This glossary includes key terms of the IoT (Internet of Things) & M2M (machine-to-machine) communications industry, including wireless and cellular technologies spanning many different markets. It is updated to present current terminology and usage. Your participation and feedback are most welcome—to submit comments, new entries, or suggestions, contact us today.

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
There are 4 names in this directory beginning with the letter N.
Nagios
Software that monitors IT infrastructures. It includes, for example, immediate problem detection.
Near Field Communication (NFC)
Short-range wireless communication between devices, used in applications such as contactless mobile payments, transport ticketing, and phone-as-key. Using NFC, consumers can pay for retail items simply by bringing their mobile phones into the range of the sensor and confirming the transaction. NFC has been overshadowed in IoT applications by other protocols such as BLE.
Nearables
Coined for the similarity to “wearables,” this describes items with nearby tracking devices, or beacons, attached to them. Nearables can communicate with smart devices, such as smartphones, to let the user interact with objects in their vicinity.
NFC
Near Field Communication.