[Satellite News 06-12-09] Digi International CEO Joe Dunsmore is confident that the company can make a strong impact in the satellite market using the recently acquired assets of the U.S., Indian and Singapore affiliates of MobiApps Holdings Private Limited.
    The deal to acquire MobiApps, a developer of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications technology focusing on satellite, cellular, and hybrid satellite/cellular solutions was unveiled June 8. The asset purchase positions Digi with satellite products and technologies that complement its wireless M2M strategy.
    Dunsmore said it was an important acquisition for Digi, as it was desperate to add satellite solutions to its overall armory “The acquisition of MobiApps satisfies two target areas in Digi’s acquisition strategy by providing leading edge M2M satellite products and technologies and providing a strong base of operations to grow Digi’s wireless solutions business in India and Southeast Asia,” he told Satellite Today. “Satellite products and technology fills a gap in Digi’s wireless M2M strategy, which now includes cellular, Zigbee, 900 megahertz, 868 megahert, Wi-Fi, as well as satellite wireless offerings. The acquisition of MobiApps is pursuant to our stated five-year objectives of driving wireless to over 60 percent of our revenue base and growing international revenues to over 60 percent by the year 2013.”
    In terms of why satellite solutions are now attractive to Digi’s customer base, Dunsmore said, “Over the past several years satellite costs have come down, both in terms of airtime and modem technology. With increasing competitiveness, companies are looking for differentiation and as a result are trying to connect more and more remote devices and trying to manage more and more remote assets. This is creating new requirements to connect things that are either in very remote locations or that travel into remote locations. Increasing globalization means that tracking of devices or assets doesn’t end at country or continent borders. Satellite is perhaps the only wireless service that is the same globally.
    As Digi has delivered more wireless offerings in verticals such as fleet management, agricultural monitoring and others, we have been getting visibility to new classes of customers, said Dunsmore.
    One of the challenges for Digi will be to monetize MobiApp’s satellite product line. “We see tremendous growth opportunities for the MobiApps product line, especially with the late 2008 launch of the m10 miniature satellite module. The m10 achieves multiple breakthroughs in size, price and performance through the use of MobiApps’ own custom designed and patented mixed signal ASIC. In addition there are some really great product synergies with the existing Digi product line and with our iDigi solution offerings. For example, this week we launched the iDigi Tank solution bundle. Remote storage tank monitoring is a great potential application for satellite technology, so I would look for us to include satellite options in this solution as well as many others.”
    Taroon Kamdar, CEO, MobiApps alsowas  bullish about the acquisition and becoming part of Digi. “MobiApps is known for its leading edge satellite technology products and solutions built around its patented mixed-signal ASIC. With the resources, scale and market presence of Digi now underpinning MobiApps’ technology expertise, it will be in a position to take greater advantage of the growth opportunities that M2M markets offer around the world.”