Release of 17.10.2013

Telekom Austria Group launches "FLEXify" - the M2M Application Enablement Platform for Remote Monitoring, Automation and Control

  • Bundled know-how from Austria to be used internationally by a strategic cooperation with Microtronics Engineering from Ruprechtshofen (Lower Austria)
  • M2M application enablement platform “FLEXify” starts as a cloud solution
  • The early warning system for floodings as an approved field of application

Vienna, October 17, 2013 - After the successful launch of the M2M connectivity platform “SIMplify”, Telekom Austria Group M2M extends its portfolio and launches “FLEXify” – the M2M application enablement platform for remote monitoring, automation and control for metering devices, industrial plants and machines in the field.

Remote data monitoring and control as key topics
In many industries such as energy, plant construction and water management, remote data monitoring and control of production plants and machines is a daily routine. Measurement data is recorded by sensors and transferred worldwide to a central IT-system which receives the data, saves it and visualises it for further processing. This way, processes can be monitored, automated and even controlled actively – these controlled operations save time and money and protect from consequential damages.

“M2M solutions for the optimisation of products and processes are being seen as offering competitive advantage by more and more companies. With “FLEXify”, we allow our customers to start with a flexible and cost effective hosted system without large development efforts or investments risks”, said Bernd Liebscher, CEO Telekom Austria M2M GmbH.

Partnership with Microtronics
As part of the “Unlock M2M” partnership with the Austrian M2M pioneer Microtronics Engineering, an integrated overall solution is offered to business customers: Field devices to global communication services and hosted middleware as well as customer specific application-frontends.

The modular solution concept includes a portfolio of field devices which can be operated as a standalone unit or even without power supply or built into a device as a communication module. With an integrated SIM chip, the device builds up a secure mobile connection to the central middleware and transfers data worldwide and in real-time. An intelligent application processes the data and makes it accessible for other users via frontend. All components are pre-integrated and compatible with each another.

“With ‘Flexify’ we have a stable, secure but nevertheless open development environment. Customers can use the configurable solutions or request a customer specific application which can be developed within a couple of days. The system is completely flexible, from the firmware and the device configuration to the data model and the frontend, everything can be adapted, all modules are compatible with each other. This way, our customers can concentrate on their business model and do not have to worry about the technical side”, explains Hans-Peter Buber, CEO Microtronics.

In this cooperation, existing know-how of both companies is bundled to offer flexible M2M solutions without long development periods: Microtronics brings its knowledge on industrial automation and IT-integration and Telekom Austria Group provides its expertise concerning communication technology and international sales power. In addition, the central platform is hosted and operated by Telekom Austria Group, allowing a cost-efficient start and a scalable expansion of the solution.

Early-warning system for floodings as a public service of municipalities
One of the platform’s practical fields of application is an early-warning system for flooding which is offered jointly by the partners. This service makes available real-time information about the current water level on a given spot. This way, in case of emergency, preparations to prevent flood damages can be started earlier and emergency services can be used more efficiently.

The public service supported by the municipalities has been very well received by the inhabitants. Apart from reducing the risk of financial loss, the early warning system strengthens the sense of security of all those living in flood-prone areas.

The water levels are recorded cyclically by an optical sensor (data logger) which is installed on a bridge and transferred to the data server. As soon as the values reach a pre-defined limit, the data logger reduces the intervals of measuring automatically. In critical cases the online-mode is activated and the current water levels are reported every five minutes. Emergency services can define by which water level the first alert should be triggered.

Currently, the website “wasserstand.info” shows the water levels of the Austrian rivers “Melk”, “Mank” and “Kleine Erlauf”. The system can be used by the inhabitants without any previous technical knowledge, they can register with their mobile number on the website free of cost. If the situation is rated critical by the emergency services, they receive an alarm message.

Further applications for the M2M platform “Flexify”
In addition to the early warning system for floodings, plans for the extension of the service exist in order to record environmental pollution such as ozone, particle matter and pollen count. These solutions are not only requested by municipalities but also by the private sector; for example for the remote maintenance and control of machine parks, for the measuring of filling levels and flow rates in tanks and silos or the condition monitoring in buildings and warehouses - “FLEXify” can easily be adapted to new conditions including sensors and software. More detailed information about “FLEXify” is available here.


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