Author: Michele Mackenzie, chief analyst of Analysys Mason Research.
Analysys Mason identified four operators as “pioneers” in its latest Operator IoT Scorecard 2021: AT&T, China Mobile, Telefónica and Vodafone.
These telecom operators have succeeded in the IoT market because their businesses have mutually supportive aspects-a huge connection base helps to fund investments in new horizontal and vertical solutions, thereby helping to promote The number of new connections.
This article summarizes the advantages of pioneers. It is based on the research and analysis of Analysys Mason’s sixth carrier Internet of Things research, Operator’s Internet of Things Scorecard 2021: Operator’s Internet of Things Strategy, In which we analyzed the strategies of the 17 most successful operators in the IoT market.
Each operator included in the scorecard provides a range of IoT services. The scorecard determines the strategic focus and core advantages of the operator. Analysys Mason admits that this positioning is usually intentional; operators can choose to focus on a certain area of the Internet of Things based on factors such as their own size, market position, assets, and risk appetite.
Trailblazers have laid the foundation for the IoT business through a clear strategy, robust KPIs and an independent IoT department
Analysys Mason uses the following criteria to evaluate operators: strategy and vision, scale, connectivity, horizontal capabilities, vertical capabilities, complementary capabilities, and ecosystems and partnerships. Four pioneer companies, AT&T, China Mobile, Telefónica and Vodafone, all demonstrated:
- A clearly articulated IoT strategy that matches the appropriate level of resources and investment
- Strong KPIs show that the IoT business has effectively executed the strategy
- An IoT department, whose operations are highly independent of traditional businesses, but can use the resources and brands of the core business.
Pioneers used their scale and scale to successfully realize their IoT propositions
The following factors have made Pioneers particularly successful in the field of Internet of Things.
American Telephone and Telegraph Company It has been providing IoT solutions for a long time and has achieved scale and scale. By the end of 2020, there are 81 million connected devices on its network. It is particularly strong in the automotive industry, providing connectivity to more than 40 million vehicles, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it has added 9.9 million vehicles in 2020.1 AT&T uses its brand and track record in the automotive vertical to support B2B and B2C business models.
China Mobile In terms of the number of connections, it is the world’s largest Internet of Things operator and benefits from its huge scale and scale. As of the end of 2020, the company reported 873 million connections, still far ahead of its main competitors China Telecom and China Unicom. China Mobile has a strong brand and is recognized as a leader in the Internet of Things in China. It uses its scale to reduce costs and influence market development, just as it does in NB-IoT. China Mobile Internet of Things has developed hardware and software applications to fill the gap in the market, and its integrated solutions have promoted the adoption of the Internet of Things. Its parent company, China Mobile, is investing a lot of resources in the transformation of 5G-driven industries and benefiting from state funds that promote innovation in this field.
Telefónica Benefit from the long-term vision of the Internet of Things and develop a strong set of horizontal, vertical and complementary capabilities. As of the end of 2020, the operator has 26.2 million connections. Telefónica has invested in its KITE, SmartDigits and SmartSteps platforms to build horizontal and vertical capabilities and generate added value. It has proven its ability to build vertical solutions through proposals for the retail industry; it has established a platform to support multiple applications and can demonstrate revenue growth, and it is trying to replicate in other verticals.
Vodafone Has achieved scale and scale in IoT connectivity, and developed end-to-end solutions for selected vertical industries on this basis. As of the end of 2020, the number of network connections of this operator is 120 million. Vodafone has a bold strategy for the Internet of Things and is willing to invest in new solutions. Facts have proved that it is taking risks and experiments to identify new growth areas, and it acknowledges that not all businesses will succeed. Vodafone differentiated its IoT proposition at an early stage by providing solutions and services based on its connected products. Vodafone’s acquisitions and investments laid the foundation for its center of excellence to target key verticals such as automotive, healthcare, industrial Internet of Things, and smart buildings.
Pioneer provides a wide range of IoT propositions
Operators in the IoT scorecard, including pioneers, have taken different approaches to formulate their IoT strategy because they started their strategy from a different starting point. The target market of the Internet of Things varies with each country/region where the operator is located, and each operator has a variety of assets that can be used. Pioneers have established a set of IoT capabilities beyond their initial starting point that are not restricted by their traditional communications propositions in the consumer and enterprise markets. Therefore, they have established a solid position and can win new IoT businesses in the future. Internet of Things pioneers may have taken a different approach, but they have all invested a lot of money to seize Internet of Things opportunities and establish Internet of Things best practices in all benchmark standards.
1 Estimated number of vehicle connections. AT&T’s total number of connected devices includes “data-centric devices such as wholesale car systems, monitoring equipment, fleet management, and session-based tablets.”
