Why Always-Active SIMs are Good for IoT

Why Always-Active SIMs are Good for IoT

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Activating and deactivating SIMs isn’t something you should have to think about. Always-active IoT SIMs eliminate time wasted on managing SIM states and costs.

Companies that offer IoT solutions at scale commonly struggle with managing device activity states and monitoring usage caps. Whether or not you are paying a subscription for data typically depends on whether or not your SIM card is active.

'When commercial, development, and customer success teams start to plan their days around SIM management, there is a problem.' -OnomondoClick To Tweet

Paying SIM subscriptions for devices that aren’t in use is a huge problem for IoT solutions. Here are some common examples:

? A lot of time can elapse between testing devices and devices being put to use in the field. No one wants to be paying for connectivity while devices sit on a shelf.

? It’s common for IoT solutions to be used seasonally or intermittently. Some solutions may produce value in the summer months but be dormant in the winter, for example.

The typical workaround is to manage the active states of SIMs in IoT connectivity management platforms. Users can use APIs or log into platforms to activate or deactivate SIMs to reduce subscription costs. Some cellular IoT connectivity providers have developed workarounds with tools like Zapier or offer different pricing plans for testing and operation.

This still adds up to time spent managing SIM states. When commercial, development, and customer success teams start to plan their days around SIM management, there is a problem.

Reduce Time Managing SIM States With Always-Active SIMs

SIM handling needs to be less complicated to help IoT solutions scale. Imagine how much more productive an organization could be if no one had to worry about cellular data subscription fees for devices.

Many of the problems with SIM management come from commercial decisions, while others come from the technical limitations of a platform or connectivity infrastructure.

The only real way to simplify SIM management is to take it off the list of things to do.

SIM cards from most mobile network operators come with a bunch of rules that users need to think about such as, does the SIM need to be stopped, put to sleep, made inactive, turned off, or turned on?

Keeping track of SIM card statuses can turn into a full-time job and drain resources for a scaling solution in no time. Sometimes workflows or integrations will change the state of a SIM automatically, but this always adds new work, maintenance overhead, and costs that make it hard to scale.

Fortunately, new business models are emerging for IoT solution developers where you don’t have to worry about the different states of SIMs every day. Now it’s possible to benefit from always-active SIMs.

What are Always-Active SIMs?

Always-active SIMs mean that you won’t be charged for SIMs that aren’t being used, no matter what stage your business is in.

Connectivity costs for devices are managed on a pay-as-you-go basis, billed in monthly increments depending on whether or not a device connects to a network and transmits data.

If a device does not connect in a given month, it is not charged.

Always-active SIMs, aka always-on SIMs, are a relatively new concept for network operators. This doesn’t mean the activate/deactivate functionality of SIM management doesn’t exist. If you want to take certain devices offline for security or customer concerns, you can still do so, but there are no financial penalties. You run your business and fleet the way you want.

Two Major Benefits of Using Always-Active SIMs

By simply removing the need to manage the active state of SIMs, businesses can focus their energy on other tasks and improve ROI.

Cut Costs on Unused Devices

Why should you pay for a SIM if you’re not going to use it? For IoT to solve problems like water shortages, food production, and inefficient supply chains, companies need a better way to run their solutions.

Only paying for SIM cards that are active and send data in a given month is a boon for IoT. Companies can buy as many SIMs as they need to meet their quarterly and annual goals without having to worry about the exact date of deployment or shelf lifetime.

Beware, some connectivity providers will automatically turn off a SIM card if it hasn’t sent any data in a certain time frame. Always-active SIMs by nature shouldn’t and don’t have this logic built into the commercial model.

In short, you don’t want another billing management platform draining resources. Instead, focus on building a more efficient and sustainable business.

Streamline Testing and Deployment

When a SIM card is active for a month, it lets the device send and receive data, which will incur expected costs. When a SIM is not being used, a device is not communicating with Radio Access Networks (RANs) and, with the always-active SIM model, you don’t have to pay for it.

It’s that easy. You only pay when your device is creating value. You don’t have to worry about setting up those time-consuming workflows and workarounds like Zapier to save money.

During development, there are often problems that will slow down production and deployment. MVNO/MNO SIM cards that aren’t being used usually cost money every month, which puts more pressure on development teams. This is less of a concern with always-active SIMs and you aren’t penalized for taking the time to develop a better product.

Always-Active SIMs vs. Typical IoT SIMs

Which features of a connectivity platform make the most sense for your company will depend on the stage and size of your business. But always-active SIMs will help any business that needs its devices to be connected.

Always-active SIMs could be a good idea for a startup that wants to make devices quickly but is concerned about having to pay a high overhead cost for SIMs and data. Likewise, if you operate an enterprise and want to make your IoT-enabled business or fleet of devices more cost-effective, always-active SIMs will help.

Always-active SIMs are the best way to achieve your goal of making devices that are more reliable, efficient, and profitable.

However, eliminating SIM activation and deactivation is a new way of thinking, and the concept of leaving SIMs “active” at all times requires a mindset shift for IoT solutions.

Check out the table below if you are still in doubt. It makes the comparison between the status quo and always-active SIMs easier.

Always-active SIMs Typical MVNOs / MNOs

SIMs are active by default SIMs come inactive or paused

ZERO fees for changing status Fees for changing activity status

Fees for unused SIMs

SIM cards provide unlimited connectivity SIMs can deactivate if unused within a specific time frame

ZERO time wasted managing SIM states ZERO fees for unused SIMs

Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing: The Path to IT/OT Convergence

Ask anyone: We’re in the midst of a fourth industrial revolution. It’s not powered by steam, like the first; assembly lines, like the second; or even information technology alone, like the third. This paradigm shift is driven by a cluster of smart technologies, from the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to AI-powered analytics to innovative networking frameworks. At the core of Industry 4.0, of course, you find automation.??

But it’s one thing for a manufacturer to commit to Industry 4.0. It’s quite another to make the transition. The Global Lighthouse Network (GLN)—a research partnership between McKinsey and the World Economic Forum (WEF)—studies the development of Industry 4.0 around the world. As of 2022, GLN has identified only 103 “lighthouses,” industrial facilities said to have completed the Industry 4.0 transformation. Meanwhile, over 70% of companies are “still stuck in ‘pilot purgatory,’” says the WEF.?????

The challenge is especially steep for manufacturers. Technology updates can shut down production lines. New operational equipment is mind-bogglingly expensive. Worst of all, current computing architectures aren’t built for broad integration—an essential prerequisite for any smart factory.???

The promise of Industry 4.0 is huge: faster time to market, lower production costs, better asset utilization, real-time business insights. All of these benefits rely on the lifeblood of digital transformation: big data. But even if they can collect that data, manufacturers often struggle to mold it into a usable form.

Here’s the key challenge manufacturers face as they transition to Industry 4.0—and how to solve the problem.?

The Challenge of Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing: Achieving IT/OT Convergence

Operational technology (OT) includes all the hardware, software, and communications protocols that manage and control industrial processes. Information technology (IT), on the other hand, covers the computing systems and networks that transfer and process data. For decades, these fields have been stuck in their own silos, locked away from one another by incompatible protocols, high-latency networks, and different paradigms of data processing.???

To achieve the ends of Industry 4.0, OT must share data with IT. Collecting frontline information—a particular advantage of IIoT—falls under OT’s mandate. Transforming that information into insight, making it usable in the broader sense of business, outside the scope of purely controlling the machines, is IT’s job. Industry 4.0 projects aren’t possible if these two sides can’t communicate or interact to produce value to the company.?

Traditional OT architectures were built to supervise and control industrial processes—not to share data widely. They use a handful of communication protocols (Modbus, OPC-UA, BACnet) that isolate their data into independent islands: data puddles, as the technologists call them. Even if you could connect OT and IT systems, high-latency, cloud-based networks with brokered traffic systems make real-time analytics impossible.?

There’s good news too, though: IT/OT convergence is possible. You just need a new approach to networking, a communication protocol that flows seamlessly through both systems, and a common model to share and exchange data. Two technologies work together to accomplish all three goals: edge computing and the MQTT protocol.?

IT/OT Convergence in Manufacturing: IIoT Edge Databases And The MQTT Protocol?

A new approach to IT/OT convergence has to solve two problems at once. First, it must allow IT and OT systems to communicate freely. Second, it must enable the low-latency data transfer that’s essential for real-time intelligence. Here are the solutions for each challenge.

Bridging OT and IT with the MQTT Protocol

The first problem boils down to communication protocols, the file formats and formal rules that allow one machine to “talk” to another. As we mentioned, traditional OT protocols are locked into their own domains. Luckily, a better option has arrived.?

For IIoT systems, MQTT is the ideal messaging protocol, and it’s quickly become the de facto standard in all sorts of IoT networks. MQTT is lightweight enough to work on the low-footprint data demands of IoT devices, including those with unreliable bandwidth. And you don’t have to shut down production to make the switch: MQTT clients can be installed on existing OT (including IIoT) systems. On the IT side, MQTT brokers can work alongside traditional cloud or on-premise servers.

That takes care of the IT/OT convergence issue. Next, you need a network architecture that can handle all that MQTT traffic—reliably, securely, and quickly.?

Enabling Real-Time Business Insights with Edge Computing

Remember, Industry 4.0 isn’t just about IIoT or automated equipment on the production line. It’s also about innovative technologies that can dramatically improve the industrial environment: big-data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, for example. These new technologies lead to advantages like predictive maintenance and smarter, faster decision-making. The closer to real-time you get your data feeds, the more responsive your business can be.?

The trouble is, the further data travels, the slower your digital tools respond. Edge computing—in which data is collected, organized, and processed near its origin point—boosts speed by limiting distance. And speed isn’t the only advantage of placing your IoT database at the edge. An IoT Edge Hub is a new piece of technology that’s becoming more common in Industry 4.0 topologies. An IoT Edge Hub enables different data sources and targets to interact seamlessly, providing robustness and resilience to the communication layer that’s the backbone of this new environment. An edge-based IoT hub can also:?

? Reduce bandwidth demands

? Cut cloud storage costs

? Minimize spending on cloud data processing

? Do more with a smaller IT footprint?

? Support digital twins by storing the same data in multiple locations???

Ready to get the advantages of Industry 4.0 for your manufacturing facility? It all starts with the right computing infrastructure: an edge IoT hub that supports the MQTT protocol. These systems are the key to IT/OT convergence in manufacturing, effectively removing the final stumbling block to smart factory implementation.?