The Zigbee Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open, global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), announced that STMicroelectronics has joined its Board of Directors. Along with other Zigbee Alliance promoter member companies, ST is set to play a vital role in the adoption and evolution of Zigbee, aiming to simplify development for manufacturers and increase device compatibility for consumers.
“In both the consumer and industrial markets, demand for reliable IoT connectivity is expanding fast and the trend towards wireless technologies is growing tremendously – whether in smart-home solutions, asset-tracking production tools, or building control,” said Hakim Jaafar, Head of Marketing for Wireless Microcontrollers at STMicroelectronics. “As a leading and trusted Arm Cortex-M supplier to both top OEMs and the mass market committed to propagating Zigbee technology in its 2.4GHz product roadmap, ST supports the mission of the Zigbee Alliance and joined the board to share our expertise and help continue the Alliance’s success.”
The inclusion of wireless technologies in ST’s microcontroller product portfolio delivers key benefits for greater flexibility in device architecture and faster transition for the mass market to add connectivity. With the evolution of the connectivity and IoT markets, the STM32 MCU/MPU products include strong integrated security mechanisms to guarantee IP and privacy protection. ST’s membership at the Zigbee Alliance Board of Directors level aims to bring more visibility to the technology and accelerate new product developments with improved interoperability and cross-technology compatibility.
“STMicroelectronics plays an important role in powering next-generation IoT devices, and their leadership will be a great value-add at the board level and within working groups as we work diligently to create communication and connection standards that can be cast across continents,” said Tobin Richardson, President and CEO, Zigbee Alliance. “As we head into 2020, it’s extremely encouraging to see the impressive collection of global tech organizations like ST that are committed to cooperation and interested in taking a seat at the Alliance table."