After Onomondo launched its own SGP.32 eSIM IoT Remote Manager, IoT Business News spoke with Michael Karlsen, co-founder of Onomondo, about what the new standard means for mobile IoT connectivity, vendor flexibility and how companies manage connected devices in the long term.
Do you think SGP.32 comes at an important moment for the mobile IoT market? What has changed in recent years to make the flexibility of connectivity more necessary?
Michael Karlsen: Finally, too, the Internet of Things has reached the point of maturity in many aspects, but it still lacks a critical maturity marker: flexibility and interoperability. The connectivity industry has a history, DNA, and culture that locks in users and demands customer ownership that exceeds the actual value they provide.
In this context, SGP.32, with its promise of flexibility and interoperable architecture, is important for two reasons: first, it addresses the part of the telecommunications status quo that does not serve customers. Second, it is a strong signal that the industry has reached the next level of maturity.
I am immensely valuable. This is the tipping point and IoT stands at its peak. Important technologies like AI, the availability of network technology and analytical tools for big data sets, and the proliferation of robotics technology are a tailwind not only for what IoT can do but also how. Freedom to operate is essential if scale is to happen.
Many IoT companies have traditionally chosen a connectivity provider early in the product lifecycle and stuck with that provider for years. Do you expect the SGP.32 to replace the model?
First and foremost, I expect SGP.32 to change how businesses invest and scale with IoT. Here’s why: The ability to change suppliers mid-life cycle removes a significant layer of risk in scaling the same product. Because network uncertainty and market uncertainty are not detrimental risk factors, eSIM IoT generates an insurance model that makes IoT ventures – across verticals and markets – safer. This insurance model opens up more investment in IoT and scales existing projects, and benefits everyone in IoT.
From the operational side, the pre-SGP.32 model to choose a connectivity provider in the design phase and stay with them for the life of the device is less a choice of the fleet manager and more of a burden. Based on countless conversations, I know that IoT fleet managers have been eager for this paradigm shift for years – long before SGP.32.
So, in short, yes, I expect SGP.32 to change the investment model in IoT as well as the daily work of IoT fleet managers, who will use the opportunity legitimized by the technical specifications of SGP.32 – to change connectivity providers whenever their needs change, without solutions or field visits.
With this new eIM, what type of IoT deployment or customer profile do you expect to be the first to benefit from the additional flexibility offered by SGP.32?
In particular, the segment that I see most benefiting from eSIM IoT is the global deployment that includes markets with permanent roaming restrictions, like Brazil, Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia, etc. With SGP.32, this can be one design, one SKU, one deployment – just distributed in different geographies. And this is the main case – the pragmatic one.
Apart from areas where permanent roaming is restricted, the clear winner is deployment with longevity – from long-term global tracking solutions or industrial monitoring, to smart meters, smart grid technology, and even parking sensors. Before SGP.32, a fleet of devices with five, seven, or ten years in the field posed the highest risk of uncertainty because the owner had to make a choice that would lock him in for the longest time. The longer it lives, the longer the projection, and the more likely it is to be wrong.
Of course, the biggest benefit of the above two use cases is combined.
Does greater freedom to switch providers also increase complexity for companies? How should companies balance greater control with the need to keep connectivity management simple?
This is a very relevant question. SGP.32 is not a panacea for every connection problem out there, and it has been repeated from our end too: SGP.32 comes with additional complexity and requires a thorough risk-benefit analysis before making a decision.
As with anything, more is not always better. SGP.32 solves the problem of certain central lock-in, but if the business does not find it a problem, which is often the case with short-lived devices or local deployment, then eSIM IoT adds complexity for a very limited gain.
But for those who need the flexibility SGP.32 provides, it’s important to simplify the way the IoT eSIM ecosystem is deployed in businesses. This is another reason why Onomondo launched eSIM IoT Remote Manager – because we believe a) it offers the most flexible solution, and b) that IoT connectivity solutions should eliminate friction, especially in implementation and management.
I’m sure that fleet managers who consider these trivial questions need to be answered, so I’ll refer you to two consultation documents that the team created to answer them:
- Reality check: Do you need an IoT eSIM?
- Before eSIM IoT: 5 questions for your team
Could SGP.32 put pressure on traditional global IoT connectivity offerings based on a single provider and a single commercial relationship?
Indeed, and it should.
An industry bound by contractual restrictions on vendor movement has little incentive to move forward on a daily basis. Consequently, from a macro perspective, it does not add value to the industry it aims to serve.
That’s the main reason why I believe that SGP.32 will put pressure on the providers who need it, so that industrial scale help and work tirelessly to improve. This means more and more movements in the coming years, but all in all, these movements will reward innovators and incentivize everyone to do their best for the people we serve.
Beyond avoiding vendor lock-in, what do you see as the biggest business benefits companies can gain from SGP.32 over the lifetime of IoT deployments?
The value of an intact ability to vote is the same value as insurance. It guarantees you against unkept promises, uncertainty, and unforeseen circumstances; to political or regulatory changes; and fight against lost opportunities simply because you can’t predict them.
Having these options requires flexibility after the initial technical decision. For solutions with a long future, the insurance value is a huge business benefit.
Looking three to five years into the future, what will the mobile IoT connectivity market look like when SGP.32 is adopted more widely?
I believe that the flexibility provided with SGP.32 will help connectivity in its most important form -moving data from A to B- to become a point of zero friction in building IoT.
I also hope that will shift the focus to the benefits of connectivity that add value to each solution. This shift will drive innovation in the industry: more players will pioneer connectivity services in security, seamless and coherent SIM provisioning, and additional services that go beyond simply connecting devices.
With everything coming our way – physical AI, quantum challenges, hyper-power-saving use cases, and massive scale for global fleets – our customer base with flexibility in its arsenal will be able to reward innovators to meet the challenges of the future. I honestly think that is very stupid for the industry in general.
About Michael Karlsen: Michael Freundt Karlsen is the Co-founder of Onomondo, and leads the company’s largest strategic partnerships and long-term strategy. A serial entrepreneur and former Playdead CFO, he founded and launched Onomondo in 2018 with Henrik Aagaard to define IoT connectivity.
Under his leadership as CEO until early 2025, Onomondo expanded to more than 180 countries, integrating with 600+ operators to offer seamless, secure, and scalable connectivity. With a unique combination of industry and technology understanding and market insight, he is focused on integrating Onomondo’s unique technical capabilities into the most powerful innovative solutions for digitizing the world’s largest industries through scalable IoT.