The State of IoT: Audio Roundtable

According to new research from Eseye, three-quarters (78%) of survey respondents expect to increase the number of devices in their IoT estates in the next 18 months, and larger IoT estates anticipate the strongest growth. However, the research revealed a profound change in the benefits derived from IoT in the last 12 months compared to last year’s report.

Nearly 9 in 10 (86%) of respondents this year were more focused on operational efficiencies, reducing costs and increasing revenue and profit – turning to IoT for stability. This is markedly different from the benefits in 2021, where respondents perceived IoT delivering a competitive advantage. This is potentially a response to the worsening economic and geopolitical environment, with organisations prioritising exploiting current assets to ensure the business is prepared for worsening economic conditions.

A parallel and essential component of the IoT ecosystem is Wi-fi. With IDC predicting by 2025, there will be over 55 billion connected devices, it is vital that this environment is integrated to deliver tangible advantages to enterprises.

Indeed, the Ai-Fi Alliance recent stated: “Wi-Fi has been delivering the ‘internet’ in Internet of Things to more applications, more use cases, and more environments than any other IoT technology option,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. “The IoT is meant to enrich people’s lives, and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED solutions deliver the quality, reliability, and security that enable the IoT’s full potential.”

“Wi-Fi addresses the needs of various device types and use cases in the IoT market,” said Phil Solis, research director of IDC. “Wi-Fi can deliver a wide range of data rates and ranges at varying price points because there are an abundance of Wi-Fi chips supporting different levels of complexity and several unlicensed spectrum bands from sub-1 GHz to 6 GHz. It is this diversity in chips designs that allow Wi-Fi to meet the broadest array of IoT product and network requirements.”

McKinsey noted that: “B2B applications are where the majority of IoT value can be created, with around 65% of the estimated IoT value potential by 2030. But the value of B2C applications is growing quickly, spurred by faster-than-expected adoption of IoT solutions within the home.

These twin lanes of development will have some cross-pollination. However, B2B within industries such as healthcare will see significant growth as IoT services and technologies expand. McKinsey also had this to say about the impact COVID-19 has had on the development of IoT.

The continued rollout of the 5G network is also fundamental to the development of IoT across all industries and market sectors. The shift to eSIMs and the availability of private LTE network capability will free businesses to innovate with IoT on an unprecedented level.

The IoT revolution?

To gain an insight into the current state of IoT and how this technology will develop and impact the business landscape, Silicon UK spoke with several service providers to gain their insights.

What is your assessment of the current state of IoT?

Are there specific challenges that businesses still face in making practical use of IoT in their enterprises?

Is the shift to eSIMs fundamental to the wider adoption of IoT technologies?

How will the wider deployment of edge networks accelerate IoT development?

How do multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networks fundamentally accelerate IoT development and deployments?

Must IoT become agnostic to network reliance to fulfil the promise of this technology?

How is security being managed as the IoT industry develops?

As a space for innovation, IoT continues to rapidly develop and expand. The ecosystem IoT offers is unprecedented. For communications service providers and enterprises alike, the IoT landscape is fertile and able to offer a foundation on which new opportunities can be built.