Spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) in Europe continues to soar, in spite of global uncertainties ranging from the pandemic to the supply chain.
According to IDC, enterprise IoT spending will reach €207.7bn in 2022 in Europe, while experiencing double-digit growth through 2026. Growth will be particularly pronounced in manufacturing, retail, infrastructure, and healthcare industries, the analyst firm added, ‘where the need to maintain operations and improve performance is imperative.’
The pandemic saw many organisations understandably refocus their technology investment plans. Alexandra Rotaru, research analyst data and analytics Europe at IDC, noted that IoT and automation would frequently be at the core with four key goals top of mind: improving productivity; reducing costs; enhancing the customer experience; and better orchestrating resources and assets.
At the IoT Tech Expo Europe, in RAI, Amsterdam on 20-21 September 2022, there will be myriad examples of brands who are getting it right when it comes to deployments:
- Víctor Garcia, global consumer IoT product manager at Nestlé, will discuss the food manufacturing giant’s consumer IoT platform and how new connected customer experiences are being created
- Julien Bertolini, IoT expert at Volvo, will be speaking in the Applied IoT & Analytics track on how many Volvo factories are using autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) to produce truck parts
- Tarun Rana, senior manager, digital transformation at Henkel, will tell delegates about the chemical company’s digital transformation journey, and a focus around AI, big data, cloud and IoT technologies
From the vendor perspective, part of the maturation in the wider IoT space comes through partnerships. The news is full of them right now. Sensolus and Deutsche Telekom are launching a powerful asset tracking solution. Wyld Networks and Miromico are partnering to target the satellite IoT market. Telit is acquiring Mobilogix to improve time-to-market.
For both enterprises and communication service providers (CSP), a strong partner ecosystem is vital. As John Abraham, principal analyst at Analysys Mason explains in an Ericsson blog, CSPs’ BSS platform capabilities are seen by organisations to be ‘vitally important to support future IoT-based business models.’
“CSPs need to prioritise the transformation of their legacy BSS in order to enable the creation of IoT ecosystems that can attract new participants, help them to retain existing partners and customer bases and support the effective monetisation of their partner-led offerings portfolios,” wrote Abraham. “The automation of process flows and workflows is a necessary first step, but partner enablement is crucial for success.”
Key partners at the IoT Tech Expo Europe 2022 include Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, Bosch, Palo Alto Networks and Amazon Web Services. Laurent Bouchoucha, VP business development network at ALE, will talk about how enterprise networks need to address the main issues modern organisations are facing, while Qiang Huang, senior director, product management at Palo Alto Networks, will explore how organisations can easily implement complete Zero Trust by securing IoT and OT devices.
One other area which will be of vital importance is the integration and interaction between different technologies. For instance, how can artificial intelligence and blockchain complement the IoT? The IoT Tech Expo North America event, in Santa Clara, on October 5-6, will have a key focus on this area in its Applied IoT & Analytics stream:
- Igino Cafiero, CEO and founder, Bear Flag Robotics Group at John Deere, will explore how to enable the autonomous supply chain with IoT, AI, and blockchain
- Muhammad Tariq, chief data scientist at Visionet, will look at wearable IoT devices and AI in the pharmaceutical industry – digitising drug outcomes and disease severity reporting
- Amir Kashani, director AI and digital product development at Stanley Black & Decker, will look at manufacturing with IoT and AI
IoT Tech Expo Europe – 20-21 September 2022 at RAI, Amsterdam. Book your ticket here
IoT Tech Expo North America – 5-6 October 2022 at Santa Clara Convention Center, California. Book your ticket here
Whether you are beginning your IoT journey as an enterprise, or you’re simply looking for inspiration, there will be plenty to explore at IoT Tech Expo Europe and North America. Find out more about the event series here.
