Summary Bullets:
• IoT platform vendor dropouts were in the news in 2023, suggesting not only consolidation but reduced demand and profitability concerns.
• While hyperscalers remain leaders, industrial stalwarts such as PTC, Software AG, and Siemens are still innovating and enhancing platforms with security, easy of use, and integration with adjacent products in their portfolios.
Over the last year, the most compelling changes in the market for enterprise IoT platforms were the dropping out of key vendors including Google Cloud IoT (in August 2023), presumably based on lack of revenues/profitability; the decommissioning of most services from SAP’s IoT PaaS offering, announced at end-2023; and IBM’s winding down of its Watson IoT platform service in December 2023, with IBM focusing instead on offering IoT capabilities via its hybrid cloud solutions and software. In addition to these dropouts of platforms, which focused on IoT application enablement, products focused on connectivity and device management, such as the Ericsson IoT Connectivity platform, changed hands, having been sold to IoT MVNO and platform vendor Aeris. Some of the other original leaders have also marginalized their IoT offerings, embedding them in vertical solutions, or combining IoT with big data and AI tools, positioning IoT primarily as a data collection enabler. Industrial stalwarts Software AG and Siemens, however, are becoming innovators in this market, with good reviews for functionality, vertical solutions, and contributions to positive ROI.
The following announcements from remaining vendors highlight the kinds of add-ons to their portfolios, focusing on security, easier onboarding, user interface enhancements, integration with adjacent products and services, re-branding/re-positioning, and expanded go-to-market.
2023 IoT Platform Announcements
Amazon Web Services (AWS) AWS IoT Core added self-managed client certificate signing for mobile device fleet provisioning. This allows customers to integrate with an external certificate authority, its own public key infrastructure, or services such as AWS Private CA, to sign certificate signing requests when provisioning device fleets. This provides flexibility to meet specific security requirements. In addition, AWS IoT FleetWise announced support for vehicle vision system data collection to collect metadata, object list and detection data, and images or videos from camera, lidar, radar, and other vision sub-systems. This builds upon existing AWS IoT FleetWise capabilities that enable customers to extract value and context from their data to build vehicles that are more connected and convenient.
Microsoft announced a public preview of its Azure IoT Operations, enabled by Azure Arc. Arc-enabled services help organizations onboard assets, capture insights, and take actions to scale digital transformation of physical operations. Azure IoT Operations provides a unified, enterprise-wide technology architecture and data plane that supports repeatable solution deployment and AI-enhanced decision making.
PTC reported fiscal year (FY) 2023 annual recurring revenue of $1.9 billion, up 26% YoY. It noted that IoT continued to thrive as the third highest bookings driver at the company. The retiring CEO further noted that in FY2023, Microsoft named PTC its ‘IoT and Manufacturing Partner of the Year’; Nucleus Research and Quadrant’s Spark Matrix named PTC the leader in IoT platforms; and LNS Research placed PTC in the leader position for Connected Frontline Worker. PTC further announced that integration of the PTC ThingWorx IoT platform with other PTC products is gaining traction. PTC ThingWorx Navigate supports PTC Windchill on the PTC Atlas platform, and PTC is beginning to integrate its Windchill PLM, Windchill MPM, ThingWorx Navigate, and ThingWorx Connected Work Cell. PTC can now enable a continuous closed-loop digital thread from engineering to manufacturing.
Two years after the Siemens re-branding/transition of its MindSphere IIoT platform into Siemens Insights Hub, Siemens announced in April 2023 that its Insights Hub is now a part of the Siemens Xcelerator platform, its open digital business platform featuring a curated portfolio of IoT-connected hardware and software, ecosystem of partners, and a marketplace. In addition, its combined IoT capabilities are now elements of its Industrial Operations X, Siemens vision for the fusion of IT and OT, featuring a modular portfolio of IoT and edge solutions, low-code platform, and manufacturing capabilities.
The Software AG Cumulocity IoT platform was made available ‘as-a-service’ for international customers in China through Tencent Cloud. Customers can connect and manage their devices in China as part of their device fleets, providing a single view of all assets globally. The offering includes local partners being able to publish the services and manage compliance to fulfill regulatory requirements. In addition, Software AG Cumulocity IoT’s latest release of its ‘Cockpit’ dashboard enhanced the user experience and made it easier to develop and manage IoT solutions. An updated color scheme was added, with usability and accessibility improvements for screen readers, keyboards, and user settings. Asset hierarchies defined in ‘Digital Twin Manager’ and device smart groups can now also be analyzed using ‘Analytics Builder’ to perform aggregation analysis such as averaging humidity across devices.