ICA
FR
A
From tracking vultures to
monitoring trucks across
the continent, IoT enabler
Thingstream’s new partnerships
in South Africa are driving the
development of more cost-
effective IoT innovations, faster.
AL
I O N E L S
G
E
R ANN
CH
A F RIC
THINGSTREAM LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS FAST-
TRACK SOUTH AFRICAN IOT INNOVATION
T
es
, M
ana
ging
Director of Pylot
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
Issue 18
ar
t-J
on
hingstream, which earlier this
year announced it was expanding
into South Africa via a local
partner network, has formalised
partnerships with many local innovators,
supporting their development of new IoT
solutions across multiple industry verticals.
IoT innovation in South Africa is
gathering pace with pioneering companies
bringing new solutions to market on the
back of Thingstream’s ability to connect
IoT devices without constraints, such as
cross-border connectivity or the need for
high-speed access.
“Thingstream is delivering a world of
opportunity for developers of new IoT
solutions, and in South Africa, where there
is a high level of engineering capability
and technical expertise,” said Tony Doubell,
Sales Director South Africa at Thingstream.
“It’s an exciting time for IoT across all
sectors in South Africa.”
w
in
fo
un
d
er
Rich
ard Cr
eighton
Pylot Pty Ltd, a company within the First
Technology Group, is one of the partners now
building out its IoT solutions portfolio using
Thingstream technology. Trevor Hart-Jones,
Managing Director of Pylot, says Thingstream
technology overcomes several challenges in
the roll-out of IoT solutions locally.
“In the smart agricultural space,
for example, we have implemented IoT
solutions to monitor soil water content
and manage centre pivot irrigation
systems, which potentially saves farmers
a significant amount of money on water
and power,” said Hart-Jones. “But because
farms are in rural areas and typically not
covered by high-speed networks, we had
to roll out some of the newer low power
wide area networks (LPWANs) to support
the IoT connections. With Thingstream, we
can roll out solutions faster and more cost-
effectively to more customers.”
Another partner is Digital Twin, an IoT
solutions provider focused on the industrial
sector. With a strong background in
industrial equipment and automation, Digital
Twin founder Richard Creighton saw a gap in
the market last year for one-stop integrated
Industry 4.0 solutions for local industry.
“Thingstream was the differentiator for
us,” said Creighton. “The platform delivers
ubiquitous communications without being
tied to any one provider, at an unparalleled
price point. We’ve really built out something
quite special – primarily because of our
relationship with Thingstream. They are a big
part of our business and I think they will be a
big part of our success.”
Doubell says the high level of demand
means Thingstream South Africa will focus
its attentions on the local market initially.
However, Kenya – also a hotbed of IoT
innovation – could be the next focus for
Thingstream solutions. Local partners are
also expected to roll their new IoT solutions
out across the continent.
“We’re seeing great excitement from
the partner side, as they are no longer
reliant on mobile operators and the
roaming issue is no longer a challenge for
them because Thingstream is operator
agnostic,” said Doubell.
It’s an exciting time for
IoT across all sectors in
South Africa.
31