“Thanks to the burgeoning mass-market for NFC services and the continued upward trend for connected personal devices, the secure element industry is currently in a position of strength,” comments Hervé. “In particular, the recent emergence of complementary NFC technologies has expedited NFC deployment globally and the valuable role that the SE plays within the NFC ecosystem, by delivering the highest levels of security for various NFC applications, has been widely acknowledged. This presents an opportunity for further growth.
“Active developments within the consumer IoT and M2M markets are also set to positively impact the SE market in the year ahead. The architecture of smartphones is evolving and devices are now appearing with multiple SEs: a handset may contain both a SIM, which is controlled by a mobile network operator, and an embedded SE, which is controlled by the handset manufacturer. Additionally, new models of subscription distribution and management will impact ecosystems and business models, while putting the SIM industry in a pivotal new role. The next twelve months will certainly be dynamic and progressive for our industry and I look forward to championing further market growth through SIMalliance initiatives.”