D-Link, a provider of communication network products for residential and business use, has announced an international partnership with Afero, a company that has developed a cloud-based Internet of Things (IoT) platform which, according to D-Link, promises to help improve security. The company says it selected Afero's IoT platform to offer the market a new class of smart and secure products.

Afero's IoT platform covers edge-device connectivity, mobile hubs, cloud integration, and automated development and deployment. The solution enables companies to create and manage the life cycle of their smart products so they can focus on their core businesses.

D-Link hopes to leverage itself as a leading provider of secure, converged network infrastructure equipment, as well as monitoring and cloud-computing solutions for end user and enterprises. The firm operates subsidiaries throughout more than 90 countries. It was established in Brazil in 2001, with connectivity solutions aimed at broadening the network-access experience and supplying Wi-Fi equipment, routers, cloud cameras and solutions for connecting physical spaces.

"The D-Link Smart Water Sensor system leverages the Afero IoT platform for reliability and ease of use," says Jack McGuigan, D-Link's vice president. "Afero provides a scalable, cloud-based platform for a variety of solutions."

"For more than 30 years, D-Link has delivered award-winning communication solutions to the home and business," says Joe Britt, Afero's CEO. "We are thrilled that D-Link has partnered with us to combine our technological innovation with its trusted brand that will enable customers to quickly deploy devices and deploy rich IoT solutions quickly and easily."

Gartner estimates that more than 8.4 billion items will be connected and in use worldwide by the end of 2017, and expects that number to reach more than 20 billion by 2020. Total spending on endpoints and services is expected to reach approximately $2 trillion this year.