February 28th, 2024 | Barcelona, Spain
Redtea Mobile’s Head of Global Strategy and Partnership, Xiaodong Guo, took the stage at the eSIM Summit during MWC Barcelona 2024 to present a thought-provoking keynote entitled “Challenges of Enterprise IoT and the Role eSIM Can Play in It.”
Guo shared the stage with speakers from leading companies including G+D, Idemia, and Thales. The event aimed to explore the transformative potential of eSIM technology in addressing the myths in the eSIM landscape. While other speakers focused on consumer applications and the potential of eSIM technology, Guo delved deeper, specifically addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the context of Enterprise IoT.
Key Points of Guo’s Presentation:
Focus on enterprise IoT: Guo acknowledged the significant contributions of previous speakers regarding the consumer landscape of eSIM but emphasized the need to shift focus onto the underexplored world of enterprise IoT.
Challenges of enterprise IoT with eSIM: He identified several challenges enterprise IoT faces with eSIM implementation, including:
1. Global coverage: No single MNO can guarantee global connectivity, hindering enterprise flexibility.
2. Complex supply chains: Fragmented supply chains create connectivity issues due to diverse regional requirements.
3. SLA variations: Even within a single country, MNOs offer varying service level agreements (SLAs), impacting performance.
4. Post-sales management: Managing diverse MNO accounts and passwords for device fleets presents a significant burden.
Guo emphasized the need for:
Single-pane-of-glass management: A centralized platform to manage all MNOs and simplify connectivity management for enterprises.
Scalability: The ability to onboard more MNOs and cater to diverse business units within an enterprise.
Orchestration: A layered approach to orchestrate connectivity based on various factors like MNOs, form factors, and connectivity quality.
Guo also pointed out potential issues in merging consumer and enterprise IoT eSIM usages:
KYC/KYD/KYE complexities: Determining the appropriate “know your” requirement (customer, device, or enterprise) creates friction.
Data ownership disputes: The co-ownership nature of eSIMs (OEM, consumer, and potentially enterprise) raises new regulatory questions.
In conclusion, Guo acknowledged the progress made by GSMA and other industry players in promoting eSIM adoption. However, he stressed the need for further collaboration to address enterprise IoT-specific challenges and unlock the full potential of eSIM in this critical domain.
Redtea Mobile, with its experience in serving the entire eSIM ecosystem, positions itself as a key player in addressing these challenges and helping enterprises navigate the complexities of IoT connectivity.