Ways IoT SaaS Platforms Help Secure Devices in Growing IoT IAM Market

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The global IoT Identity and Access Management (IAM) market is estimated to reach $14 billion by 2027 from $5.6 billion in 2022. According to the latest industry report by MarketsandMarkets, the global IoT IAM market will keep expanding at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.1% during the forecast period. The expected growth of IAM also translates to an increase in the demand for IoT SaaS platforms.

Key growth drivers include personal and household use of smart devices and the increasing adoption of IoT SaaS to efficiently manage all connected devices at the enterprise level. The impact of COVID-19 also plays a role in the demand for IAM security for IoT. Since many organizations now have remote employees who use connected devices and almost all sectors rely on some form of machine-to-machine communication, the risk of weak connections is also high. IAM security can help protect critical corporate data that travels between devices.

The challenge though comes in the cost of IoT IAM solutions. SMEs, for instance, have a hard time shelling out the budget for implementing IoT security solutions. Advanced and strong solutions usually come at higher costs, which only large organizations can afford. Moreover, the report adds that the lack of expertise, cybersecurity strategy, and correct implementation of security tools contribute to the challenges connected to IoT AIM.

Healthcare and Lifesciences is one of the industries that is expected to continuously increase its application of IoT IAM technology. The demand is directly connected to cybersecurity concerns in the healthcare industry. Healthcare providers also have pressing challenges when it comes to protecting patient data such as preserving the privacy of Electronic Health Record (EHR). They need IoT IAM solutions for securing devices used for monitoring, reporting, and managing devices used in their operations.

North America will account for the largest market share during the forecast period. This is due to the large-scale tech adoption of organizations and the high number of vendors located in the region. However, vendors should also look into the APAC region since it is likely to be the fastest-growing region during the forecast period. This is driven by the rapid digitalization of businesses across the region.

IoT SaaS Platforms’ Role in Cybersecurity

When it comes to IoT trends, security is a top concern among providers. In the past, identity and access management tools were built for managing human identities. Now, the technology has expanded to include IoT and all types of smart devices within the IT system. This is a critical development because unlike human users that use identities for authentication, IoT devices and objects use unique identifiers or UIDs.

Based on projections, there will be more than 75 billion connected IoT devices worldwide by 2025. How can organizations effectively monitor and manage literally hundreds, if not thousands of IoT devices under their watch? Most importantly, how can teams make sense of the data glut that results from all these connected devices? SaaS platforms are proving to be effective solutions to help enterprises manage their IoT installations.

IoT SaaS platforms can provide IAM and other security capabilities for organizations, which can significantly reduce the costs related to setting up sophisticated security solutions. IoT SaaS platforms can also implement standard security protocols for machine-to-machine communication that strengthen privacy, especially when transmitting, processing, and storing data.

With so many devices working at different locations and being accessed by multiple users, vulnerable IoT devices can be a hot target for hackers who will not hesitate to exploit them to infiltrate a company’s IT system. IoT SaaS platforms can offer the advanced tools to handle authentication, registration, data encryption, and detection of “shadow” IT devices that security teams might have missed in their system.