Our M2M event discussion will revolve around supply chain and fleet management in Austin September 13- 15. To make this more of a personal story for people, I decided to focus on personal vehicles. 

You are probably too young to remember a commercial that shows a few teenage boys seeing the keys in a car and jumping in, only to crash the vehicle at the end of the commercial. That image was so powerful, that 40 percent of us in the U.S. think that is the primary way that cars get stolen. The reality is that cars are stolen primarily to get resold or chopped up which is why 43 percent of the cars stolen are never recovered (2009 FBI data).

Another misconception is that new cars are the target of the thieves. The reality is that older models are popular with the average age of cars being stolen at 11 years old.  The latest press release from LoJack is about the use of its system for classic cars, which allows the owners to install it themselves; however, popular cars are still popular targets.

But the targets go beyond cars.

Targets for theft are somewhat surprising in the fact that even large construction vehicles get stolen with over 77 percent of them being stolen while on a work site, and it’s not limited to the vehicles but instead, most construction equipment.

For me personally, I know the pain since I had a laptop stolen when I went on vacation. According to LoJack, 2 million laptops are stolen annually which equates to a 10 percent chance of my computer being history. I now consider the use of security systems more important than virus protection.

In the world of transporting goods, theft could be targeted to your product or suffer from the random problem of being transported by something being stolen. 

In the end, recovering the valuable requires some planning. 

Want to learn more about M2M technologies? Then be sure to check out the M2M Evolution conference, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. The M2M Evolution Conference is for those industry professionals interested in capitalizing on a rapidly growing segment of the telecom industry. The M2M Evolution Conference embraces the any-to-any strategy of the Internet today. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media, it showcases the solutions, and examines the data strategies and technological requirements that enterprises and carriers need to capitalize on a market segment that is estimated to grow to $300 Billion in the year ahead. To register, click here.