AI becomes major accelerator for IoT

More market research has highlighted the continued strength of the internet of things (IoT) arena, with a Verizon Business survey of companies that use IoT services in their operations finding considerable return on investment (ROI), growth potential and enthusiasm for ongoing use of the technology.

The survey was based on 500 IT professionals at US-based multinationals, and small and medium-sized enterprises in varied industries that gave feedback on IoT market accelerators (AI), challenges (cyber security), and use cases benefitting their businesses.

Topline findings of the 2025 IoT market insights report showed that while respondents indicated ROI from IoT services was clear and emerging technology is fuelling further optimism, there was a need for strong network foundations and well-managed IT integration to deploy IoT at scale. Furthermore, it noted that integrating novel technologies with legacy systems, updating network foundations, and securing and operationalising the full ecosystem at scale often benefits from partnership and outside expertise.

The data revealed a number of top themes and key findings such as AI being a significant driver; rising adoption and enthusiasm for IoT; partnership and complementary technologies being foundational; and that emerging technologies will fuel the future.

Specifically, the study found that over half of businesses that replied cited efficiency and productivity gains as the primary driver for IoT. Just over three-quarters (77%) of enterprises report a clear ROI from IoT investments. IoT deployments of 10,000+ devices are expected to more than triple by next year, according to respondent data.

Looking at how to make the best from an IoT installation, 87% said systems integration support from a mobile network operator is important or critical for successful IoT deployment. Just over half (52%) said they intend to use private wireless networks for their IoT projects in the next 12 to 24 months, a 24% increase over current usage. A little more than four-fifths of organisations surveyed in the midst of an IoT deployment saw value in 5G networks.

In terms of key enabling technologies, 84% of enterprises considered AI a key technology for IoT, while 70% said it has accelerated their IoT deployments. In addition, 82% reported that combining AI with video/camera data can deliver valuable insights for real-time decision-making.

Almost three-quarters of companies said they were planning to adopt 5G RedCap into their IoT roadmap, and 78% were integrating satellites. Some 78% saw network slicing as essential to customising IoT performance, especially in logistics and the supply chain (60%), and in terms of challenges, 43% indicated cyber security as their biggest issue in IoT deployment.

Furthermore, eSIM adoption for IoT applications was seen to be surging. Personal mobility (non-auto), energy and utilities, and logistics and supply chain industries were found to be leading the pack in prioritising eSIM.

Drilling deeper into vertical industries, the survey found that 59% in manufacturing and warehousing industries cited cost savings as the key driver for IoT deployments, while personalised customer experience was the leading IoT application in retail, currently or soon to be deployed by nearly 83% of respondents.

A majority of respondents in logistics and the supply chain were found to be currently deploying real-time shipment tracking (58%), and significant percentages plan to use IoT for warehouse automation (44%) and predictive maintenance (44%) over the course of the next 12 to 24 months. Almost all automotive original equipment manufacturers surveyed (94%) agreed that 5G delivers the speed and bandwidth they need.

In transportation, a large majority of respondents (72%) currently use IoT for fleet management and in healthcare applications, and remote patient monitoring was the leading IoT use case deployed by 56% of respondents.

Smart meters and smart grids were highlighted as the leading current energy use cases today, with renewable energy management (40%) and energy storage optimisation (38%) cited as use cases that respondents intend to explore in the next 12 to 24 months.

Commenting on the results, Daniel Lawson, senior vice-president of global solutions and IoT at Verizon Business, described IoT as a data powerhouse that is going to get even more powerful.

“A business’s connected machines, IT systems and overall operations produce an enormous amount of data – location, condition, anomaly, threat, operational progress and continuity – and … IoT is how that data gets collected and parsed to provide businesses with insights about how things are going and how they can be improved,” he said. “This survey tells us that IoT is highly valuable and scalable when implemented correctly, benefits from a full connected ecosystem, and is about to get a lot more interesting and dynamic with AI and other emerging technologies.”