Differentiation in IoT Connectivity Among Fierce Competition

Infrastructure

• The supplier’s core network is globally distributed, and architected to be deployed in a flexible manner.
• This means that operators’ end-customers can benefit from lower-latency, real-time connectivity monitoring, improved operations support as well as the ability to better manage data sovereignty requirements.

Deployment Transparency

Traditional connectivity management solutions may view themselves as being transparent – after all, they typically provide customers with a solid view of SIMs in various lifecycle states, billing cycle information as well as data consumption levels across the device estate. However, providing this information does not offer the customer with an understanding of what is happening with the overall connectivity solution beyond a skin-deep level: and here is where some key innovation in the market is taking place.

While it is true that some IoT customers will prefer to utilise the service provider’s API suite to ingest and analyse connectivity information in their own backend systems, this is highly dependent on the customer type and persona accessing the information. In addition to this, more complex data presentation is no simple matter for customers to develop themselves.

The below chart highlights how providers are approaching monitoring some core aspects of what could be considered beyond ‘table stakes’ transparency; it is evident that only a small number of players are excelling in this domain:

• Network availability (ie what is the status of network availability across my SIM estate; are there problems with roaming partners)
• Anomalous SIM behaviour (suspicious behaviour detected beyond simple data or cost threshold breaches)
• QoS (Quality-of-Service) monitoring (how is my SIM estate performing in terms of latency, API performance etc.)

Connectivity Access

Beyond connectivity infrastructure and the ability to manage that connectivity through middleware is the fundamental building block: the connectivity itself. Here, we also see differentiation in the market as regulations and commercial restrictions mean that new approaches to international connectivity are required. The use of eSIM is a common denominator among providers aiming to address these types of markets, while eSIM itself is often demanded by customers as a means of long-term insurance: should the business require it, the over-the-air programmable nature of eSIM means that no physical truck rolls are required to provision a new connectivity provider.

Today, eSIM, multi-IMSI and the overall roaming footprint of IoT connectivity providers form the bedrock of enabling a flexible connectivity solution for customers. One of the key pain points that has observed over years of conducting enterprise IoT-focused surveys is the fact that it is often a requirement to engage with more than one service provider to meet international connectivity requirements. As such, the level of choice, as well as access to key markets allows providers to differentiate from the competition that, in some instances, is struggling to move beyond a simple global roaming solution. While not an absolute guide for leading performance, providers that typically enhance their connectivity offer through access to eSIM profiles or IMSIs from donor partners are both at the forefront of resolving regulatory or commercial restrictions, while also capable of offering a single-pane-of-glass solution for highly distributed connectivity deployments.