The IoT at MWC: what’s new?

Last updated: 12 June 2019

MWC Barcelona has proven itself as one of the most-preferred platforms for companies to showcase their latest IoT innovations. Last year, key technology players demonstrated a wide range of IoT applications – from smart cities and devices for the connected home, to automated manufacturing and cloud VR. It’s clear that mobile and IoT technologies are pushing back the boundaries of connected business, so we’re excited to see how this trend is going to evolve.

The IoT is growing at an unprecedented pace, with the IoT ecosystem predicted to become a trillion-dollar market over the course of the next decade. Over time, we’ll be able to connect pretty much any object to the Internet, allowing it to talk to other devices and automate our everyday tasks. We’re already seeing innovations in this space, particularly in the smart home market, where you can connect your TV, washing machine, fridge and even toilet seat to the Internet.

Digital transformation powered by IoT will continue to be a core theme at the show. In fact, in the past couple of years we have seen topics around digital transformations, 5G and using the IoT to revamp cities and industries taking central stage at MWC, even stealing the spotlight from the latest smartphones released in Barcelona.

The IoT will also garner a lot of attention around core themes such as connected object management, connectivity and sensors that utilize computing at the edge of the network to make everything smart. We’re also expecting to see a heavy dose of applications that can manage all of these sensors that are proliferating in the field. In fact, we will be demonstrating via AR experience how Gemalto is enabling the future of IoT for a variety of industries including automotivesmart metering, and commercial drones.

Here are some elements to consider for successful IoT deployments

Partnerships have become incredibly important for fostering IoT innovations, helping mitigate the risk of becoming irrelevant in your own industry. Companies cannot afford to ignore the IoT, AI, edge computing, blockchain and cybersecurity, because they don’t know when they could possibly be disrupted by the applications of one of these technology areas. But at the same time, there are limited resources they can expend to develop expertise in each of these areas. Partnerships help bridge these needs, often creating win-win opportunities for alliances, hence why we’re likely to see many more partnership announcements at MWC this year.

IoT Security will certainly be high on the agenda for the exhibitors at the show. Deploying IoT solutions effectively and successfully means deploying them securely. That being said, organizations need to be fully aware of the need to provide data integrity and confidentiality and to be resilient to cyber risks. End-users have become incredibly aware of the consequences of poor security and the level of digital protection offered by IoT innovations. Organizations – large and small – are starting to recognize that security needs to be a consideration at the very beginning of every IoT project, and we’re likely to see this tenet being highly spoken for at MWC. Gemalto’s off-the-shelf security services provide IoT device access credential management as well as secure remote updates, while securing the data-to-cloud journey.

Are you excited for the IoT at MWC? We can’t wait to see what innovations it has on offer this year. And if you’re interested in discussing the future of the IoT, come talk to us at our stand at hall 2, booth 2J41.

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