IDC Opinion

This IDC study represents a vendor assessment of the 2022 Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) business and industrial Internet of Things (IoT) consulting and systems integration (B&IIoT C&SI) services market using the IDC MarketScape model. This research presents a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the characteristics that explain a vendor’s success in the marketplace and can help anticipate the vendor’s ascendancy. 

This IDC MarketScape covers a variety of vendors participating in the B&IIoT C&SI services market across the GCC region. This evaluation is based on a comprehensive framework and a set of parameters expected to be most conducive to success in providing IoT C&SI services in both the short and long term. A significant component of this evaluation is the inclusion of services buyers’ perceptions of the key characteristics and capabilities of these providers. Key findings are discussed below.

• Across all 40 of the strategies and capabilities that were assessed:
  • The top two areas for IoT consulting and systems integration services in which vendors performed well are:
    • The ability to provide onsite support when required by end customers
    • Overall business and industrial IoT consulting and systems integration delivery capabilities
  • The top two areas of improvement in terms of IoT consulting and systems integration services are:
    • Service providers’ plans to retain customers as part of their long-term strategy
    • The ability to convert customers into repeat customers
• According to survey feedback from 22 of the evaluated vendors’ customers, the following are among the top business priorities of highly rated vendors:
  • Building and using more efficient tools and methodologies for B&IIoT C&SI services delivery 
  • Improving engagement value
• The top two service provider characteristics to ensure successful IoT consulting and systems integration services delivery are:
  • The ability to provide onsite support for B&IIoT C&SI services as required
  • The breadth, depth, and scale of relevant B&IIoT C&SI services talent available for service delivery in the GCC region

Tech Buyer Advice

Business and industrial IoT consulting and systems integration services providers have been investing in capabilities to provide increased value to their customers. Clients are experiencing the following transformation benefits:

• Enhanced operational performance, improved value chain visibility and insights, and reduced costs
• Operational process assessment, reduced incident rate, and increased productivity
• Digital strategy road map formulation and supply chain analysis
• Real-time asset and resource monitoring to ensure high uptime, availability, reliability, and sustainability
• Superior customer experience and citizen service by connecting everything and providing relevant services 
• Increased awareness and feedback 

IoT C&SI services providers have developed domain-specific expertise and value discovery frameworks that enable them to build strategic IoT road maps for enterprises based on their maturity. Some vendors, specifically telecom operators, have built off-the-shelf IoT solutions and have shown interest in continuing to make such investments in the future. Once these solutions are integrated, clients see business results and returns on their investments more rapidly. Telecom operators, including some well-established consulting and systems integrators, are exploring capex-to-opex models in addition to time and material (T&M) models, subscription-based models, and outcome-based payment models to reduce the barriers to entry for their customers.

IoT C&SI services providers have partnered with global technology vendors, IoT platform providers, and OEMs to leverage their intellectual property (IP) or to co-create new IP. Co-innovation and co-creation activities are currently being undertaken by select IoT C&SI vendors with third-party innovation labs, academic institutes, and potential customers across the GCC region. Other technology services provided in conjunction with IoT include cloud, 5G, edge, analytics, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), intelligent operations/robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), cybersecurity, and potentially even metaverse. 

IDC recommends that buyers of B&IIoT C&SI services take the following steps when evaluating vendors:

• Clearly identify your business objectives or goals in terms of your current IoT infrastructure. Ask the provider to explain how the recommended strategy or implementation fits into your overall business and aligns with what your customers expect from you. Also ask about the ROI.
• Ensure that shortlisted service providers have experience in IoT consulting and integration services within your industry. Evaluate vendor ecosystems (partnerships with technology firms and other stakeholders) and discuss relevant completed projects or ongoing relationships.
• Do not shy away from asking your provider if you need help with ROI or other tools that provide an understanding of the benefits of these implementations. This will assist you in securing new budgets or extending existing budgets. Running a real-world proof of concept (POC) or proof of value (POV) with your provider will help establish a business case for such investments.
• Do not look at IoT in isolation; instead, look at it as a key enabling technology together with edge, cloud, AI services, AR/VR, and autonomous systems. Explore the technologies based on the end outcomes. Build a road map in consultation with your service provider to implement relevant technologies and make use of systems integration and managed services.
• Identify areas of your operation where security can never be compromised and ensure your IoT service provider has the experience and competency to consult and integrate secure operations and infrastructure.
• Wherever applicable, explore any recommendations the provider makes regarding your current situation or aspirations for combined IT and operational technology (OT) infrastructure.
• Gauge the service provider’s ability to provide flexible pricing models that will support you in securing budget approvals from management. In addition to traditional project-oriented pricing models, pricing options should include transaction-based/outcome-based, subscription, and opex models.

Methodology