Josh Builta - Research Director
As in the past, Omdia expects CSPs will be at the forefront of MWC exhibitors detailing new IoT solutions, products, and services. However, a growing trend in recent years has been the increased activity from nontraditional IoT players.
Most notable is the growing involvement of hyperscalers in the IoT value chain, including in areas beyond their traditional reach such as connectivity and digital twins.
Examples of this include support for LoRa (from both Amazon and Microsoft), introduction of services to support private 5G (Amazon), and acquisitions of satellite communications networks (Amazon). Also, regarding digital twins, both Microsoft and AWS have launched digital twin solutions that enable businesses to create digital representations of real-world assets/systems and run what-if scenarios. MWC presents an ideal venue for hyperscalers to highlight their expanded IoT initiatives, in particular around alternative connectivity options, as they continue to push into areas traditionally controlled by CSPs.
5G IoT applications will also undoubtedly be a key discussion point throughout the show. Unlike the smartphone market, the influence of 5G in the IoT has so far been minimal; however, in 2022, Omdia expects a handful of interesting use cases to appear, such as 5G security cameras and 5G automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for factories. CSPs, of course, are eager to see a game-changing use case emerge, allowing them to monetize the considerable investment they have made in 5G networks.
While it seems highly unlikely such an IoT use case will be introduced at MWC 2022, the Omdia IoT Enterprise Survey does indicate appetite for 5G-powered solutions is considerable among enterprises, with nearly 63% of respondents indicating plans to use 5G in their IoT deployments.
Omdia also expects to hear more about IoT solutions enabled with edge AI/ML capabilities at MWC. With many leading microcontroller unit (MCU) vendors introducing supporting products and services over the last year, AI/ML integration in IoT endpoints has become easier, faster, and less costly. Among the consequences of this solution architecture are reduced latency, increased security, and, most notable for CSPs, less data traveling over networks.
It will be interesting to see how AI/ML functionality at the edge is being utilized by IoT developers to introduce new solutions or to instill new capabilities in existing ones.
Source: Omdia
At MWC, Ericsson will discuss the capabilities of digital twins and the power of interactive collaborative technologies. Ericsson is using network digital twins before proceeding in network updates and simulate 5G rollouts. Omdia believes network operators to understand and plan network (including private) deployments in a cost-efficient way.
Among other services, Unity offers digital twin solutions that allow enterprises to leverage their IoT data and run various simulations at scale, for example on smart city scenarios. At MWC, Unity will discuss the possibilities of digital twins and the power of interactive collaborative technology in enterprise environments. Unity is a company to watch as it will play an important role in building the upcoming metaverse ecosystem across many enterprise verticals.
Having already established true end-to-end capabilities in a key vertical (automotive) it will be interesting to see where Vodafone focuses next. One possibility is healthcare, where Covid-19 has raised demand for adoption of IoT solutions in order drive efficiencies and improve patient care. The company’s recent announcement may indicate more activity in this area by it (and other CSPs) at the show.
You can meet with Omdia's expert team at the following events:
Embedded IoT World (April 5 - 7, Santa Clara , CA)
IoT Evolution (June 22 - 25, Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
IoT World (September 29 – 29, Santa Clara, CA)
