Part 5 of 5: Rethinking Control in the Era of eSIM
Why CIOs and CISOs Are Taking Control of IoT Connectivity
For years, cellular connectivity for IoT devices was treated as a commodity—procured by operations teams, managed in silos, and largely invisible to enterprise IT. That era is ending. CIOs and CISOs are now driving connectivity decisions, bringing enterprise IT priorities with them: unified device control, data continuity, and comprehensive cybersecurity governance.
The C-Suite Imperative
The shift is being forced by converging pressures. CISOs face an expanding attack surface as IoT devices proliferate—industrial sensors, fleet telematics, healthcare monitors—with limited visibility into what’s deployed, what data is flowing, or what vulnerabilities exist. Meanwhile, CIOs grapple with data continuity requirements as IoT feeds mission-critical analytics, AI models, and business processes.
Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. NIS2 in Europe, SEC cybersecurity disclosure rules in the US, and sector-specific mandates are creating board-level accountability for device security and data governance. When connectivity is procured outside enterprise IT frameworks, it creates governance gaps, complicates patch management, and obscures the data lineage that auditors demand.
The fundamental issue: managing devices as “connections” rather than IT assets undermines the unified control that modern enterprise security and data governance require.
eSIM: From Connectivity Service to IT Asset
eSIM technology decouples connectivity from device deployment, enabling a strategic shift in how organizations manage IoT. Yes, it provides downstream flexibility to change providers for better pricing or performance. But the real value is upstream: eSIM moves connectivity decisions into enterprise IT, where they can be integrated with asset management, security, and data governance frameworks.
This addresses the core requirements driving CIO and CISO involvement:
- Unified Device Control. Devices become manageable IT assets rather than orphaned connections. They can be inventoried, monitored, and governed using existing enterprise platforms—providing the visibility CISOs need and the operational control CIOs demand.
- Data Continuity. Asset-based management with persistent device identities ensures data flows remain consistent and traceable regardless of connectivity provider. This supports the audit trails and data quality standards that enterprise governance requires.
- Security at Scale. Lifecycle management of security updates becomes coordinated and provider-agnostic. Zero-trust principles can be applied based on device identity rather than connection-based authentication. Patch management becomes an IT function, not a fragmented operational challenge.
- GRC Integration. IoT devices integrate properly into Governance, Risk, and Compliance platforms, allowing consistent security policies and risk assessments across the entire device ecosystem.
Strategic Differentiation Through Connectivity
This shift also reveals what commodity procurement obscured: connectivity decisions directly influence device performance. Battery life, latency, and reliability vary with connectivity configuration. In healthcare, fleet management, and industrial IoT, these characteristics differentiate competitive offerings.
Organizations treating connectivity as a strategic product attribute—managed by product teams with IT governance support—gain competitive advantages. Those maintaining commodity procurement approaches risk losing ground to competitors leveraging eSIM flexibility strategically.
Managing Complexity
The benefits are substantial but come with considerations. Market fragmentation in the eSIM ecosystem means solutions developed with one vendor set may require adjustment for different markets or partners.
Single-pane-of-glass platforms that abstract across eSIM vendors and Connectivity Management Platforms are essential. They allow IT teams to integrate once while maintaining provider flexibility—critical for CIOs managing enterprise complexity without multiplying integration points.
Industry Implications
This evolution creates new competitive dynamics. Mobile operators historically differentiated on cost and network connectivity, not the full array of desired device services. Networking OEMs and devices manufacturers have equally failed to meet the needs of the enterprise and public sector users. As connectivity decisions move to IT and security leaders evaluating total lifecycle value rather than procurement teams focused on unit costs, the industry is shifting to utilize enterprise-first, device centric workflow platforms to unify full control across the network landscape that integrates with enterprise IT governance and supports data continuity requirements.
The Path Forward
IoT connectivity is now enterprise IT strategy. CIOs and CISOs are driving this shift because their mandates—data governance, cybersecurity, operational resilience—require it.
Leading enterprises are turning to platforms like Simetric’s enterprise-first single pane of glass to deliver unified device control, integrated workflows into ServiceNow, and complete asset and security management within existing IT frameworks—without multiplying integration points.
The question isn’t whether to manage IoT and edge networking as enterprise IT infrastructure. It’s whether you’ll lead or follow as competitors reshape markets around connectivity-enabled advantages.