The conducted market analysis was intended to address the forward-looking concept of the Internet of Things. The focal points of the research were the segmentation of the Swiss and global markets as well as the exploration of the value chain of enterprises that were already operating in said market segments. In addition, the project focused only on the niche market for long-range communication in the field of IoT. Ultimately, this analysis should provide a transparent overview of promising market areas and the most significant local and global competitors.

The first step was to create a list of Swiss and global competitors with the greatest market potential that offer not only hardware, but also servers and applications for end customers. Subsequently, the selected competitors and experts were invited to an interview. These interviews were used to assess which technologies were used apart from LoRaWAN, how the companies have positioned themselves in their markets, and how their value chain was structured. This information was then compiled to provide the desired market transparency while serving as market entry recommendation.

The insights gained through the interviews have led to the recommendation for conducting business globally while benefitting from the reputation of Switzerland’s quality standards, provided that the necessary financial resources and cross-border regulations allow such a scalability for a Swiss IoT solution provider. Furthermore, Swiss IoT startups may benefit from synergistic partnerships with larger industrial corporations which would grant them access to a greater target audience. In terms of market targeting, a sole vertical should be chosen as a focus area while also covering several niche markets as a supplementary option. Lastly, the experiences from the interview guests have shown that aspiring IoT enterprises ought to utilize potential backgrounds in the hardware or software areas to their advantage. This qualitative analysis was able to generate the intended market transparency and likewise compile a possible marketing entry approach.