‘We Normalize the Discrepancies of Carrier Platforms Bringing Complete Control of All IoT Connectivity and Edge Devices into One Unified View’: Allen Boone, CEO of Simetric

“Our platform enhances IoT solutions, reduces device management effort, and empowers business growth through business process automation and optimization.”

The world is full of software platforms, and new ones pop up daily. The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t any different. IoT solutions go much more beyond simply connecting a device to the internet. The IoT solutions tie together hundreds upon hundreds of devices. Be it an organization utilizing IoT or an OEM selling IoT-enabled applications, managing the fractured connectivity required to have a well-functioning IoT infrastructure can be nearly impossible, which is why connectivity management platforms have become crucial in IoT. Far from being a mere buzzword, IoT Connectivity Lifecycle Management is an approach or, better still, a business logic that aims to tackle the management of IoT devices as holistically as possible, providing comprehensive ways of dealing with multiple problems and prospects in the industry that all the enterprise owners are, or will be, facing along their way.

Simetric is one such developer of an IoT management platform designed to provide clarity for IoT managed services and deliver immediate results. The company’s platform optimizes rate plans, consolidates across multiple platforms, monitors usage of devices, configure data, and takes action in one intelligent dashboard, enabling clients to gain the ability to control IoT connectivity within their business. Simetric is undoubtedly the next-generation insights and management platform for your IoT ecosystem – in a single pane.

Simetric enables companies coupling device management, applications and connectivity greater control and insights into the performance as your business evolves. With its IoT SaaS platform, it integrates with your existing systems, both in device control and operator connectivity, enabling instant provisioning, rate optimization, anomaly detection and process automation driving increased profitability. Simetric is engineered to help you quickly get insights, optimize assets and take action across your cellular-connected IoT network, regardless of device, operator and geography.

Allen Boone, CEO of Simetric, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review about how his company-built solutions simplify the complex data streams from large-scale connected device ecosystems into a single dynamic view.

“Simetric helps customers use connectivity data in a way they have never been able to before. This new data stream allows for companies to both automate manual business processes to drive process optimization.”

Simetric | Synopsis

A Flashback to how it all began

Allen Boone (CEO and co-founder) and his team recognized an underlying need in the IoT industry in 2017. They identified a lack of fundamental support, standardization and expertise in IoT cellular lifecycle connectivity management. The importance of Simetric’s original vision was their customer. Keeping all these in mind, they created a new platform that encompassed a unified management pane that was established for a company – of any size and any type – to manage all IoT connectivity needs centrally. The company started developing in 2018 and looked broader at what the next phase of IoT could become. This was to unify connectivity and device performance to enable companies to unify non-conforming IoT platforms and move IoT business process execution to the device effortlessly across all the operators’ IoT platforms – in a single pane of glass.

Fast forward to today, Simetric is the industry-leading cross-carrier IoT lifecycle management SaaS platform that simplifies complex data streams from large-scale connected devices into a single-pane format you can access, understand, and act on in real-time. Simetric normalizes the discrepancies of carrier platforms bringing complete control of all IoT connectivity and edge devices into one unified view. Simetric’s platform enhances IoT solutions, reduces device management effort, and empowers business growth through business process automation and optimization.

An IoT Connectivity Lifecycle Management Platform Trusted by Millions

Simetric has built an infinitely scalable platform that is as ubiquitous as the public cloud. The Simetric platform is also designed to provide immediate time to value, routinely 5-10:1 for every dollar spent on Simetric, and be sustainable for predictable monthly management. They not only drive waste out of existing IoT operations but also provide the necessary forward guidance to scale them with financial confidence. They are very selective about whom they partner with to ensure that Simetric’s commitment to customers and customer services are aligned.

Simetric’s top-most priority is their customer. Therefore, the company helps customers use connectivity data in a way they have never been able to before. This new data stream allows for companies to both automate manual business processes to drive process optimization. Also, Simetric does not use the business information on a device but rather how the device utilizes cellular-based connectivity, so there are no PII or privacy concerns.

Simetric has enterprise customers that span from connected transportation to utilities to energy, etc., and has partnerships ranging from well-known MNOs and MVNOs who leverage the platform for internal uses and sell through to their customers. On that note, they also have global system integrators and IoT-focused partners who white label the Simetric platform or integrate the capabilities through APIaaS into their own platforms.

Simetric’s Dream Team

“We have been able to pull together people that know and trust each other. The Simetric management team has all worked together or known each other for many years. We all see the same opportunity to be engaged in something greater than ourselves. We also have a group with diversified skill sets that knows we need to rely on each other for ultimate success by design. Once you have that in place, it’s all about communication, collaboration, and letting people execute!” said Allen Boone.

Thriving During the pandemic

Simetric rebranded and launched under the current company name in May 2020 with marketing brand awareness and a new sales strategy and model launching in parallel. The company built on the new brand and the addition of several robust product features and fully launched marketing demand generation in 2021. Despite the challenges and uncertainties of the pandemic, the new message and product capabilities resonated with companies of every size and industry that Simetric is a solution capable of unified edge device and connectivity control. 2020/2021 YoY growth was 7x, with 2022 expected to be even more substantial.  

The Road Ahead

In the first wave of the IoT, it was all about automation. In today’s world, as IoT devices scale in deployment across numerous operators’ wireless networks, the need to complement device control with analytics and actionable insights becomes critical to executing IoT successfully.

Simetric currently has 180+ carrier platforms and over 850+ APIs that the platform supports. In addition to continually adding more platforms and APIs, the market will learn that we are bringing another major element of edge networking onto the platform, offering customers even more unified efficiencies on top of better policy and orchestration control for their IoT devices. The interest in this expanded scope has been extremely well received as they vetted it with partners and enterprises. Also, the company will focus more on 5G, which is the most significant trend, and how they see the utilization of the software layer stretch down to manage the network layer.

Besides, Simetric is launching edge routing-based management within the platform. “We can now utilize network connectivity understanding to launch and manage policy on cellular-enabled routers. This is the first step in managing connectivity from the carriers but using that information to manage multiple edge devices,” extols Allen Boone.“Important to note that as we are scaling very rapidly, we are most definitely hiring!”

“The Simetric platform is also designed to provide immediate time to value, routinely 5-10:1 for every dollar spent on Simetric, and be sustainable for predictable monthly management.”

The Visionary Leader at the Helm of Simetric

Allen Boone is a Co-founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Simetric. He joined Simetric after a distinguished career with Cisco and Microsoft and several start-up efforts. Allen has more than 25 years of experience in the IT and telecommunications industries and over 20 years in software strategy in corporate strategy, finance, operations, and marketing roles.

Mr. Boone holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Georgia and an MS from Georgia State University.