PTC updated their ThingWorx Industrial IoT platform in June 2020 with an aim to accelerate Industrial IoT deployments across the enterprise value chain. ThingWorx 9.0 would include new and expanded features to assist industrial companies in developing, implementing, customizing, and scaling their solutions.

In September 2019, GE Digital invested in their software portfolio, it provided businesses option to operate their plants in a more easy and effective manner, optimize their operations, and analyze industrial data. The Predix Essentials solution would make it easier for industrial companies to , visualize, connect and analyze their data along with reducing waste and costs, are among the product updates.

In May 2019 Microsoft and NXP Semiconductors collaborated in order to bring AI and ML capabilities for anomaly detection to Azure IoT users. Both the companies collaborated to launch a new Anomaly Detection Solution for Azure IoT. Presence detection, predicting maintenance features for rotating components and intrusion detection were included in the solution to prevent failures and reduce downtime, thereby improving productivity and system safety.

TIBCO Software acquired SnappyData in March 2019, a high-performance in-memory data platform that can be used for multiple workloads. This acquisition will add a unified analytics data fabric to the TIBCO Connected Intelligence platform, data science, enhancing analytics, streaming, and data management for various use cases requiring speed, volume, and agility.

IBM unveiled a new portfolio of IoT solutions in February 2019, it combines AI and advanced analytics in order to assist asset-intensive organizations such as Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) in improving maintenance strategies. The solution was created for the purpose of assisting organizations in lowering costs and lowering the risk of failure of physical assets such as vehicles, manufacturing robots, turbines, mining equipment, elevators, and electrical transformers. The IBM Maximo Asset Performance Management (APM) solutions were created to collect data from physical assets in near real-time and provide insights on current operating conditions, predict potential issues, identify problems, and provide repair recommendations.

PTC announced the release of a new version of its award-winning ThingWorx Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution platform in February 2019. The company improved its ThingWorx platform by introducing new capabilities such as Operator Advisor, which is designed to increase factory worker productivity by simplifying the way critical operational data is collected, synthesized, and delivered.

Even though COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on society and the economy, there are some strong indications that certain technologies will likely see accelerated adoption as people become more digitalized in light of the current trend of working from home.

Let us now look into the impact of COVID-19 on IoT technology. In general, we would expect IoT to suffer a negative impact; however, the ratio of positive to negative impact for IoT is around 1:8, indicating that IoT technology is poised to reach new heights during the pandemic period.

Because of their ease of connectivity, various remote access and conferencing tools have seen widespread adoption, thereby streamlining communication between people living in different parts of the world. Zoom, cloud-based videotelephony, and online chat service are some of the platforms that have gained a lot of popularity recently. It will provide remote access to machines and performs virtual inspections, remote diagnostics, and remote support. Another company, Librestream, reported a twofold increase in remote software usage. This scenario suggests a potential market for a variety of new entrants, resulting in a highly competitive situation.

The smart city solution accelerated the development of data platform solutions to avoid and effectively manage the outbreak crisis. South Korea dealt effectively with COVID-19 by using its smart city data hub to investigate epidemiological investigators' requests and obtain and confirm data about coronavirus cases and people they had come into contact with. Similarly, as the pandemic spread, other cities, such as Boston, established new platforms.