Meet Rony Cohen, Co-Founder & Head of Business Development at floLIVE: The World’s First Global, Hyperlocal Data Network

floLIVE operates the first and largest global, hyperlocal data network of its kind.

With a global carrier library based on an array of interconnected local core mobile networks, we provide centrally managed local connectivity for any device, anywhere. Global means no limits on where you do business; local means low latency, high performance, and full compliance. Our network has been designed to comply with the emergence of privacy acts, data regulations and roaming restrictions.

We provide direct access to our network, that lets you control your connectivity as if you were the carrier. Monitor your devices, access real-time network events and usage, switch operators remotely, and troubleshoot failures ahead of time, so your devices never miss a beat. We are a UK registered company with ~130 employees; we have offices in Israel, Bulgaria, United States and China, from where we provide local business and technical support to our customers and partners.
 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
We have realized that with the penetration of IoT into our lives, there was a large gap between what the “IoT ecosystem” needed, and what mobile operators were able to provide; that was, and still is, mainly due to the inherent structure of mobile operators that was designed to support human (smartphones, tablets) subscribers and not things.

IoT is global, while MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) are local – therefore no single MNO can effectively serve global enterprises that have to deploy, manage and operate a large number of devices anywhere in the world, while keeping operational costs reasonable and complying with emerging regulations. So the idea was to create some kind of mediator between MNOs and these global enterprises.
 
 

 

What do you think makes this company unique?

 
Our uniqueness can be summed up in several aspects:

• We are first a technology vendor, with 4 major software building blocks which we have designed and developed from the ground up, and fully own – this is key when it comes to deployment flexibility and the ability to quickly react to the ever-changing requirements and trends of the IoT world – both technically and commercially.
• We have built the world’s first and largest global, hyperlocal network that hosts a connectivity library of over a dozen mobile operators, and continuously growing as more mobile operators join this “alliance”. This special global network allows us to localize any type of connected device anywhere in the world, so that it experiences superb performance, unmatchable support and full compliance with regulations such as GDPR, Permanent Roaming, Data Sovereignty and more. Our customers benefit from a single vendor that provides all their global connectivity needs, with one SIM, one contract and one bill at the end of the month, covering all their devices globally.
• Both our technology and global network are constantly receiving industry recognition by leading mobile operators and IoT Service Providers who have elected floLIVE as their infrastructure and connectivity provider. Furthermore, we have recently signed a strategic agreement with Ericsson, who will now, after a long due diligence process, resell our full platform under their brand (full white label solution).

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

 
I would divide our evolution into three pillars:

A major part of the company’s evolution was to streamline all technologies into a single, coherent, and well-orchestrated platform.

Another very important part of this evolution was building a unique global network that requires a lot of resources for designing, building, and maintaining it – this is one of our important assets.

The third pillar was understanding the IoT and connectivity ecosystem, its major players and where is it heading, and tune our offering to the market segments and solutions we believe are advantageous to us.
 

What can we hope to see from floLIVE in the future?

 
I believe that in the near future floLIVE will become the leading global connectivity infrastructure provider to all links in the IoT value chain: Connected device manufacturers, IoT MVNOs, Mobile Operators, and Cloud hyperscalers.

In recent years we have seen that the number of real technology providers is being reduced, and the strong players with a modern, robust, and highly flexible technology will be the ones to thrive.