Why Every Global IoT Deployment Needs eSIM

Why Every Global IoT Deployment Needs eSIM

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July 1, 2020
Tom Gardner, Head of IoT, CKH IOD

IoT Partnerships Virtual SIMs article

Global IoT services can prove challenging for organisations to implement efficiently, cost-effectively and with certainty throughout the device lifetime. Fortunately, eSIM makes this go-anywhere, always-on connectivity feasible.

At CKH IOD we're all-in on the eSIM standard, and we'd encourage our industry colleagues to do the same.

eSIM, also known as Virtual SIM, enables the SIM’s underlying connectivity provider to be remotely changed Over the Air (OTA). The need to make such a change to an organisation’s entire SIM estate is unlikely, but a lot can happen during the long lifetime of an IoT device, especially those in multiple countries. Wholesale costs and agreements may change, technologies may be retired, regulations altered, even the initial intended use of the IoT device may evolve.

CKH IOD is committed to eSIM because it provides the flexibility and insurance for enterprises to keep their connectivity running without the need to ever pay a visit to the device.

Delivering the flexibility that enables IoT, so commercial benefit follows

eSIM isn't a new innovation, but it's been underutilised in the industry to date; at CKH IOD we see eSIM as the standard and would encourage operators and enterprises to adopt it. It's true to say that eSIM requires a partnership approach to allow the flexible and seamless changeover of an IoT device from one operator’s network to another. That's a level of control that operators aren't used to giving up, but at CKH IOD we see eSIM as a major enabler for global IoT deployments.

The insurance that eSIM provides — in the event that SIMs must be swapped out for some reason — can't be underestimated. Like many insurance policies, it may never be needed, but it's far better to have it in place than regret its absence, if the need arises.

The ideal global IoT deployment delivers a single, common hardware configuration and universal capability to find connectivity — from the moment the device wakes up on its first day, to its last day.

 

This single configuration and universal communications capability allows enterprises to build just one connected IoT vending machine, or industrial IoT sensor, or IoT utility monitor, regardless of geography, and to do so at a competitive price, globally.

Multinational corporations already know that a successful global IoT deployment can deliver significant business benefit and be the secret sauce of a digital transformation program. The good news is that technology tools like eSIMs are there to help deliver those benefits; at CKH IOD we're all-in on the eSIM standard, and we'd encourage our industry colleagues to do the same, for the long-term success of customers and their global IoT deployments.

Find out more about how IoT can benefit your enterprise.