As with most emerging technologies, the landscape for IIoT is highly fragmented, comprising over 350 platform vendors including industrial companies, technology behemoths, telecom companies, service providers, and start-ups. Multiple historical evidences point to convergence and consolidation as an inevitability in platform-led markets. Vendors that continually enhance their offerings via a combination of innovation, acquisition, and fast (and better) imitation are eventually able to establish their dominance. IIoT platforms market is not an exception to the rule and a confluence of multiple factors will drive the industry towards a foreseeable consolidation. This Viewpoint puts a spotlight on these factors while offering a perspective of other industries that have gone through this process and analyzes the phases in evolution of the IIOT platforms landscape through a consolidation framework.
The period of 2013-2018 has been characterized by multiple pertinent events, which can be interpreted as early signals of this process. Players in this space have actively acquired software/solutions to strengthen end-to-end offerings across the IIoT stack. Partnerships have interestingly gone beyond the traditional constructs. Over the next three years the market requirements are going to transform rapidly and the IIOT platform attributes that used to delight will become satisfiers and the satisfiers will soon become baseline expectations. This transition has been illustrated with the help of the KANO model.
This Viewpoint also features an analysis of the platform providers based on market adoption and capability maturity. Platform providers are classified into Market Leaders, Major Contenders, and Aspirants. It highlights the capabilities that will be critical for players as they try to strengthen their place in the market.
