IoT and enterprise markets: five trends to watch in 2026

To help navigate the year ahead, we are releasing a series of reports that highlight the key trends to watch in 2025 and the implications for ecosystem players. The analysis covers five key areas: 5G and network transformation; spectrum; IoT and the wider enterprise market; the digital consumer; and fixed and pay-TV markets. This Insight Spotlight addresses IoT and the wider enterprise market.

As the telecoms industry and wider digital ecosystem evolve at an unprecedented rate, regularly assessing major developments and their implications is more important than ever. GSMA Intelligence's new Industry Checkpoint series helps navigate how the market is changing, identify the trends that matter and understand the implications.

This report summarises the key findings from the December 2025 GSMA Intelligence Operators in Focus: Enterprise Opportunity Survey, which surveyed 100 global operators on their enterprise strategies, plans and emerging opportunities. Key topics include operators’ strategic priorities, partnerships, acquisitions and investment in enterprise 5G offerings such as private 5G, IoT, cloud, edge computing and network slicing.