In 2023, OEM time to market for connected products—from project kick-off to the first paying customer—averaged 41 months, an 80% climb since 2020, according to the 206-page IoT Commercialization & Business Model Adoption Report 2024.

Though this appears counterintuitive given advances in IoT technology, increased market knowledge, and a decreased historical learning curve, the research identified four factors contributing to this increase in OEM time to market:

• Product complexity: IoT projects’ complexity has extended development cycles due to advanced technology integration.
• Regulatory hurdles: Recent regulations have pressured manufacturers to invest time and resources into compliance.
• Higher security scrutiny: Security breaches have led to stricter measures, extending IoT development timelines.
• More advanced use cases: Advanced IoT use cases require more R&D, lengthening development times.