Smart Connected Products

Create more value with smarter equipment

How can you accelerate product development cycles and optimize performance in the field? Leverage smart connected products to offer your customers differentiating digital services and create loyalty through an improved customer experience.

Smart connected products enable you to deliver new innovative solutions: remote monitoring, smart field services, and performance optimization. But it doesn’t end there. As you learn more about how your customers use your products in the field, you’ll be able to evaluate if a service-based business model can deliver greater value for both you and your customers.

In the past our company was regarded primarily as a component supplier, but now we are a solution provider including hardware, software, and services, meeting our customers’ needs in ways they never expected before.

Oliver Prang

Expert Digital Business Development

SMC

The numbers tell the story

47%

of OEM product revenue expected to come from Smart Products in 2025, up from 33% 3 years earlier
41 months

to launch connected products, up from 23 months 4 years ago
48%

of connected asset initiatives that require substantial technical changes to scale

A good, physical product is not enough

In the past, most manufacturers built their reputations by making high-quality physical goods. In the face of increasing competition and changing customer expectations, it’s no longer enough to sell a great product. Instead, manufacturers are finding that offering smart, connected products is key to building stronger customer relationships and more resilient revenue.

The Connected Ecosystem is becoming the rule, not the exception

Operators of your products are increasingly demanding equipment that can integrate into their ecosystem, orchestrating data across physical assets and sensors, software systems, and cloud providers. The operators of your products maintain a robust network of device partners, software solutions, system integrators, and cloud hyperscalers for you to integrate into.

Advances in AI are increasing the value of connected assets

More sophisticated AI modeling is built on the availability and quality of ever more data. As AI continues to develop, the ability to create valuable digital services around smart field services and performance optimization will accelerate and become ever more important to remaining competitive.

How to climb the IoT maturity curve

Your journey to making smart connected products isn’t all or nothing. Take steps up the IoT maturity curve and create value at each phase. Technical capabilities go hand in hand with your evolving business strategy to offer new value-added connected products and services. As your IoT maturity increases, you’ll have everything you need to transition to an Equipment-as-a-Service model.