Global IoT Managed Services Market to Triple by 2025, Says Study

The global internet of things (IoT) managed services market is expected to more than triple by 2025 to reach US$166.7 billion, according to analyst firm Frost & Sullivan, which claimed the five-year outlook for the market would be more than triple that of 2020’s value, which reached US$53.6 billion.

The analyst firm mentioned, growth in the managed services market will rise due to increased IoT adoption by companies looking for services related to assistance across connectivity, cyber security, data management, device management and infrastructure management,

Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Deepali Sathe said, “While the recent pandemic adversely affected expansion across verticals, the impact is expected to be short to medium term, and businesses will recover.

“Technology adoption across verticals has been increasing as the benefits of IoT are quantified for companies to move from pilot and proof of concept stage to implementation,” she informed adding that almost all verticals, such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, utilities, and energy, are expected to regain strong growth trajectories.

The research — which covered Asia Pacific (APAC), North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa — found that APAC is expected to be the fastest growing region for the market, followed by North America.

Sathe said while some APAC countries are ahead due to governments promoting infrastructure development, parts of Asia, Latin America and Africa lag behind, as 2G and 3G form the bulk of connectivity infrastructure in these regions.

North America and Europe however lead the pack in relation to 5G, LTE-M and Narrowband-IoT deployment, but high spectrum costs will result in higher cost of services, in turn affecting providers.

Meanwhile, infrastructure development and regulations face regional disparities, which is a challenge for mobile network operators — an important role within paid IoT connectivity, the research noted.

More importantly, the lack of standardization in the IoT industry has resulted in an extremely fragmented ecosystem. This has led to users struggling to find solutions and devices that are interoperable and compatible with their existing systems, it observes.

The research firm highlights some key recommendations:

• Private mobile networks: Vendors that want to deploy private mobile networks should look for partners that can provide relevant connectivity solutions.
• eSIM and iSIM for global connectivity: As more digital first devices are launched into the market, IoT-managed service providers can leverage this growth opportunity with eSIMs and iSIMs.
• Vertical solutions: Companies must leverage the services and expertise of a managed services provider that can embark on a long term collaborative partnership to execute their IoT strategies and enable their vision.
• Intelligent edge: Managed services providers can deliver the benefits of intelligent edge, including reduced costs, latency, and security risks.

Addressing this challenge and focusing on the following strategic recommendations will offer tremendous growth prospects for IoT-managed services providers, Frost & Sullivan stated.