An increasing number of devices are now permanently connected via mobile networks. From smart energy meters and medical sensors to lorries, buses, and drones. Each relies, to a greater or lesser extent, on a stable data connection.
Historically, many IoT projects primarily focused on the availability and reliability of new hardware or sophisticated algorithms. Nowadays, however, connectivity is increasingly the decisive factor in the stability of IoT solutions.
Consequently, the decision between managed and unmanaged mobile connectivity is becoming ever more critical.
Mobile connectivity and IoT
The simplest form of mobile connectivity is the old-fashioned SIM card that we insert into a device and manage ourselves. Every smartphone user can do this and indeed does so. In essence, IoT devices are connected in much the same way.
Within a business context, organisations typically oversee the mobile connections of their employees’ smart devices. This often means using individual SIM cards or standard data bundles from one or more providers.
Organisations can, with or without the assistance of a mobile management platform, carry out several basic administrative tasks themselves. These include activating SIM cards, permitting or blocking roaming, and keeping tabs on usage and costs.
This often works perfectly well for smaller IoT deployments. A pilot involving a few dozen devices is relatively easy to manage. Yet, as soon as IoT solutions scale up to hundreds or thousands of devices, the complexity skyrockets. This is particularly true if there isn’t a human user nearby to intervene or check for changes. And that’s without even mentioning the challenges of managing all these devices across national borders.
Different providers, varied contracts, and limited insight into data usage then quickly lead to mounting operational pressure. What began as a simple connectivity layer gradually transforms into a tangled web of loose ends.
Managed mobile connectivity
With managed connectivity, you centralise the oversight of your entire mobile connectivity layer through a specialist platform. This includes centralised SIM and eSIM management, real-time monitoring, network selection, data limits and policies, and roaming agreements.
This establishes a single, manageable infrastructure for all connected devices, regardless of location or network provider. It’s a structure that guarantees control, automation, and scalability for your connectivity.
Reliability
And this is increasingly crucial to the success of business-critical IoT applications. A device that goes offline can have an immediate impact on core business processes, safety or service delivery.
A lorry’s tracker might be out of range for an hour or so and still transmit its data afterwards. But that’s simply not an option for a patient in an ambulance. The medical data for emergency services cannot wait that long.
Managed connectivity solutions, therefore, often offer multi-network access, automatic fallback to other providers, or intelligent network selection, in addition to active monitoring and alerts for connections. This ensures a device stays connected, and the user retains visibility over it.
Cost control
Although mobile data becomes more affordable each year, costs can quickly escalate when dealing with large numbers of devices. Unexpected expenses can become a significant issue, particularly with roaming, incorrect configurations, or uncontrolled data usage.
Managed connectivity often provides real-time insight into consumption, configurable data limits, warnings for unusual usage, and the necessary information to optimise data bundles. This brings predictability to operational costs.
Examples
In mobile patient monitoring, network outages can have a direct impact on the continuity of care. Many healthcare organisations therefore opt for managed connectivity solutions that offer redundancy and real-time monitoring. Managed connectivity also simplifies the secure deployment of large numbers of devices across multiple locations or care networks.
Within the logistics sector, everything revolves around real-time insight. Transport companies need to know where vehicles are, how goods are being transported, and whether temperature-sensitive products remain within specified limits. Managed connectivity ensures the supply chain remains more visible and predictable.
The energy sector is also increasingly relying on IoT. Smart meters, charging points, solar farms, and network sensors continuously generate data. This demands high availability, long lifecycles, and robust security.
For smart grids, stable connectivity is also essential for real-time balancing within the electricity network.
Not always necessary, yet often vital
Despite the advantages of managed solutions, unmanaged connectivity is not necessarily a bad thing. For small-scale pilots, temporary projects and local implementations, a straightforward mobile solution may suffice. However, as soon as IoT solutions become business-critical and/or expand internationally, the requirement shifts towards centralised management and automated monitoring.
In a world where billions of devices communicate with one another, mobile connectivity is therefore more than just technology. It is the silent infrastructure underpinning the digital economy.
And you’ll certainly want to maintain control over that. Anywhere, anytime.
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