Many organizations rely on Internet of Things (IoT) devices to manage inventory, monitor operations, keep track of customers, and more. For these businesses, network congestion can result in costly logistical or analytical downtime that can cascade into production problems and customer service issues. Even for businesses with well-planned routing systems, cellular IoT networks can strain under seasonal demand.
Modern businesses need to maintain connectivity, even when traffic is high. Dual SIM routing technology can help maintain stable connections by switching between cellular carriers if one network is unstable or congested. This article goes into more detail about how Dual SIM routing can help transform network reliability for modern organizations by replacing one essential network failure point with a more adaptable system for modern needs.
Why Does IoT Device Connectivity Struggle During Peak Season?
Peak season for network activity differs in meaning depending on the industry. For healthcare practices, peak season may be the time of year with more patients; for manufacturers, peak season would be the months with the highest production demands. In any industry, peak season can overwhelm normally reliable network IoT, resulting in unstable connections. This can quickly become an organization-wide issue.
For example, fleet management businesses rely on vehicle tracking for safety, demand forecasting, inventory tracking, and other functions. During the peak shipping seasons, these companies may develop blind spots if their IoT routing systems are overwhelmed. Network traffic from other businesses can overwhelm networks, deprioritize IoT traffic, throw off maintenance schedules, and more.
Additionally, network carriers during peak season will likely be more limited in available resources, focusing on their high-value consumer traffic where possible. For many organizations, this can result in their network being deprioritized, leading to coverage gaps and device downtime.
What is Dual SIM IoT Routing?
While single SIM routers are vulnerable to network disruptions resulting from peak season challenges, dual SIM routers can support up to two networks for a more reliable connection. Depending on the hardware and firmware, some dual SIM routers can automatically switch to the other network in the event of high latency, lost connections, or failed pings, helping businesses maintain uninterrupted connections to their devices.
With recent studies showing that large enterprise IT downtime can cost organizations as much as $9,000 per minute, IoT device routing is an important investment.
Additionally, some advanced dual SIM IoT routing models can balance the network load over both cards to improve speed and bandwidth usage. However, most dual SIM routers use “automatic failover” to switch between carriers, which means they do not use both networks simultaneously. Instead, they have an active and a standby network and switch between them, which can be useful in many businesses, though there is a possibility of a brief disruption.
For example, in network environments with multiple simultaneous users, dual SIM routing can help maintain uninterrupted connections, even when one of the carriers is unavailable in the recipient’s region. Dual SIM setups can also minimize roaming charges by adapting to connectivity demands and switching to the most cost-effective network, provided the network is configured with either multiple local carriers or a global IoT SIM provider.
What are the Top Use Cases for Dual SIM IoT Routing?
Dual SIM IoT routing benefits businesses the most when IoT connectivity interruptions are the most disruptive. By maintaining more versatile and consistent connections, dual SIM IoT routers can help businesses survive peak season with their ROI and customer relationships intact.
Here are some of the most prominent use cases for dual SIM IoT:
Industrial Monitoring: Smart manufacturing environments require reliable connectivity when transmitting analytics, production metrics, software updates, or status revisions. The network needs to be able to support high traffic needs of the business, as well as those from surrounding businesses. With dual SIM IoT routers, businesses can maintain more consistent connections so that essential operational data is never lost or delayed.- Remote Monitoring: Businesses with remote monitoring locations, such as those in construction and agriculture sectors, often face connection issues resulting from limited cellular availability. Depending on the coverage of the secondary carrier, dual SIM routing may help solve these issues by accessing multiple networks and choosing the most reliable network for the environment at the time that data collection and communication is needed. Businesses in any industry that require stable traffic during peak seasons regardless of location can help operations run smoothly with dual SIM routing.
- Asset Tracking: Peak season can impact businesses with geographically dispersed assets, time-sensitive deliveries, and customer update schedules. Carrier outages can create blind spots that lead to operations, logistics, and service issues. For example, fleet managers can lose track of essential vehicle transports, route options, customer updates, and other analytics during peak shipping times, when this data is most needed. Depending on the alternate carrier, dual SIM IoT routing helps keep track of assets as the network automatically shifts to the stronger carrier signal, preventing downtime.
Improve Operations Monitoring with Dual SIM IoT Routers
Many organizations face data management challenges related to maintaining connectivity in peak seasons. Dual SIM IoT routers allow organizations to maintain the ROI on their network investments by automatically shifting to stable connections when necessary and maintaining the essential analytics transmissions of the business. Working with a professional provider can help you better determine if a dual SIM IoT router can be a working solution to improve connectivity in your situation.
At Allpoint Wireless, our experienced wireless network providers install dual SIM IoT routers and help businesses manage their IoT networks with Allpoint Command, our central portal. Contact our team today to learn about the benefits of dual SIM IoT in your position and how lowering device downtime can change productivity for your business.