FIRST we had M&M chocolate sweets. Then some rapper called Eminem (or so i'm told - i'm perhaps surprisingly not a fan.) And now there are some new Ms in town - M2M.
M2M, which stands for Machine to Machine, effectively means technology communicating with other technology without the need for human interaction. I'm not taking about the use of futuristic robots negating the need for humans completely in an office environment, but smart technology transmitting useful data which opens up connections between businesses and other businesses, or businesses to consumers.
And it's not simply the large multi-national corporations. Take farmers, for example, and how M2M can revolutionise production. Before the agri-community had to check conditions of soil manually but M2M technology can monitor data such as pesticide levels and relay that information back to farmers, or remotely assess and turn off irrigation systems when not needed. It's all about saving time, saving money and increasing efficiency. M2M is not industry specific, but rather an important technological advancement for any company where consumer data, diagnostics, tracking and logistics are all part of its business model.
By assessing and telling firms what has broken down, what needs refilled or where service has been interrupted means that attention is given only to where attention is ultimately needed.
M2M is a part of this growing trend called the "internet of things" whereby devices and machines are connected to the internet in order to remotely transmit information back to companies. so, how can it help your business? Well, let's even think small. Automated lights which turn off when employees leave the room.
turning on the office alarm system from the comfort of your own home.
Even replenishment visits for the office vending machine when the machine lets the supplier know it is running low on the all important tayto. It's all about technology doing the job that a human could do only more quickly and with more flexibility.
Just a matter of weeks ago, new research from Berg insight said the number of M2M connections in the retail industry alone reached an incredible £18.4m worldwide in 2013.
And this is a technology which is still relatively in its infancy. Isn't it time to get in on the machine to machine conversation?
* Eric Carson is director of Rainbow Communications and can be contacted via www.rainbowcomms.com. Rainbow Communications can also be followed on Twitter - @Rainbow_ Comms.