Cloud services company Prodea Systems Inc. has acquired Internet of Things platform provider Arrayent Inc. to deliver what it says will be the world’s first managed IoT services platform.

Prodea, which is based in Richardson, Texas, said Tuesday that the newly created platform will be able to absorb data from an array of IoT sensors and devices, before transforming it into useful insights that can be used to improve consumer and enterprise applications.

The combined platform will be ideal for data-intensive industries where real-time monitoring, data intelligence and predictive analytics can make a significant difference to organizations’ bottom lines, Prodea said. It added that the new offering will do this by helping companies to deepen user engagement, differentiate products and services and improve business efficiency for organizations in healthcare, smart cities, utilities and more.

The two companies appear to be a good fit, at least on the surface. Prodea has made a name for itself as a leading IoT services provider for telecommunications firms, cable operators, and governments. Its platform offers features such as performance monitoring, provisioning, tracking billing for services and integration with customer back-office systems.

For its part, Arrayent’s platform is targeted at consumer brand manufacturers, delivering capabilities such as remote device management, security, data collection and integration with third-party clouds to enable interoperability among different IoT products. Arrayent said its platform is used to manage more than 1.5 million connected consumer devices, including smart appliances, residential lighting, HVAC/water controls and other electrical devices.

The newly combined platform’s biggest advantage is it offers manufacturers and service providers a way to tap into interoperable products and provide greater value through managed IoT services, said Prodea Vice President of Marketing Peter Radsliff.

“For example, a cable operator might sell a package of smart home services which could include lighting, door locks or garage door openers, security cameras, plus include third-party interoperability with a connected thermostat, smoke detector and virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Home,” Radsliff said.

Prodea said it expects to finish integrating the two platforms soon, though it didn’t provide a timeframe. However, Radsliff said integration work has been underway since earlier this year, and the two companies would continue to provide ongoing, uninterrupted services to their customers in the meantime.

“Because there is so little overlap, and a lot of complementary functionality, we are already offering solutions to customers that combine the benefits of both platforms,” Radsliff said. “Of course, there will be synergies and optimization that can be gained over time, but the company is not being slowed down by an integration hurdle.”

Image: Prodea/Arrayent