeda’s relationship is by no means ending, rather Axeda is following the lead of its customers, who are seeking to work directly with operators as their M2M networks scale.

“We’re continuing to work with all players in the industry,” Calder said.

M2M network aggregators will still have plenty to keep them busy with smaller M2M implementations, which will be numerous, but the big deployments that scale up to millions of connections will be served by the network operators, he said. “If you go down the pipe there are many more small business opportunity than big business ones, but there are far more volumes with bigger businesses.”

Axeda’s platform-as-a-service provides an application framework for M2M business models. It can function as the download and content management platform for an ebook reader library, as the monitoring platform for and M2M security system or the metering platform for an M2M utility deployment.