South Africa Industrial IoT Market Overview, 2029

At this very moment, right in the center of South Africa, where innovation meets opportunity, humankind is witnessing a revolution. The Industrial IoT market is focused on transforming the industrial landscape of the nation, slowly like a lion from its slumber. Advanced connectivity infrastructure, such as the rollout of 4G/5G networks in South Africa, provides underpinning for IIoT deployments. These technologies thus provide for reliable, high-speed data transmission, quite important in real-time monitoring and analytics in an industrial setup. IIoT solutions are increasingly applying green technologies to make the environment more sustainable. Attention to smart energy management systems, reduction of wastes, and conservation of water make for eco-friendly industries. IIoT-enabled monitoring and analytics help industries comply with environmental regulations and reduce their carbon footprint. A growing number of inventive startups has fed expectations that South Africa can be a hub for innovation in the industrial internet of things (IIoT). While there has been progress, with examples of the deployment of IIoT-related technology in the industrial sector in the country, there are roadblocks to more rapid growth, typically involving difficulty in making the business case for implementing new applications. In South Africa, 2019 was tipped to be the year of innovation, especially in the sector, led by homegrown startups, according to Frost & Sullivan's 2019 ICT trends for South Africa. While the actual number of deployed IIoT instances can be open to debate, it seems not to live up to expectations. Within the field, however, there is an overall interest in the possibilities. IIoT in South Africa is thus provided for largely by established vendors or traditional software and hardware suppliers that service the supervisory control and data acquisition space.
According to the research report "South Africa Industrial IOT Market Overview, 2029," published by Bonafide Research, the South Africa Industrial IOT market is anticipated to add to more than USD 1000 Million by 2024–29. IIoT belongs to the subset of IoT, which refers to the connection of devices and machinery in industrial sectors with monitoring, control, and data analysis systems. That is the intersection of enterprise IT with operational technology, or OT, basically instrumentation of physical devices and processes. Companies need help understanding first the possible use cases, and then how best to implement IIoT solutions. He says this blurring of the IT-OT boundary has created some confusion, and therefore uncertainty, because while in the past, the major players in this industrial space used to be companies like Siemens, Schneider, and ABB, they are now being joined by the likes of Microsoft and Huawei. The IOT Industry Council (IOTIC) was constituted in Cape Town in March last year to represent the interests of the technology industry in South Africa in designing, building, and deploying solutions based on IoT technologies. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) of South Africa is important in handling sensitive data that is collected by IIoT devices. It therefore means companies should ensure measures to ensure privacy and security of data observed to consumers' information safeguarding. Foreign companies are increasingly investing in South Africa's Industrial IoT sector, attracted by its strategic location, skilled workforce, and growing market potential. FDI plays a crucial role in driving technology transfer, innovation, and job creation within the country's industrial landscape.

The South African Industrial Internet of Things market is growing at a steady pace, with different offerings materializing in the ecosystem. These can be segmented into hardware, software, and platforms, all of which contribute a lot to actually making IIoT applications real across industries. Of these, the hardware offerings are those doing well in the South African IIoT market. The scope includes sensors, actuators, connectivity modules, and other types of devices that help in collecting data, monitoring, and control in industrial environments. One of the major drivers for adopting IIoT hardware is the growing need for smart infrastructure, automation, and remotely monitored solutions across different sectors like mining, agriculture, and manufacturing. The South African IIoT market is fast tracking back to software offerings. This category includes a myriad of analytics, security, device management, and other software solutions that help organizations process, analyze, and act on the data produced by the IIoT devices. Advanced software solutions for IIoT are in higher demand as firms increasingly seek actionable insights from their data and optimize their operations. The same happens for IIoT platforms in South Africa. A broad all-in-one device, connectivity, and applications management environment for an IIoT is what these platforms offer. Organizations could now develop, deploy, and manage IIoT solutions more efficiently at scale. As such, the growing complexity of IIoT deployments and the need for seamless integration between the various component layers become vital arguments toward the adoption of IIoT platforms. Examples of IIoT implementations in South Africa include IoT solutions for real-time asset tracking and predictive maintenance in the mining segment of industries, precision farming, and livestock management in agriculture. In smart cities, the City of Johannesburg has also implemented an IIoT platform that monitors and manages various services, including water, electricity, and traffic.

South Africa is leading in the adoption of IoT in the manufacturing sector, with smart factories integrating sensors, automation, and data analytics to improve operational efficiency and increase the quality of their products. It also applies predictive maintenance to plants situated in South Africa and optimizes the supply chain; companies such as BMW and Ford are implementing this. The healthcare vertical is fast tracking its IoT usage, as hospitals are putting on board the use of connected medical devices, remote patient monitoring systems, and asset tracking solutions. Netcare, one of the major private healthcare suppliers, is venturing into IoT to take proper care of patients, assign doctors for the right operations, etc. Energy technology is being utilized in the energy sector in regard to smart grid management, integration of renewable energies into the grid, and power plant optimization. Eskom is a national electricity provider who wants to investigate IoT prescriptive analyzes and maintenance abilities that will enhance their grid's reliability and reduce outages. Oil & Gas sector is not very strong in South Africa as compared to other countries. In this domain, however, IoT is being utilized concerning pipeline monitoring, equipment maintenance, and safety management. Companies like Sasol are engaging in the implementation of IoT solutions in their operations. The IoT is still piloting systems associated with fleet management, traffic optimization, and logistics tracking in transportation. This is further reiterated by the fact that South Africa's rapid transit railway system, Gautrain, is currently running on an IoT platform for real-time monitoring and maintenance. Others have been adopting the IoT as well, such as retail, metals and mining, and agriculture. For instance, in retail, it is utilized for inventory management and customer analytics; in mining, for improvement in safety and efficiency; in agriculture, for precision farming and livestock monitoring. Aerobotics in agriculture field provides innovative drone and analytical solutions for crop management where sensor-based systems would be prohibitively expensive.
The most significant market share in the South African Industrial IoT is held by wireless connectivity technologies, such as LTE, 5G, and LPWAN. These technologies have flexibility, scalability, and ease of deployment. Real-time data transmission, remote monitoring, and other operational efficiencies of a general order that wireless IIoT solutions can bring to industries as diverse as mining, agriculture, and smart city initiatives are a Windfall. With IIoT applications coming into greater demand, so are the investments by telecom operators in terms of their mobile infrastructure extension and its capability extension. Of the non-WiFi access technologies, which the South African IIoT domain significantly epitrates, wired connectivity solutions like Ethernet, Fiber Optics, and industrial Ethernet protocols do. The value addition by these wired networks, associated with mission-critical applications like manufacturing, utilities, and critical infrastructure, is their reliability and security and the capability to offer high bandwidth. Wired IIoT deployments manifest in industries concerning industrial automation, control systems, and real-time data analytics that ensure stable and deterministic communication for precise, accurate control and monitoring. It makes huge investments in the fiber optic network and sophisticated Ethernet standard to connect devices, expanding the wired connectivity options. Advanced IIoT applications and nationwide digital transformation initiatives are getting paced up at fast tracks.

Considered in this report
• Historic year: 2018
• Base year: 2023
• Estimated year: 2024
• Forecast year: 2029

Aspects covered in this report
• Industrial IoT market Outlook with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation



By Offering
• Hardware
• Software
• Platforms

By Vertical
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Energy
• Oil & Gas
• Transportation
• Others (Retail, Metals & Mining and Agriculture)

By Connectivity Technology
• Wireless
• Wired

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary and secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list the companies that are present in it. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources, primary research was conducted by conducting telephone interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this; we have started making primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting them in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us, we can start verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations, and organizations related to the Industrial IoT industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing and presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.