In fact DT is careful to call the activities it's fostering 'M2M' - the Internet of Things is the outcome, M2M cloud-based applications are its building blocks.

To that end it has this week officially launched its M2M development kit which it hopes will get interested programmers into the M2M game and onto DT's online M2M developer community (www.developergarden.com/m2m) which it is relaunching.

The development kit is an Arduino or a Cinterion board with a GSM chip and a SIM card. With the kit comes with access to the M2M Developer Platform via the online developer community portal. DT says the portal also offers a procedural model which lays out a process for the development of M2M applications - from initial idea, requirements analysis and design to marketing.

DT claims the kit bundles all the tools required to get started with M2M. Developers who already have the hardware required can order the M2M DevFlex kit. All sets include a SIM card complete with a six-month M2M data tariff and private access to the cloud-based M2M Developer Platform. The platform is supplied by Deutsche Telekom in cooperation with cloud specialist Cumulocity GmbH.

The idea is to provide a sort of ladder into real live application production.

Programmers can test the M2M Developer platform free of charge, integrating up to ten devices. The next step is Private Access which enables developers to manage an unlimited number of devices and users.

Once and if development and testing is completed satisfactorily DT will provide a production environment from September so developers will be able place their solution on the market and make use of all of Deutsche Telekom’s M2M services - global marketing of their products, solutions, and services via the M2M Marketplace and the M2M Partner Portal.