A new report conducted by Beecham Research and sponsored by Sierra Wireless finds that
enterprises are experiencing challenges in achieving the ‘always-on'
connectivity they need for business critical IoT projects.
As the report notes, new IoT connectivity services and eSIM-based IoT devices - such as Sierra Wireless' Smart Connectivity service and Ready-to-Connect devices
-- help enterprises overcome these challenges, delivering them the
simple, always-on, cost-effective connectivity they need for IoT project
success.
Scaling, Costs and Managing Multiple Vendors Are Top IoT Project Challenges for Enterprises
The report -- Business-Critical IoT Connectivity Solutions: Key Management Challenges --
includes a survey of enterprise IoT users and product manufacturers
that identifies some of these IoT connectivity challenges. For example,
of the survey respondents:
- 80% say they consider scaling IoT projects globally to be quite or very challenging,
- 78% say they consider reducing IoT project Total Ownership Cost (TOC) and Bill of Materials (BPM) costs to be quite or very challenging, and
- 69% say they consider managing multiple vendors during IoT project development and deployment to be quite or very challenging.
The
report also finds that logistical issues associated with traditional
SIMs contribute to these IoT connectivity challenges. These issues are
leading enterprises to look for alternatives to traditional SIM cards,
such as embedded SIMs (eSIMs), with 78% of those surveyed for the report
saying they were either using eSIMs or expected to use eSIMs in the future.
Regarding which eSIM attributes were either quite important or very important to their business,
- 97% of the report's survey respondents said eSIMs' diagnostic tools for fast troubleshooting;
- 89% said the ability to activate eSIMs anytime, anywhere, globally; and
- 87% said eSIM's end-to-end security.
"The
Internet of Things is all about connecting to remote devices for useful
data. The connection itself is crucial - no connection, no data," said
Robin Duke-Woolley, founder and CEO of Beecham Research. "As IoT data
becomes increasingly critical to business operations, enterprises are
realizing they need always-on connectivity if they want fast, reliable,
and secure access to this data. eSIMs and new global IoT connectivity
services help companies gain this always-on connectivity, and with it,
the ability to lower IoT project costs and increase project revenues."
Logistical Issues Associated with Traditional SIM Cards
While
traditional SIM cards have contributed significantly to the success of
the mobile handset market, they lead to inventory management and device
deployment delays in the IoT market. In addition, because enterprises
need to manually replace a device's SIM card if they want to use a
different Mobile Network Operator (MNO), enterprises need to conduct
expensive site visits if they want to switch to an MNO that offers them
better coverage, or a lower price.
The
report finds that eSIM solutions address these and other logistical
issues associated with traditional SIMs. Already used by automobile
manufacturers, eSIM solutions can be inserted into a device's circuit
board during manufacturing and then remotely provisioned later with an
MNO's profile. This enables enterprises to treat eSIMs as a single SKU,
streamlining production processes and reducing inventory management
costs. In addition, because enterprises can remotely update their eSIMs
to connect to a different MNO with better coverage or a lower price,
eSIMs help them improve the reliability and quality of their IoT
connections, while lowering their connectivity costs.
Smart Connectivity and Ready-to-Connect Devices Simplify IoT Connectivity
Sierra Wireless' Smart Connectivity service
is designed to help enterprises overcome their IoT connectivity
challenges, delivering enterprises the simple, always-on, cost-effective
connectivity they need for IoT project success.
Smart
Connectivity offers enterprises access to more than 600 partner
networks in more than 190 countries, allowing their IoT devices to
dynamically identify and connect to the best network options in their
area in real time. Smart Connectivity also features a global Network
Operations Center (NOC) that monitors Sierra Wireless' geo-redundant
core network 24/7/365, helping prevent service disruptions. In addition,
Smart Connectivity provides enterprises with a global, unified device
management platform, allowing them to easily troubleshoot devices,
improve network operations and manage connectivity across all their
devices.
Ready-to-Connect devices feature
eSIMs pre-integrated into Sierra Wireless modules, gateways and routers
that provide enterprises with instant access to Sierra Wireless' Smart
Connectivity service. These eSIMs enable enterprises to activate their
Ready-to-Connect devices over-the-air, eliminating individual device
provisioning. If there is a network outage, these eSIMs automatically
select the next strongest available network in the area. The concealed
pre-integrated eSIMs in Ready-to-Connect modules also help prevent SIM
tampering or theft. In addition, Ready-to-Connect devices include the
latest encryption technologies in the device, network and cloud,
creating layers of protection against cyberattacks.
"At
Sierra Wireless we talk to customers all the time who have seen their
IoT projects stalled by connectivity challenges," said Jim Ryan, SVP
Partnerships, Marketing & IoT Solutions at Sierra Wireless. "We
developed our Smart Connectivity and Ready to Connect offerings to
simplify IoT connectivity for these customers, freeing them to focus on
using IoT data to improve business outcomes."
To learn more, read the full report