Verizon is betting on the future of enterprise and the internet of things

Verizon Communications Inc.’s announcement of its plan to acquire Fleetmatics Group PLC, coming just days after its deal for Yahoo was inked, is a move that aims to position the company to become a fixture in the internet of things.

Verizon VZ, -0.20% the second-biggest wireless provider in the U.S. by market value, said Monday that it has entered an agreement to acquire Fleetmatics FLTX, -0.07% in a deal valued at $2.4 billion.

Based in Dublin, Ireland, Fleetmatics is a web-based fleet-management company that provides its customers the software and means to track and analyze data about mobile workforces — their drivers and vehicles — in order to operate more efficiently and boost revenue and margins.

The deal, which Verizon said it expects to see close in the fourth quarter of 2016, marks Verizon’s fourth acquisition valued at more than $1 billion since mid-2015, as Deutsche Bank analyst Matthew Niknam pointed out to clients in a recent note.

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Verizon has a long history in the enterprise business — providing companies with wireless or wire-line internet, phone and TV — but that’s no longer enough, Niknam said. A big part of providing services to companies is offering what Fleetmatics brings.

“What got them to the dance, you know, Fios and wireless, has sort of matured and now Verizon is looking to what’s going to be next,” Niknam said. And that means continuing its investments in the enterprise and the so-called internet of things business — categories that Niknam couples.

Verizon’s Fleetmatics acquisition underlines its commitment to the internet of things, according to Forrester principal analyst Dan Bieler. “In terms of [internet of things] revenues, this deal helps to improve Verizon’s positioning, and it will provide a tiny bump for the company’s bottom line, at least in the short term,” Bieler wrote. “That being said, I will add that the acquisition is the easy part, successful integration is much harder because it is about business process support.”

Verizon has been on a shopping spree lately, last week zipping up a high-profile deal to buy Yahoo Inc.’s web business for $4.8 billion. Last year Verizon bought AOL for $4.4 billion.