We’re getting closer, readers – the Christmastime season will soon round the corner to New Year’s Eve and Day, and 2024’ll be here before we can blink. (So it goes, we know; it’s already a timeworn tradition to wrap up the year in such a way, but a solid tradition nonetheless.)
As we slip into this cozy, year-in-review type of mindset, our goal is to circle back to Internet of Things innovators of 2023 and the actions they’ve taken to, well, truly innovate. And innovators this year have certainly demonstrated how IoT is far from some empty tech-world buzzword. Far from it; leaps in IoT have verifiably reshaped how industries are operating and can continue to operate and interact with trailblazing technologies (e.g. AI/ML integrations, bundled connectivity solutions, sensors, modules and much more) for individual organizations and entire industries as 2024 comes into view.
So, let’s take a minute to look back at an Internet of Things company we’ve talked about quite a bit throughout 2023:
1NCE.
I was first introduced to this connectivity and software provider in a two-fold way: 1NCE’s World’s First IoT Lifetime Flat, and 1NCE OS. The former pertains to 1NCE’s “$10 for 10 years” Lifetime Flat service – 1NCE offers this all-inclusive price model for strong IoT connectivity. This pre-paid offering allows users to connect IoT devices for up to 10 years at a price of $10, including all necessary features like data allowance, SIM card cost, APN, OpenVPN and SMS. And then, we have the latter – 1NCE OS. Available in 165 countries (as is 1NCE's Lifetime Flat, to be clear), the 1NCE OS platform includes powerful tools that transform data with actionable insights and a minimal lift to make IoT that much more accessible. (Especially at a time where access to paradigm-shifting industry technologies is as critical as it currently is.) 1NCE OS is designed for the stress-free integration of 1NCE’s connectivity and software features into IoT projects new and old, and of any scale. (Plus, according to 1NCE’s Chief Operating Officer Ivo Rook, this really is “IoT simplicity itself.”)
For more IoT Evolution coverage on both 1NCE OS and the company’s Lifetime Flat, read here.
Speaking of the company’s COO, I had the awesome opportunity to speak at length with Ivo Rook following the 1NCE OS story. Rook dove into how he believes 1NCE is positioned to be the “Robin Hood of IoT” – what 1NCE brings to the table, the IoT-centric ins and outs of 1NCE’s ongoing mission, the presence and purpose of third-party industry players, and how else the team at 1NCE has picked up on momentum in the industry to create engaging models that “make connectivity what it always should’ve been so 1NCE customers can do what they do best.”
Over the summer (after our most recent IoT Evolution Expo), we also covered 1NCE news involving its partnership with Blues Wireless for IoT value chain improvements and more reliable coverage within previously underserved regions, as well as 1NCE’s IoT solutions being adopted by premier translation technology company Pocketalk (around the time of its strategic alliance with Tokyo-based investment holding company SoftBank. This has further boosted devices’ built-in mobile communications functions, even in areas without Wi-Fi or other means of practical connectivity. (Find that full story here.)
Later this year, 1NCE reached its fifth anniversary – surely a cause for celebration, given how 1NCE has 15,000 customers with 20 million endpoints around the world – and shortly thereafter it expanded operational plans with the aforementioned SoftBank via the launch of a dedicated online shop for 10 APAC countries and regions.
Lastly, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention 1NCE’s strategy to help organizations avoid vendor lock-in and achieve greater flexibility: 1NCE’s Freedom to Switch, the company’s future-proofed answer to vendor challenges that often plague the IoT industry.
“In IoT, scopes change and data insights evolve, so customers should always have the freedom to switch,” Ivo Rook added. “1NCE thinks it should be a fundamental right for customers to add or change a provider over the lifetime of an IoT project.”
Overall, as 1NCE has made clear, barriers in IoT demand barrier-busting solutions that make real differences in real-world applications for real people that require reliable connectivity and reliable devices. The Internet of Things wouldn’t be what it is without its lifeblood of connectivity, but also without innovators looking to eke out as many bona-fide advancements as possible to put words into action.
We’d say 1NCE has certainly met that mark for IoT.
To hear more industry trend-setting tech news, consider joining ITEXPO 2024, taking place February 13-15, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as part of the #TECHSUPERSHOW. Since 1999, ITEXPO (News - Alert) has combined educational conference programming with a robust exhibit hall, networking events, and other activities, bringing together buyers and providers of business technology products and services that drive business success. Along with ITEXPO, #TECHSUPERSHOW of course includes IoT Evolution Expo, as well as Future of Work Expo, MSP Expo, Generative AI Expo and more.