The energy, logistics and manufacturing sectors could unlock billions in productivity gains and export opportunities from the next wave of global IoT growth, but connectivity barriers remain in place, according to research from UK IoT firm Pelion.

The survey questioned 676 IoT decision-makers in major businesses across the world and spanning multiple industry groups, for The Connected Fleet 2026, produced by Pelion in partnership with ABI Research.

The rapid development of AI and adoption of AIoT, combined with an increasingly global marketplace for growth-hungry providers and IoT adopters, means effective, consistent cellular connectivity has become essential infrastructure for businesses in a multitude of industries, enabling organisations to track assets across the world, monitor performance remotely, optimise supply chains, automate processes, reduce operational costs and respond faster to issues wherever and whenever they occur.

The UK’s IoT industry is at the heart of the wider digital economy, underpinning sectors as wide ranging as manufacturing and logistics to healthcare and utilities. The sector supports a substantial share of the estimated 1.3 million-strong digital tech workforce, which the UK government has recognised as a key future growth-driver, currently generating more than £158bn in gross value added (GVA) for the British economy, equivalent to around six per cent of current UK economic output.

The findings reveal enterprise IoT deployments are rapidly becoming international, forcing organisations to rethink how they manage connectivity, security and operations at scale. Among the headline findings, respondents expect the proportion of internationally connected devices within their fleets to rise from 29 per cent today to 49 per cent by 2030, reflecting a significant shift away from domestically focused deployments.

Meanwhile, adoption of eSIM technology continues to accelerate. The report forecasts that SGP.32-compliant profile downloads – the first eSIM standard designed specifically for IoT deployments – will account for 45 per cent of deployments by 2030, up from just 7.6 per cent today.

Shortage of expertise emerged as the single largest obstacle to successful IoT deployments, with 60 per cent of respondents reporting that a lack of internal or external knowledge delays or blocks projects, ahead of budget constraints and connectivity issues.

The study also found that operational complexity, rather than network coverage itself, is now the largest ongoing challenge facing enterprise IoT programmes. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of respondents identified managing deployments outside their core cellular coverage area as their biggest scaling issue, compared with 41 per cent citing coverage limitations.

Security concerns are also intensifying as deployments mature. Almost one in four organisations (24.6 per cent) experienced an IoT-related security incident during the past year, with 30 per cent of those incidents resulting in losses exceeding $100,000 and eight per cent exceeding $1m.

The research also points to major changes in how organisations plan to buy and manage IoT connectivity in future. More than three quarters (77 per cent) of respondents not currently using a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) said they would consider one for their next deployment, citing flexibility, simplified management and access to multiple networks as key drivers.

“Connectivity itself is no longer the difficult part of enterprise IoT,” said Dave Weidner, CEO of Pelion. “The challenge comes when enterprise customers take their fleets internationally, grow in scale and operate across multiple networks, jurisdictions and regulatory environments. Organisations are increasingly looking for partners that can simplify that operational complexity rather than add to it. The potential for an IoT revolution is significant, but only if we can overcome some of the critical infrastructure, security and expertise barriers holding deployment back. If we can overcome some of the short-term challenges, the future of enterprise IoT connectivity will be increasingly borderless, managed and eSIM-enabled, with buyers placing greater emphasis on security architecture, advisory services and unified management platforms when selecting connectivity providers.” 

Pelion (pelion.com) is an IoT MVNO founded in Scotland as Stream Technologies in 2000. The company now boasts more than 1000 enterprise clients across a wide range of industries. Details of the report can be found at pelion.com/the-connected-fleet-2026.