How are you aligning your organization’s growth initiatives with the strategic imperatives transforming IoT and Edge technologies?
As an expanding network of interconnected devices, platforms, and systems embedded with smart sensors to exchange data, the Internet of Things (IoT) is in a state of constant flux, continually evolving to reshape industries with innovative applications. New developments in electronics miniaturization, cloud computing, fiber networks, and data analytics are enabling devices to intelligently connect and communicate with each other. This is supercharging autonomous operations, energy management, telehealth, predictive maintenance, transportation systems, and supply chain management.
Moreover, IoT solutions are revolutionizing how people and technology interact with each other – from simple household gadgets like smart lighting, TVs, and wearable devices to high-tech industrial devices like smart building systems, industrial drones, and collaborative robots (cobots). This is paving the way for improved decision-making, productivity, customer experience (CX), and resource management across various business functions.
Nonetheless, to fully capitalize on the opportunities brought about by advancements in IoT, businesses must first confront the various obstacles that could limit their growth potential. Let’s examine the top 6 imperatives that ecosystem players must brace for, ranging from innovative business models, and disruptive technologies to transformative megatrends and industry convergence.
- Disruptive Technologies
- Refining Industrial IoT (IIoT) with 5G: Enabling high-speed, low-latency communication in IoT devices by leveraging new business models and partnerships in 5G private networks, thereby driving innovation through applications like autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and cobots.
- Embracing Cellular IoT: Facilitating easy activation and management of IoT connections through embedded subscriber identity modules (eSIMs) or embedded universal integrated circuit cards (eUICCs), while delivering subscription management services that help customers orchestrate IoT networks, devices, and platforms.
- Capitalizing on Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC): Bringing computing power close to customers, thereby improving the performance of mission-critical applications in wireless networks. Also, keeping pace with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to augment device monitoring, traffic routing, and application management.
- Transformative Megatrends
- Focusing on Sustainability: Leveraging IoT for reducing carbon emissions, transitioning to zero-carbon energy sources, and monitoring environmental conditions, as businesses strive to achieve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals.
- Expanding Smart City Infrastructure: Eradicating challenges like urban congestion, environmental hazards, and citizen safety through connected mobility, infrastructure, and buildings. Additionally, improving the efficiency of city services in collaboration with energy, water, security, healthcare, and education companies.
Are you implementing industry best practices to harness the potential of these strategic imperatives for long-term success in the IoT ecosystem?
- Internal Challenges
Integrating Legacy Systems with IoT: Addressing barriers like compatibility issues, data privacy, scalability, change management, system downtime, and regulatory compliance while integrating IoT with existing legacy systems. Moreover, investing in training and strategic partnerships to bridge the digital skills gap in IT workforces.
- Innovative Business Models
Adopting Pay-per-Use IoT and Edge Services: Implementing edge-as-a-service (EaaS) offerings to unify distributed cloud computing, storage, hardware, and sophisticated networking. Further, as IoT devices with usage-based pricing models become more prevalent, fostering the right partnerships and application ecosystems to monetizing IoT data.
- Industry Convergence
- Enabling Industry 4.0: Collaborating with futuristic developers of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), digital twins (DTs), and cybersecurity solutions to simulate real-time operations, optimize product development, monitor performance, and augment risk assessment in Industry 4.0 applications.
- Building IoT Ecosystems for Different Industries: IoT cannot be successful if run in functional silos. This means that businesses face the imperative of collaborating with hardware manufacturers, platform providers, telecom operators, cybersecurity strategists, and cloud providers that specialize in verticalized and customized IoT solutions.
- Competitive Intensity
Remaining Competitive Amid the Rise of IoT Startups: Offering innovative IoT solutions and agile business models to combat competition from emerging startups, while accelerating coopetition with established IoT platform companies to implement best practices.
In conclusion, the future of IoT and Edge services hinges on these imperatives. Ecosystem players who successfully pivot their growth strategies to take advantage of innovative cybersecurity strategies, 5G private networks, low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), and hybrid terrestrial/non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are well positioned to achieve their growth goals, address evolving customer needs, and capitalize on new growth opportunities.
Do your strategists have the analytical tools to identify and implement new growth opportunities that emerge from this transformation?
If not, Frost & Sullivan’s team of growth experts is here to coach you in addressing and mitigating the negative impact of the strategic imperatives listed above, while identifying new growth opportunities for your organization.
