More than a decade after the Internet of Things emerged as a major technology proposition, successful deployments are plentiful. Yet the industry continues to struggle to connect what suppliers offer with what enterprise adopters actually need. What needs to change?
The Internet of Things has been around for well over a decade. During that time, it has become an established part of the enterprise technology landscape. Connected devices now underpin applications across manufacturing, logistics, utilities, buildings, transport, agriculture and numerous other sectors. There are plenty of examples of IoT delivering measurable operational improvements, enabling new services and changing how organisations manage physical assets and processes.
So why, after all this progress, does selling (and buying) IoT remain so difficult?
The apparent contradiction is at the heart of an upcoming webinar that I and Wienke Giezeman, CEO of The Things Industries will deliver on the 1st December: IoT is impossible to sell. So why is everyone buying it? The discussion will draw on more than a decade of experience in the IoT industry to examine the persistent gap between suppliers and adopters, and what both sides can do to close it.
There is no shortage of evidence that IoT works. The technology ecosystem has matured considerably, with a growing range of hardware, connectivity options, platforms, protocols and software capabilities designed specifically to support connected solutions. Developments such as low-power wide-area networking, increasingly sophisticated connectivity management, edge computing and TinyML have expanded the range of applications that can be supported.
However, the maturity of the technology stack has not necessarily translated into a simpler buying experience. IoT remains a multidisciplinary undertaking, requiring organisations to bring together hardware, software, connectivity, systems integration, security and operational processes. Increasingly, artificial intelligence adds another dimension.
For enterprise adopters, understanding how all these components fit together can be difficult. For suppliers, explaining how their particular product or service contributes to a successful end-to-end deployment is equally challenging.
One consequence is a persistent mismatch between what the industry is selling and what customers are trying to achieve. Suppliers can become preoccupied with individual technologies, features and capabilities, while adopters are primarily interested in solving business problems. The result is a market in which the technology may be perfectly capable of delivering value, but the proposition is not always presented in a way that makes purchasing decisions straightforward.
Part of the problem is the tendency towards technology hype. New capabilities are regularly presented as solutions to problems that customers may not fully understand, or even have. Technologies can be promoted well ahead of their commercial maturity, creating expectations that are difficult to meet in real-world deployments.
There is also a tendency to underestimate the complexity of integration. An IoT solution rarely consists of a single product. It involves multiple components, potentially from different suppliers, which must work together reliably over an extended period. Interoperability, certification, security and regulatory compliance all need consideration.
Commercial models can create further friction. A low headline price does not necessarily translate into a commercially attractive proposition if the pricing structure is difficult to understand or operational costs are unpredictable. Similarly, a technically sophisticated platform is of limited value if customers cannot access the support and services needed to deploy and operate it.
These challenges suggest that closing the gap requires more than another generation of technology. It requires a different approach to how IoT is developed, packaged, marketed and purchased.
For suppliers, a starting point is to focus less on selling technology and more on understanding the context in which it will be used. That means tailoring propositions to specific customer requirements and ensuring that marketing claims are aligned with actual technical capabilities and commercial terms.
It also means recognising that customers do not necessarily want to become IoT experts. Developers should be able to work with technologies and tools that fit their existing environments, rather than having to adapt unnecessarily to the conventions of the IoT industry. Better interoperability between components and systems is an important part of achieving this.
There is also a question of specialisation. IoT suppliers sometimes seek to expand across multiple parts of the value chain, but there is a strong argument for allowing different players to concentrate on what they do best. Customers benefit when the various elements of a solution are brought together effectively, rather than when every supplier attempts to become a one-stop shop.
Perhaps most importantly, technology needs to be accompanied by services. Customers may need assistance with technology selection, certification, security, compliance, integration and ongoing management. Simply making a product available does not address these requirements. Nor should suppliers assume that a platform can be infinitely scalable or that customers will be able to manage every aspect of deployment themselves.
Long-term support is another essential consideration. IoT deployments are intended to operate for years, yet the technology landscape can change rapidly. Customers need confidence that the technologies and suppliers they choose will remain supported throughout the lifetime of their deployments.
The responsibility for improving IoT adoption does not rest entirely with suppliers. Enterprise adopters also need to approach projects differently.
Technology choices, particularly connectivity decisions, should be considered earlier in the development process. Leaving these decisions until late in a project can result in solutions that do not adequately support the intended application or operating environment.
Adopters also need to look beyond the technical specification and consider the implications for business processes. Moving from a successful pilot to a large-scale deployment often requires substantial operational changes, and these need to be understood from the outset.
Supplier selection deserves similar attention. Organisations should undertake thorough due diligence, considering not only technical capabilities and commercial terms but also long-term commitment and relevant deployment experience. A supplier with a strong track record in a particular industry or application may be a more appropriate choice than a larger organisation whose experience is less directly relevant.
Just as the IoT ecosystem has become more established, another major technology shift is emerging. Artificial intelligence, including Physical AI and AIoT, is creating new opportunities to connect digital intelligence with the physical world.
But it also adds complexity. IoT already requires the integration of hardware, software and connectivity. Supporting AI introduces additional requirements around data collection, quality, processing, security and the ability to translate insights into actions in the physical environment.
This raises new questions for both suppliers and adopters. How should AI capabilities be incorporated into IoT propositions? What additional responsibilities fall to connectivity and platform providers? And how can enterprises distinguish between genuinely useful capabilities and another wave of technology hype?
Ultimately, IoT vendors need to become better at aligning its capabilities with the requirements of the organisations buying them. That means more realistic propositions, clearer commercial models, better integration, appropriate specialisation and a stronger emphasis on services and long-term support. It also means enterprise adopters taking a more informed and proactive approach to technology and supplier selection.
These are not entirely new challenges, but they remain unresolved despite the industry's considerable progress. The question is how to move beyond recognising the problem towards establishing what good practice looks like on both sides of the relationship.
Join men and Wienke Giezeman on 1 December 2026 for a discussion about the lessons learned from more than a decade of IoT, the continuing challenges of connecting supply and demand, and what needs to change as AI becomes an increasingly important part of the connected world.
Register: IoT is impossible to sell. So why is everyone buying it?
