• Most Connectivity Management Platform (CMP) players improved their offerings. The feature gap has narrowed in the last year.
• AI and ‘single pane of glass’ are the most cited platform capabilities that the CMP players are building.
• Rankings cover 29 CMP players across white-label, captive and third-party categories.

Seoul, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, San Diego, Taipei, Tokyo – January 9, 2025

Cisco, Telefonica and Verizon have emerged as ‘pacesetters’ in the Global IoT Connectivity Management Platform (CMP) Rankings, according to the 2025 edition of Counterpoint Research’s CMP CORE (COmpetitive Ranking and Evaluation) Report, which is based on information until December 2024.

Commenting on the IoT CMP rankings and the competitive landscape, Research Director Mohit Agrawal said, “Connectivity lies at the core of IoT implementations, making CMPs crucial. The CMP landscape has been rapidly evolving, with various players narrowing the gap with industry leaders. This year, 1NCE, Comarch, Eseye and floLive have risen to the ranks of industry leaders, marking a significant milestone in their growth. China, the largest IoT market, continues to be dominated by Huawei and Whale Cloud. But outside of China, the Chinese CMP players have seen little success. MNOs are still not very comfortable with using a platform from another connectivity provider, which can be an opening for carrier-grade, independent players such as Airlinq, Mavoco and Comarch.”

Agrawal added, “In 2025, AI and ‘single pane of glass’ solutions are expected to dominate the product roadmaps of most CMP players, as customers increasingly seek platforms that offer centralized connectivity management alongside the flexibility to bring their own connectivity. To stand out in the competitive market, CMP providers are investing heavily in AI – leveraging analytics, generative AI for enhanced UI/UX, and AI-driven support – to deliver differentiated offerings.”

Source: Counterpoint Research Global IoT Connectivity Management Platform (CMP) Rankings

Commenting on the research findings, Senior Research Analyst Tina Lu said, “Cisco has a significant lead over its competitors in terms of platform capability as well as execution capability. Leading mobile operators Telefonica and Verizon joined Cisco in the ‘pacesetter’ category of rankings, showcasing their strong in-house capabilities. The pacesetters have industry-leading features across all the measured parameters and can execute well in the market. Cisco leads in provisioning, orchestration, security, analytics, product maturity and integration with OSS/BSS, while Telefonica leads in billing and Verizon has a good all-round platform.”

1NCE, Aeris, Airlinq, Comarch, Cubic Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, emnify, Eseye, floLive, Kore Wireless, Soracom, Tata Communications, Whale Cloud and Wireless Logic have established themselves as ‘leaders’ in the CMP market. While many of these leaders have similar platform capabilities as ‘challengers’, their standout attribute is their superior ability to execute effectively in the market. A key factor in their success has been the formation of robust go-to-market (GTM) partnerships, enabling them to expand their reach and deliver impactful solutions.

Bics, G+D and Mavoco have emerged as ‘challengers’ with very capable platforms but still do not have the required market presence. Lu added, “Over time, these vendors are most likely to move up to the ‘leaders’ quadrant.” Mavoco emerged as a top scorer across all the companies on the ‘ease of use’ parameter.

Huawei, Nokia, NTT Transatel, Telit and Velos are ‘upstarts’ with significant execution capabilities, but they lack a few key features compared to the leaders. In 2024, NTT Transatel improved its platform capability by adding new features while Huawei continued to be the largest CMP in terms of managed connections as it powers China Mobile.

Semtech, Simetric and Teal Communications are ‘niche’ players. Agrawal explained, “Companies in the niche segment operate with distinct business models, making them not directly comparable with other CMP players. For instance, Simetric serves as an orchestrator and platform aggregator, specializing in ‘bring your own network’ solutions. Semtech aligns its connectivity and device platform to support its core devices business (connectivity supports third party though), while Teal stands out as the only exclusively eSIM-focused player in the rankings.”

The CMP rankings survey is one of the most comprehensive surveys on the topic. It involves 29 players through multiple interviews and research spanning more than six months.

The comprehensive and in-depth ‘Cellular IoT Connectivity Landscape’ report and the ‘Connectivity Management Platform Rankings’ report are now available. Please contact Counterpoint Research to gain access to them.

Background
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects, and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

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