In the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT), data usage is often predictable as devices will perform the same functions and send the same amounts of data every month. However, there are some cases where data is not predictable and this is where data pooling is beneficial.
Here’s how it works:
- Shared Data Allowance: Instead of paying separately for each device’s data usage, data pooling enables a collective data allowance for all connected devices. This shared ‘pool’ of data can be used by any device within the group.
- Flexibility and Cost Savings: Data pooling provides flexibility and cost savings. For example, if you have ten IoT devices assigned to a 1 GB data plan, they can collectively draw from a total pool of 10 GB. This means that one device may only use 500MB whilst another can use 1.5GB without incurring any additional usage.
- Mitigating underutilised data: Data pooling assumes that usage patterns across devices will average out. While some devices may consume more data, others may use less. By sharing the data pool, you mitigate the risk of wasting unused data in devices with lower usage.
IoT Data Pooling Options
- Aggregated Data Pool: Aggregated Pools are where individual SIM allowances are pooled together to create a variable pool of data for all contributing SIMs to consume from. The size of Aggregated Pools adjusts each time a data SIM is added or removed. This is a common choice for when you are unsure about data usage as you can scale these pools up or down each month.
- Fixed Data Pool: With a Fixed Data pool, you can purchase a large amount of data per month and then have SIMs consume from this data allowance. This is a common choice for when you are sure about the data usage across SIMs. These pools are not as scalable as Aggregated Data Pools.
Benefits of IoT Data Pooling
- Cost Efficiency: Data pooling allows you to optimise data plans based on the overall needs of your IoT deployment. Rather than overprovisioning data for individual devices, you allocate resources more effectively.
- Simplified Management: Managing a single data pool is simpler than tracking individual data limits for each device. It streamlines billing, alerting, monitoring, and reporting.
- Scalability: As your IoT (estate?) grows, data pooling scales seamlessly. You can add new devices without reconfiguring individual data plans.
Considerations
- Overages: While data pooling helps prevent overage charges, it’s also essential to monitor usage. Unexpected spikes in data consumption can still occur.
- Data Allocations: It is worth noting the amount of data that each SIM is allocated before adding these SIMs into a pool. For example, a SIM with 1GB of data that was purchased on the 15th day of the month, may have pro-rata data so actually only contributes half of the full allowance to the pool.
- Pooling Compatibility: When creating a data pool, ensure you can pool your entire SIM estate, if required. You may not be able to pool gGlobal SIMs with local SIMs due to the difference in pricing for the data. Data pools often carry a fixed rental charge based on the coverage zone which is why you are not able to pool different SIMs from different zones.
- Choosing the Right Plan: When selecting an IoT data plan, consider the total data needs of your devices. Select a plan that aligns with your usage patterns and allows for data pooling.
By pooling IoT data, you can strike a balance between cost-effectiveness and operational effectiveness.
vM2M and Data Pooling
At Fidelity Group, our revolutionary IoT platform, vM2M, allows you to create and administer your own data pools to manage your IoT Connectivity efficiently. Here’s how:
- Create Data Pools: Build your own data pools on the vM2M platform. The options are endless with no limitations as to how many data pools you are allowed to create.
- Pool SIMs with Different Data Allocations: vM2M allows the flexibility of aggregating a 10MB SIM with 1TB SIM if required. The only limitation is the SIM supplier and Coverage zone that the standalone SIM was purchased on.
- Top Up Data Pools: Seamlessly add additional data to your pool by selecting the amount of data and accepting the associated cost. vM2M will adjust the pool and update to the new usage limits. All previous rules and alerts will be updated accordingly too for the month. Once a new month begins, all usages will be reset.
Data pooling is a powerful tool for managing IoT Connectivity and if it is used in the correct way this will enable IoT SIM estates to scale with ease.
To talk to one of our experts today and find more out about how our vM2M IoT management platform prevents bill shock, please go to our Contact Us page.
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