Comcast's MachineQ expands playbook for enterprise IoT

With nearly a decade in business, MachineQ, Comcast's enterprise IoT unit, is well beyond its startup phase.

Following an initial focus on enterprise IoT services delivered via LoRaWAN, a long reach, low power connectivity platform, MachineQ is now more agnostic in its support for other technologies, including Bluetooth Low Energy.

MachineQ is also expanding its game plan as it puts a finer target on marketing a platform, including elements such as devices, network infrastructure and customized installations that can be tailored to various verticals, including life sciences, pharma and hospitality. MachineQ typically seeks out "hero" use cases across those various verticals, Bryan Witkowski, head of product and strategy at MachineQ, explained on the Light Reading Podcast.

Using LoRaWAN for monitoring, alerting and data analysis is still a core part of MachineQ's business, but the company is also working with partners to pursue business across those verticals, Witkowski said. Notably, MachineQ is working with a partner called Spotta to help hotels detect bedbugs before they become a significant issue using optical sensors in tandem with a cloud-powered algorithm, and has teamed up with Georgia Pacific on an automated offering called GP Pro designed to improve the cleanliness, hygiene and efficiency in smart buildings.

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