Deutsche Telekom are usually one of the guys sitting at the top table, but this takes it up a level. Those crafty Germans have won a new contract to connect millions of elevators.

Alongside partner in crime Huawei, DT will start working with Kone (global leader in the elevator and escalator industry according to the press release) to support the connection of more than a million elevators, escalators and building doors. We thought Monday was a rollercoaster ride, but Tuesday has just become truly mind blowing.

“Partnering is one of the most important prerequisites for innovation today. In terms of the Internet of Things, no company can go at it alone and scale up with a global footprint,” says Tomio Pihkala, CTO at Kone.

“Through our cooperation with T-Systems and Huawei, we will be able to move more quickly and bring more value to our customers. And by working with a strong partner ecosystem we will be able to continue to lead innovation in our industry.”

Devices from Huawei will be able to record and analyse certain mechanical and engineering data sets to understand whether an elevator is broken or about to be broken. No longer will engineers have to have that awkward conversation when they arrive:

It is the digital economy at its finest. You don’t have to talk to anyone, you can just go about your day staring at a screen.

That said, for people who are involved in facilities management, it might be useful. If you gather enough data, understand the conditions prior to a failure, you can start to do predictive maintenance. It might help out a few companies which have offices one the second or third floor. Can’t have staff tiring themselves out on the stairs.

We are not convinced however. If other organizations are anything similar to ours, getting enough toilet paper in the bathrooms is a challenge; we’re not too sure whether predictive maintenance on lifts are going to be top of the list.