The ecosystem for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in the B2B market continues to blossom, as more vendors develop new offerings. In a recent analysis of more than 500 companies and their IoT service capabilities, ABI Research found that both partner programs and their member companies are maturing, with 59 percent of listed organizations receiving a high grade.
This is nearly double the number of organizations that received a high maturity ranking when ABI Research first analyzed these IoT ecosystems in September 2015. This increase in IoT maturity stems in part from the actions of partner program parents who offered their members access to training and certification programs.
Internet of Things Market Development
"Within these ecosystems, there is a continuing shift from traditional volume-based partnerships to value-based partner engagements," says Ryan Harbison, research analyst at ABI Research.
These IoT programs require a higher level of engagement from both parents and participants who together seek to offer a differentiated solution using a diverse and sometimes undifferentiated set of technologies.
The ecosystems offer B2B solutions to clients looking to utilize IoT solutions to increase sales opportunities and decrease operating costs. Over a nearly two-year period, ABI Research identifies a 40 percent increase in the number of companies offering manufacturing, industrial, and enterprise IoT solutions.
The biggest increase occurred in the hospitality segment, which saw a 164 percent growth in the number of companies offering vertical-specific solutions. This is due to increasing demand from hotels looking to monitor and automate building processes while also offering guests personalized digital experiences.
While the success of these programs is dependent on collaboration among hardware, connectivity, and software providers, these ecosystems skew more toward the software side than the hardware side.
Outlook for IoT Services Growth
The IoT service categories with the biggest increase in participants are connectivity management services and device cloud to device software platforms.
"It is crucial to track changes within these ecosystems, because these developments reflect the trajectory of the overall IoT market," concludes Harbison.
According to the ABI assessment, enterprises and end-users across all vertical markets will continue to turn to these ecosystems to more effectively navigate the otherwise fragmented technology and supplier landscape.
