Google buys Xively to improve its IoT platform (GOOG)

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BI Intelligence

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Google will acquire IoT platform Xively from software company LogMeIn for $50 million, according to Bloomberg.

The search giant has been building on its efforts in the IoT management space to create new opportunities for its cloud-based services, and this acquisition will help the company to expand its offerings in this fast-growing market segment.

Google has been looking to expand its role as a cloud services provider in the IoT.In a major move last year, it launched its Cloud IoT Core fully managed IoT platform into public beta to compete directly with Amazon, Microsoft, and others. That platform was developed with the support of chipmaker NXP and is geared toward deployments for smart cities, utilities, transportation, and other enterprise ventures. And just last week, Google hiredSamsung’s former CTO, Injong Rhee, to coordinate and lead its various IoT ventures.

Purchasing Xively will allow Google to more easily and securely manage IoT devices, while integrating the newly acquired company’s tools into its existing Cloud IoT Core platform. Google’s services offer users a range of data analytics capabilities as well as a number of data visualization dashboard options. And, while it offers a connected devices software development suite in its Android Things platform, Xively offers software that companies will be able to use to manage discrete devices without needing to engage in extensive development. This removes a barrier to connecting devices to a managed service and could help Google onboard users. It will also speed up how quickly a solution utilizing the platform can be rolled out at scale.

Google was a relatively late entrant to the IoT platform market, but is looking to build on the cloud infrastructure it’s built to make itself a player in the IoT. Its primary competitors in the space are other cloud computing giants such as Amazon with its AWS IoT, Microsoft with Azure IoT, and IBM's Bluemix platform. Acquiring Xively and integrating its employees into its platform development will help Google compete in the space by offering a ready-made solution for certain problems that potential clients would face.

It will still have to catch up to the wide range of features Amazon offers, but Google will be able to leverage extensive AI and machine learning experience from other operating areas, which could allow it to build a competitive IoT platform offering.

Through this exclusive study and in-depth research into the field, Business Insider Intelligence (Business Insider's premium research service) details the components that make up the IoT ecosystem. We size the IoT market and use exclusive data to identify key trends in device installations and investment. And we profile the enterprise and consumer IoT segments individually, drilling down into the drivers and characteristics that are shaping each market.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• We project that there will be more than 55 billion IoT devices by 2025, up from about 9 billion in 2017.

• We forecast that there will be nearly $15 trillion in aggregate IoT investment between 2017 and 2025, with survey data showing that companies' plans to invest in IoT solutions are accelerating.

• The report highlights the opinions and experiences of IoT decision-makers on topics that include: drivers for adoption; major challenges and pain points; deployment and maturity of IoT implementations; investment in and utilization of devices; the decision-making process; and forward- looking plans.

In full, the report:

• Provides a primer on the basics of the IoT ecosystem.

• Offers forecasts for the IoT moving forward, and highlights areas of interest in the coming years.

• Looks at who is and is not adopting the IoT, and why.

• Highlights drivers and challenges facing companies that are implementing IoT solutions.

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See Also:

• IoT networking startup Particle looks to bring Thread to enterprise settings

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• THE INSURANCE AND THE IoT REPORT: How insurers are using connected devices to cut costs and more accurately price policies