Telecom operator to partner with industry leading providers Oberthur Technologies and ThingWorx to enable enterprises connectivity across its international operations to benefit from growing M2M & IoT market

Abu Dhabi, July 11, 2015: Etisalat Group, the leading telecommunications operator in Middle East, Africa and Asia, is to launch the region's first Internet of Things (IoT) application development and device management platform. Etisalat will be working with Oberthur Technologies (OT) and ThingWorx, a PTC Business, both global industry leaders in the field of IoT solutions, to build and manage the platform as Etisalat's partners. The new service platform will enable customers to develop and deploy innovative new IoT solutions for the growing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) market estimated to be worth billions of dollars to businesses now and in the future.

The number of M2M connections is set to increase rapidly over the next decade, rising from 5 billion last year to 50 billion in 2024, this means that thousands of IoT applications will need to be developed. "As the world becomes smarter, we need to develop the platforms that enables that digital transformation" said Khalifa Al Shamsi, Chief Digital Services Officer, Etisalat Group. "Enabling automation and connectivity to billions of objects will transform the way we live. With smart solutions as the norm, Etisalat today is providing the IoT development platforms that will power the future for business and government."

IoT and M2M solutions refer to ICT applications and technologies that allow devices and sensors to communicate directly with other systems and devices over wireless and wired networks and build smarter solutions and products. IoT/M2M solutions are increasingly used by organisations around the globe to improve productivity (through real-time operational measurements and smart controls), reduce costs, enhance customer experience, improve the current services and open new revenue streams. This increasingly complex ecosystem requires more advanced platforms, including IoT device cloud, IoT development and big Data capabilities, working together in full interoperability.

Using these platforms Etisalat will provide standardised components that can be shared horizontally to enable rapid development and lower costs to improve existing industry operations, and will be critical to the realisation of the Smart Cities of the future.

Al Shamsi added: "Etisalat believes that IoT is essential for the regional development and has made a commitment to build the best-in-class IoT capabilities to offer to the market, we have earlier launched the first in the region M2M control centre in 2013 and now we are following with IoT application platform. IoT application development platforms will help drive our IoT strategy and build the many innovative services that we are working to bring to market and we are looking forward to bring value to our prospective customers."

"We are truly excited by this venture and delighted Etisalat chose OT as their partner for this large-scale strategic project, acknowledging the value and leading position of our M-Sense solution. We are ready to partner with Etisalat to make a step forward within the M2M and IoT value chain with our carrier-grade platform, which combines application enablement and device management capabilities, but also with a wide range of services including business consulting, off-the shelf applications, development support and access to local and global IoT players.", said Arnaud de La Chapelle, RMEA President and Mobile Network Operators Business Unit Managing Director at OT.

According to Russ Fadel, President & Founder at ThingWorx, "ThingWorx is excited at the opportunity of partnering with Etisalat and its Affiliates to develop a world-leading IoT platform for the region. The Internet of Things has fundamentally changed the nature of application development and solution deployment. IoT applications will need to be rapidly developed and continuously evolved throughout a lifecycle as new inputs from sensors and devices, and new insights from analytics, are introduced. To address this new opportunity, old, general purpose development tools are not adequate. ThingWorx will help Etisalat and its partners dramatically reduce the cost, time, and risk of application development and solution deployment by leveraging out-of-the-box capabilities and unique technology to generate innovative IoT solutions. This rapid time-to-value is just one of the reasons Etisalat as well as some of the world's biggest companies have selected the ThingWorx platform. We are fully committed to making Etisalat, its customers and their partners across the MEA region successful in this exciting new era of IoT."

About Etisalat Group:
Etisalat, the leading emerging markets telecom group, is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Since its inception almost four decades ago, Etisalat has been introducing innovative connectivity solutions for its customers across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. These cutting-edge solutions have given Etisalat the ability to expand its subscriber base to more than 173 million in the 19 international markets it operates in. Etisalat's market cap is 96.8 billion AED, equaling 26.4 billion USD.

For more information, please contact:
Etisalat Media Desk
T: +9712 618 2877
www.etisalat.com

Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in digital security solutions for the mobility space. OT has always been at the heart of mobility, from the first smart cards to the latest contactless payment technologies which equip millions of smartphones. Present in the Payment, Telecommunications and Identity markets, OT offers end-to-end solutions in the Smart Transactions, Mobile Financial Services, Machine-to-Machine, Digital Identity and Transport & Access Control fields. OT employs over 6 000 employees worldwide, including close to 700 R&D people. With more than 50 sales offices across 5 continents and 1 manufacturing hub by region, OT's international network serves clients in 140 countries. For more information: www.oberthur.com

PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) today works with more than 28,000 businesses around the world to help them create, operate, and service products in rapidly-evolving, globally distributed industries, including industrial equipment, automotive, high tech, telecoms, electronics, aerospace and defense, retail, consumer, and medical devices. By partnering with PTC, the Etisalat Group will cultivate and exploit their best product and service ideas in an increasingly smart and connected world. For more information; www.ptc.com

ThingWorx, a PTC® business and leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider, offers an innovative platform for rapidly developing and deploying applications that realize the opportunity and value presented by the Internet of Things economy. ThingWorx' simplified and unified approach to IoT applications enables companies to iteratively innovate business processes significantly faster than conventional methods and tools, thus accelerating time to value, reducing cost and risk, and transforming how products, people, and systems connect and interact. For more information: www.thingworx.com

© Press Release 2015