VDC Research: Embedded Microprocessor, Board & Systems Market Blog

IoT Market Complexity Demands Buyer Personas

The complexity of the market for IoT products and services creates enormous challenges for the IoT solution marketer. An unlimited set of applications, a complex ecosystem of partners and channels, a wide range of decision makers and influencers, and a continuously changing competitive set can leave the marketer forever chasing his tail. Critical decisions about the content, placement, and timing of marketing messages become extraordinarily difficult in the face of these complex and dynamic conditions. 

Observing these challenges, VDC undertook a disciplined search for tools and methods that could help IoT marketers think and act more strategically, and achieve better results. Given how critical content marketing is in the IoT space, we focused on identifying tools and methods that would improve digital marketing effectiveness, defined as improving lead generation in terms of both lead quantity and lead quality. The tool we identified as being the most valuable – when deployed correctly – was the buyer persona.

Download our new whitepaper on the benefit of buyer personas for IoT marketers to learn more about they can help your company supercharge its marketing, sales, product development, and customer service.

 

IoT Gateways Paving the Way for New Corporate Relationships

IoT gateways are not only connecting device and sensor networks, they are also accelerating the development of a broad variety of new corporate partnerships and collaborations between hardware suppliers and ISVs, OEMs, MNOs, solution/service providers, and others throughout the broader IoT ecosystem. The past several months have seen a flurry of activity among gateway technology providers of all sizes looking to augment their own portfolios with more functionality, integration support, industry-specific capabilities, and more. The gateway device class will continue to be a critical element of IoT solutions and enabling new channels of distribution for hardware, software, and service providers looking to enter the space.

One example of the newfound relationships being established between IoT gateway vendors and connectivity service providers includes Eurotech’s recent partnership with Arkessa in August 2015. The partnership helps facilitate the development of cellular IoT solutions by adding managed connectivity services to Eurotech’s gateways, hardware, and supporting software platforms using Arkessa’s global multi-network cellular and satellite services. Several other gateway hardware suppliers are taking a similar approach to expanding their regional market addressability through broader cellular network support – the most supported wireless connectivity technology among IoT and intelligent gateways being shipped today.

Arrow Electronics, a leading global distributor and provider of value-added services to electronic components and computer products, teamed up with NetComm Wireless, a global developer of M2M devices and gateway systems, in September 2015 to launch the first phase of its new Arrow Intelligent Services framework. The new framework, which represents a first venture for Arrow Electronics from its traditional product offerings and engineering services, looks to simplify and expedite IoT deployments worldwide with edge-to-enterprise integration using standard web services and APIs. Arrow Intelligent Gateways, the first part of the new framework providing off-the-shelf management capabilities for a number of product categories, will help normalize configuration and management of NetComm Wireless’ devices.

The IoT is largely about connecting and integrating hardware with new software platforms and services. Establishing end-to-end IoT solutions will continue to require a variety of new corporate relationships. Gateways have become a fundamental part of the IoT solution stack and establishing connections with these vendors will be critical to the success of new connected products and offerings.

To learn more about VDC Research’s recently published report on the IoT & Intelligent Gateways Market, see our Executive Brief here.