Transforma Insights unveils the results of its extensive analysis of the strategies of twelve leading IoT Application Enablement Platform providers.
Transforma Insights today published the report ‘IoT Application Enablement Platform (AEP) Peer Benchmarking 2020’ as part of its Advisory Service subscription. The report is based on detailed analysis of the strategies of twelve leading vendors of AEP capabilities which between them represent a diverse cross-section of the market. The top- level findings of the report are summarised in Figure 1, below.
Commenting on the results, author Jim Morrish said: “The title of this report is something of an oxymoron: there’s no such thing as a ‘peer’ in the IoT AEP space. Rather, the market is complex and diverse in a way that reflects the diversity of end user requirements. Different AEPs seek to differentiate their offerings in different ways, and seek to target different opportunities”.
The report includes detailed analysis of the strategy and capabilities of AEP vendors in dozens of areas, aspects of which are synthesized into a number of summary and comparison graphics. For example Figure 2, below, illustrates the relationship between scale and market (end-user vertical and application) market focus for selected AEPs: generally only the very largest companies seek to offer ‘generic’ AEP capabilities to support all end-user verticals and applications.
The findings of the research reveal the great diversity in the IoT AEP market. Morrish further notes: “There is no ‘the best’ IoT AEP, and the best (most suitable) platform for any particular end-user requirement can only be identified in the context of that specific requirement. The IoT platforms included in this report specialise in diverse areas, ranging from enterprise application integration (and consistency) through to smart product design and enablement”.
The report also reveals some of the key capabilities that are increasingly offered alongside core AEP technical capabilities, including technology areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Distributed Ledger, Digital Twin, Edge Computing, and cellular Connectivity Management.
Transforma Insights’ IoT Application Enablement Platform (AEP) Peer Benchmarking 2020 report analyses the strategies and capabilities of twelve leading vendors of AEP platform capabilities: Altair, AWS, Clearblade, Ericsson, Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, PTC, SAP, Siemens, and Software AG. The twelve vendors chosen offer a blend of generic (cross-vertical), end-user and application focussed, and horizontal technology focussed propositions.
The scope of the benchmarking study is Application Enablement Platforms, that assist and enable end-users (and others) to efficiently develop IoT applications. Not included in this scope are Connectivity or Connectivity Support Platforms (than enable efficient management of device connectivity), Device Management Platforms (that allow for efficient management of devices), and a range of other specialist platforms such as Business Rules Platforms and Data Exchange Platforms, except where such capabilities are offered alongside Application Enablement Platform capabilities. This scope is illustrated in Figure 3, below.
The 108-page report leads with a summary of the ‘sweet spots’ for each vendor, and includes an aggregated ranking based on various technical capabilities and also analysis of the market positioning, channel strategy, (end-user and vertical) market focus, and ecosystem focus of each vendor. This is followed by an analysis of key emerging technology areas (Artificial Intelligence, Distributed Ledger, Digital Twin, Edge Computing, and cellular Connectivity Management).
The majority of the report consists of 4-9 page profiles of each of the companies, featuring sections covering each of the following:
More details of the report can be found here.
The report is available as part of the Transforma Insights 'Corporate' package. See the Overview of our research services page for more details.
