Qualcomm sees opportunity in enterprise, industrial and consumer IoT
During its analyst day in San Diego, Qualcomm Technologies’ executives discussed the company’s overall strategy to build IoT momentum, including that it reaches more than 9,000 customers across its channels. Now reaching 20 times the number of customers compared to 2014, Qualcomm believes that its expansion means it can provide a broader range of solutions to new and existing customers, using consumer and industrial IoT solutions, SoCs, modems, and connectivity solutions.
It has also made available more than 30 production-ready reference design platforms through a network of ODMs for products including voice-enabled home hubs, smart displays, smart speakers and many more. “We are committed to providing innovative technologies to help expand the IoT ecosystem,” says Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm Inc. president.
“We are looking to make it easier for companies of all sizes to succeed in designing and commercialising innovative IoT solutions and to participate in this huge opportunity.”
The analyst day also covered where Qualcomm had seen growth, with its industrial IoT segment revenues on track to “double this fiscal year”. Covering enterprise, manufacturing, retail, supply chain and utilities, the company is hoping to take advantage of the market which is expected to grow approximately 20% CAGR over the next few years.
The tech giant is also looking to consumer applications of IoT to strengthen its position in the market. For example, within the smart home, Qualcomm Technologies provides mesh Wi-Fi and 11ax solutions, as well as its recent product introductions featuring edge computing, on-device artificial intelligence and voice control. The company is expecting four-fold revenue increases in SoC chipsets from this segment in fiscal 2018.
“The strategy we set a few years back of taking our leading-edge technologies into growth opportunities is delivering results,” continues Amon. “We expect IoT revenues in excess of $1 billion this fiscal year after solid double-digit growth over the last couple of years, driven by our ability to reuse our investments and R&D in mobile technology to make this a very healthy business.”
