Nearly any connected device used for your business can become a conduit for “Internet of Things” services and solutions. As you add more IoT devices, use cases, and users, your business might also encounter new levels of complexity and many benefits.

Consider that by 2030, industry experts anticipate that there will be over 29 billion IoT-connected devices in the world. So, businesses everywhere are likely to face learning curves and challenges over the next decade.

Managed IoT solutions can help handle these exciting new tools to avoid complications and enjoy seamless connectivity. Here, we'll explore what managed IoT connectivity services are and the many benefits that make managed IoT worthwhile.

What are managed IoT connectivity services?

Managed IoT connectivity services enable reliable, continuous coverage, working with a broad range of mobile carriers worldwide. Managed IoT providers strive to deliver functionality, instilling clients' confidence that their devices will work no matter where their connected users are and without needing Wi-Fi services.

Rather than placing the enormous responsibility of managing massive amounts of data generated from IoT devices and sent over these platforms on internal IT teams, many businesses are exploring the world of managed IoT services with cellular connectivity.

What do managed IoT services typically provide?

Managed IoT service companies typically provide a range of unique services. Each provider works to find ways to serve its selected industry and respective clients.

Device management and deployment

The real value in a device management platform comes from the ability to act on alerts and find opportunities to optimize costs. Device management and deployment services allow you to monitor and analyze your various devices and deployments easily: network activity, geographic distribution, and device status (including pausing, activating, or deactivating devices through the device management platform). These services also allow you to isolate specific devices to determine usage and get an overview of how well they are working at any moment.

Cellular connectivity

Cellular connectivity enables IoT services to work with a broad range of devices, systems, standards, and protocols across the digital ecosystem. A managed IoT service can help you manage the various parameters, such as data speed, transmission range, and functionality needed to keep everything running smoothly in a complex IoT environment.

Network management

Network management focuses on supporting IoT-related operations like route management, security management, and device monitoring to provide a reliable network performance. Your provider should help you select the right profile for your use case. This may include prioritizing things like:

• Low latency
• Low energy consumption
• Low packet loss

Network management is important in an IoT environment since your customers will likely rely on a variety of devices to make up their networks. As a result, it'll be crucial to facilitate peak communication and resource sharing.

Why use managed IoT services?

Managed IoT services offer businesses multiple advantages and daily benefits to ensure they get the most out of their IoT services. Here are just a few specific reasons businesses are relying on managed IoT.

Ensures secure data and connections

Managed IoT services help to develop and ensure proper security protocols to protect each client's system and data with the following strategies:

• Anonymizing all data with encryption software solutions
• Preventing devices from randomly starting network connections to reduce mysterious moves
• Implementing strict password change requirements
• Listening to client support calls carefully before investigating and pushing out solutions to all clients

Enables rich data collection and analysis

With so many IoT devices in play within each ecosystem, businesses stand to collect and analyze vast tomes of data. It's difficult to imagine individual businesses having the capabilities of analyzing the data without the specialized skills of a managed IoT enterprise fully trained and prepared to ensure rich and timely data collection and analysis.

APIs are a powerful way for businesses to get the most accurate and complete data surrounding their IoT solutions. With an API, users can communicate with connected devices (whether they need to send or receive data), access information about them, and make decisions or take actions based on that data. APIs and IoT work together in several ways, from activating devices as a part of fleet management to preventing fraud by creating alerts if a SIM card is stolen.

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

Creates more effective operations management

An increasing number of business leaders are leveraging IoT to improve operations management, production efficiency, and implement cost-effective measures. According to IIoT World, manufacturers implementing Industrial IoT have gained an 82% increase in efficiency and 49% fewer defects.

Industries that benefit from managed IoT services

Let's explore how a few industries are using managed IoT services:

• Retail shops are using IoT-managed services to offer shoppers a "smarter" shopping experience with personalized ads, content, and deals. IoT also helps determine optimal staffing levels, real-time inventory tracking, and in-store buyer behavior tracking.
• Manufacturing organizations are experiencing massive transformations relying on IoT services. IoT allows these businesses to collect and analyze data on various machinery, monitor the production process in real time, and connect machines and devices to the internet seamlessly.
• Fleet management IoT usage allows logistics companies to track and monitor vehicles no matter where they are. But IoT services do so much more for fleet management, ensuring predictive maintenance, asset and cargo management, route planning, fuel assessment and management, and driver safety and behavior.
• Industrial IoT (IIoT) performs multiple tasks, such as monitoring and controlling building temperatures for sensitive products and projects, providing risk mitigation and disaster prevention strategies, and improving security and safety.
• Mobility IoT services help to plan, design, and implement tailored end-to-end mobility solutions.
• Healthcare industry leaders rely heavily on IoT-managed services, with the global Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) expected to grow to over $158 billion by the end of 2022. The uses of IoMT are many and varied, including remote patient monitoring with home systems, patient medication tracking, and patient wearable devices to track vitals at all times.
• Logistics companies are using IoT and AI to revolutionize the struggling supply chain with mobile computing, cloud services, and analytics fueled by managed IoT services.
• Smart agriculture is taking advantage of the power of IoT, using it to collect and analyze machinery and environmental metrics, gain more control of internal processes, and detect and prevent issues with livestock and crops.
• Point of sale (POS) uses connectivity to track customer behavior, enable sales associates to complete transactions anywhere in the store, and perform live inventory updates.

Benefits of managed IoT services

Working with a reliable managed solution (https://www.hologram.io/blog/iot-platform-overview/) can optimize the process of using IoT-connected devices to extract or analyze data. This helps businesses make better, more informed decisions based on hard data.

Here are just a few of the other benefits businesses experience when trusting in managed IoT services.

Taps into professional expertise

Ultimately, the most significant advantage of enlisting an IoT-managed services platform is the access to their professional expertise. Having direct access for professional assistance from these skilled and talented IoT specialists, can save time, money, and energy. This prevents you from running into costly mistakes and delays.

Accurately identifies your business’ connectivity needs

A top managed IoT services team can help you identify your business needs and how to reap the most rewards from your available connectivity. They will start by working with you to determine your required resources and identify your needs to deploy the best IT-based solution for your business.

Streamlines workflows

Using an IoT managed service that provides an API allows you to communicate easily with your connected devices at scale. This lets you integrate with your existing tech stack to send, receive, and access device data from anywhere in the world.

Allows for swift IoT deployment

A managed IoT service can help reduce the time-consuming process of implementation and development. Outsourcing from IoT managed services will allow you to adopt, implement, and deploy your IoT solution swiftly and effectively.

Increases productivity all-around

Your managed IoT service provider will help you get the most out of all your IoT technology. You and your team can focus your resources on core areas that drive revenue, letting you streamline how you use personnel to ensure you maintain focus on business growth, customer management, and customer satisfaction.

Upgrade your IoT management with Hologram

For scaling IoT solutions, Hologram can help at every stage. Our platform will monitor IoT deployments, collect and analyze data, protect network security, and enable businesses to connect and manage any device anywhere in the building or the world using global IoT SIM cards.

Contact our team to learn more about Hologram managed IoT services and how to choose and customize your plan.