Konekt – a new player in the cellular IoT platform market

The spread of new Internet-of-Things platforms over the last few months hasn’t abated – and a new entry is now morphing from an idea to a funded platform – Konekt.

Konekt is a full-stack platform providing cellular connectivity for devices in machine-to-machine and Internet-of-Things applications, providing a powerful integrated combination of cellular plans, cloud infrastructure and APIs.

Their goal is to simplify the process of making hardware talk, powering the next generation of the Internet; not just in homes with Wi-Fi or whenever you're in Bluetooth range, but essentially everywhere, any time, through the use of cellular networks.

Konekt focuses on building infrastructure for ubiquitous connectivity, and aims to make sure that integrating this type of connectivity is as painless and inexpensive as possible, allowing you to focus on building great systems and products with connectivity on the go, anywhere.

The Konekt platform features extensive coverage available via Telco networks in over 160 countries, and a range of different cellular plans, allowing you to connect hardware to the Web at an efficient price point with a level of functionality that suits the needs of your application with global accessibility from day one.

Konekt's cloud-based infrastructure for IoT devices allows you to easily create real-time public and private IoT applications using literally any hardware that can be connected to a cellular modem. The Konekt service employs the 2G and 3G bands, supporting HPSA, GPRS and SMS connectivity. As well as injecting data into the cloud service via (appropriately formed and authenticated) SMS, you can also send data back to Konekt's Internet services via REST HTTP.

Short Messaging Service (SMS) offerings are typically very costly for embedded M2M applications when compared to the equivalent amount of data service that would be needed to send the same data. However, SMS connectivity is often needed for notifications to users and certain system integrations.

To provide more competitive SMS rates for your connected devices, Konekt offers an SMS-over-IP solution that leverages the over-the-air data service (cellular data, which is much less expensive for the same amount of bandwidth) and their Internet SMS gateway partners. This service is available for all Internet-connected devices, whether Konekt's cellular network is being used or not.

Konekt provides cellular plans, cloud storage, device management and more, integrated into a single platform in one place. You can track orders and deployment right in your dashboard, and even manage your SIM cards and order more right in the app.

The device management resources are built for developers, with a set of unified APIs and tools provided that enable you to manage, provision and troubleshoot your devices in the field. Konekt provides a simple billing structure, with no complex pricing arrangements or hidden fees, and developers can get started creating an account and trying out the Konekt platform for free.

You can utilise Konekt's subscription engine to white-label the Konekt portal with your brand and seamlessly bill your end users, with pricing and coverage that scales with a pay-as-you-grow model. Whether you're in beta or preparing for your first huge deployment, Konekt can be scaled to meet your needs, instead of the other way around.

Security with the Konekt platform has been taken seriously, and provides enterprise-grade security with secured inbound connections, key management, encryption, static IPs, Private Access Point Names and configuration updates all at the push of a button. By default, devices are isolated and they cannot see one another via data or SMS connectivity.

Your devices are therefore protected from other compromised devices, eliminating attack vectors, mitigating risk and reducing attack payloads. Devices are secured against unauthenticated incoming connections and SMSs, to protect against off-network threats and potential threats originating from the Internet.

Konekt provides a flexible end-to-end toolkit aimed at every mobile embedded IoT connectivity application, with tools and support for deployments of all sizes, whether you have one device or a million. Konekt provides scalable pricing as well as support options for commercial applications, transparent uptime reporting, strong security features, high data throughput and readiness for the most demanding enterprise-grade applications.

With a public REST API, extensive documentation and API examples, Konekt is built to be developer-friendly, with robust, clean APIs that let you focus on building great products. Konekt provides you with access to both the REST API and a Web-based Device Management Portal, making device management more accessible for non-programmer users.

Konekt's pricing is based on the amount of data your devices use. Adjust your data usage as you refine your project, utilise Konekt's cloud services, and choose your support level, with plans that start from just US$1 per month. Data plans are available in over 160 countries so you can connect your product to the Internet just about anywhere, wherever there is cellular coverage.

Data plans are month-to-month and can be changed at any time. Pricing is based on the number of devices deployed, amount of data used per device and the countries you're operating in, with custom plans available for significant large-scale deployments.

Konekt Cloud is a fully managed, reliable and powerful cloud data broker and database solution. Currently free for all devices (cellular and non-cellular), the Konekt Cloud provides a powerful suite of tools that securely route and store the data your devices generate, allowing you to spend less time building and maintaining complex infrastructure.

The cloud platform enables you to quickly create real-time smart IoT solutions by giving you the components you need such as real-time data access, security, storage, data analytics and machine learning. You can use Konekt's hosted service or download the service and run it on your own infrastructure.

With a combination of a secure cloud-based IoT service and affordable cellular data, we look forward to the development of the Konekt platform. And if you have an idea for a new IoT-enabled product or would like to add connectivity to an existing device - here at the LX Group we have the team, experience and technology to bring your ideas to life.

Getting started is easy - join us for an obligation-free and confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

LX is an award-winning electronics design company based in Sydney, Australia. LX services include full turnkey design, electronics, hardware, software and firmware design. LX specialises in embedded systems and wireless technologies design.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.