The IoT market is expected to grow 18% this year, reaching more than 14.4 billion active connections. Predictions even estimate that there will be more than 27 billion connected devices by 2025, according to IoT Analytics. With that expected growth and changing market conditions, we expect to see continued innovation in IoT.

Drawing from our own experience, insights from Ryan Chacon at IoT for All and Hologram’s VP of Product Caspar Yen, and what we’re hearing from our customers and others in the industry, we’ve pulled together some key IoT trends we expect to see in 2023.

Market conditions and external factors

Even with the current macroeconomic conditions, we continue to see growth and innovation in IoT. A couple of contributing factors include:

• Education: The Internet of Things is complex but with more devices entering the market, consumers have a better understanding, increasing adoption.
• Cost of components: The cost of developing and deploying connected devices has come down, making IoT more attainable.
• Innovations in technology: Technological advancements in batteries, networks, modems, and more have made connecting devices even easier.
• COVID-19: The pandemic proved that we can operate remotely, both personally and professionally, creating a need for more connected devices.

Aside from the macroeconomic conditions that we’re all familiar with, global connectivity has also faced some challenges. Permanent roaming used to make it easy for IoT deployments to cross borders, however, regulations in countries like Brazil and Canada have started to make this more difficult. These new regulations will continue to evolve what connectivity solutions deployments can rely on and accelerate the need for direct access to networks.

On the consumer side, Apple recently announced the iPhone 14 will only use eSIMs, changing how SIMs are leveraged. In IoT, eUICC SIM cards allow over the air updates and provide the ability to change networks. This allows for global redundancy, enabling global connectivity from a single SIM card. With the changing regulations and the ability to manage connectivity remotely, eUICC technology continues to be the way of the future.

API-driven platforms

Managing an IoT deployment is vastly different from managing an individual cell phone or connected device. Having an API-driven platform simplifies how users can manage their devices. This includes the ability to tag devices based on specific criteria, take bulk actions like activating and deactivating devices, set up alerts to detect fraudulent activity, and more.

Beyond managing devices, API-driven platforms also give users access to the data coming from connected devices. We’ve seen companies like Ping Monitor use edge computing to analyze sound data collected from wind turbines and convert the results into a picture that is sent every eight hours via cellular IoT. This gives users access to the extensive data without sending large files.

Data coming from IoT devices can be extremely valuable for businesses and even enable new lines of business.

Recommended reading: IoT APIs: A guide to Application Programming Interfaces

Predictive analytics

Once companies collect the data from their IoT devices, there are many ways it can be used. Many companies use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to predict device behavior. These growing technologies can also have a huge impact on connectivity, and will continue to play an important role in IoT in 2023.

IoT security remains critical

Security shouldn’t be an afterthought when it comes to connected devices. Not only does connectivity open your business up to unexpected threats, but it can be expensive to build later.

Working with a connectivity partner that integrates security as a key part of their offering will continue to be important. Features like IMEI locks, dynamic IPs, fraud detection, among others, will continue to evolve and should be top of mind for 2023.

Connectivity in today’s market

Our current economic conditions are top of mind for businesses across the globe. Sensors and connectivity are making our world more machine-enabled, helping businesses optimize processes and create new workflows that can open up new opportunities to drive additional revenue.

Thinking ahead to 2023, find a connectivity solution that supports innovation with reliable coverage to help you uncover those new opportunities.

Hear Caspar Yen and Ryan Chacon dive into these topics.