5G and eSIM must-haves for IoT enterprises
- August 16, 2023
- Steve Rogerson
Enterprises are continuing to increase spending on IoT and expect to see measurable benefits within two years of deployment, according to Omdia, which found 5G and eSIM were a must for IoT enterprises.
Omdia, part of Informa Tech, is a technology research and advisory group.
IoT deployments play a vital role in many enterprises’ digital transformation strategies, yielding benefits such as productivity gains, costs savings and achieving environmental sustainability goals. As a result, enterprises continue to increase their spending on IoT and are broadly expanding deployments, according to the latest Omdia IoT Enterprise Survey.
The results showed enterprises were deploying, or were in the process of rolling out, IoT and that 95% of respondents expected to see measurable benefits from IoT within two years of deployment.
“While some tech giants have scaled back their IoT efforts, enterprises are embracing IoT and seeing remarkable results,” said John Canali, IoT principal analyst at Omdia and author of the report. “In fact, enterprises are very forward looking in incorporating new technologies like 5G, fixed wireless access (FWA), and eSIM and iSIM technology.”
Omdia’s survey results reveal that while LTE (4G) remains a popular connectivity bearer, over 70% of enterprises are planning to use 5G connectivity. Meanwhile, eSIM and iSIM technologies have or will be adopted by nearly 90% of enterprises over the next two years. This technology will enable enterprises to manage costs better and allow them to renegotiate future connectivity tariffs.
Omdia notes that the survey results suggest very positive growth in the deployment of IoT and suggests there will be a positive knock-on effect for players across the IoT value chain, however there will be increased competition. Enterprises are increasingly reliant on vendors and partners, given that deploying IoT is often complex and requires a diverse array of skills to succeed. Many enterprises cited internally obtaining the relevant resources and skills as a major hurdle.
“Our survey suggests there are a multitude of opportunities ranging from hardware, software, connectivity, services,” said Andrew Brown, IoT practice lead at Omdia. “However, security remains at the forefront of enterprise concerns and vendors must be able to not only offer secure products and services but also be able to effectively integrate into broader options. Vendors that fail to deliver security will find themselves locked out of this growing market.”
