IoT Predictions for 2023: How Did We Do?

Larry Socher

SVP Strategy & Alliances

LinkedIn

As we enter into a new year, it can only mean one thing… the arrival of our latest IoT trends and predictions report!

In 2023, we predicted that the industry was on the cusp of a major inflection point and it would be “the year control shifted from the network operator to the enterprise and the device.” 

Before we share our predictions for 2024, let’s see whether this statement became true and review how each of our five forecasted trends did…

1. The MNO proprietary lock-in finally cracks with increased choice and the hyper scaler threat.

While we were right about the MNO lock breaking, it was not the hyper scaler threat that actually broke this stranglehold.  

Instead, it was a combination of the adoption of eSIM (multi-IMSI, eUICC, Remote SIM Provisioning), the growing strength of MVNOs, and the emerging IoT or pull model that emulated the Consumer model that ultimately increased mobile network operator choice and put the power in the hands of the enterprise.

2. Interoperability between public and private networks becomes a priority.

Several use cases including mining, manufacturing, warehousing, and others have seen increased interest in and testing of private networks. We also saw an increased focus on the need to roam between public and private networks to support use cases such as a truck leaving a private network at a mine and roaming onto a public network as it traverses the highway and travels to a terminal to transport ore.

We saw similar interest from the utilities industry too, and tested roaming from Ericsson and Nokia private networks to AT&T at an industry event in Minneapolis. However, the adoption of private networks has been very slow to date, mainly due to the challenges of integrating and operationalizing these networks. There is also a lack of standards on how to roam to and from private and public networks, particularly for transitioning back to private networks when the public network is still available.

3. The ascendance of ‘network agnostic’ and ‘multi-RAT.’

We clearly saw evidence of our customers starting to use multiple Radio Access Technologies (RAT) to solve problems, as illustrated by one of our customers Telli Health offering both cellular and LoRaWAN solutions for their remote patient monitoring devices.

We are starting to see IoT devices use multiple modems and radios to increase resiliency and minimize cost. Examples include electric vehicle (EV) chargers that use a combination of cellular and WiFi or Zigbee through a cellular gateway to cluster deployments. With modem pricing continuing to fall, particularly for WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Thread, we are working with many of our customers to design multi-RAT connectivity for their next-generation devices.

4. Consumer and enterprise IoT use cases converge to create new connectivity challenges. 

While we are still early in the adoption cycle, we have seen signs of consumer and enterprise convergence in the digital home. In energy management, we are noting an acceleration of EV chargers in the home that draw the greatest load and increasingly integrate with the grid to control charging amperage over the day, as a part of a broader demand response optimization approach.

We are also seeing an increased rise in remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions managed by Telli Health, Biofourmis, and other providers.

The line between consumer and enterprise home security deployments are blurring after ADT’s announcement of Google Nest solutions for their DIY solutions.

5. IoT starts and ends with the device.

This is more a philosophy than a prediction. While we had always known the importance of device design based on how much work we were doing with our customers, some analyst research amplified the importance. In 2022, Kaleido Intelligence interviewed 750 enterprises and found that hardware design was the biggest IoT challenge for 84% of respondents.

Based on the Kaleido research and our prediction, in 2023 we bet heavily on the device. We officially launched our AnyNet SMARTconnect™ connectivity software and updated our line of Hera IoT edge gateway routers.

We also overhauled our design through to deployment services catalog, released our IoT LaunchPad retainer services, along with the industry’s first IoT Readiness Level Framework to help customers assess their readiness to launch, and identify gaps and projects to ensure a successful deployment.

We also co-authored a Connected-by-Design whitepaper with Matt Hatton at Transforma Insights which amplifies the importance of getting the device design right up front.

The emphasis on proper device design has yielded substantial growth in Device Intelligence solutions, with positive feedback from customers and partners. This prediction proved correct in our survey of over 1,000 global IoT deployment projects which found that the number one IoT challenge for more than 80% of respondents was device firmware design and optimization, not basic connectivity.

What’s next for IoT in 2024?

Our 2023 predictions were extremely disruptive, and reflected the industry was going through a massive shift in power from the mobile network operator to the enterprise.

By examining these trends and observing the industry’s movements, it is possible to predict what will happen in 2024. All roads lead to the intelligent device…

Larry Socher

SVP Strategy & Alliances

LinkedIn

Larry spent the last 26 years at Accenture where he was most recently responsible for all Cloud & Infrastructure solutions and partnerships globally. During his tenure, Larry ran the Enterprise Network Practice, was CTO of the Service Provider Network Practice which he then proceeded to run operationally.  Larry leveraged a unique blend of deep cloud, network/5G, device, IoT/Edge and operations/AIOps skills and experience to help large enterprise, government agency and communications service provider clients transform their businesses, navigating an increasingly complex ecosystem to help them take advantage of the convergence and disruption in the market. Larry graduated from Dartmouth College with BA Major in Economics and English. Larry also holds three patents.