The way businesses in the UK connect is changing fast. That’s mainly because of the rise of remote work, hybrid work, international expansion, and the growing demand for seamless, secure, and cost-effective connectivity.
Therefore, they are ditching the traditional popular methods of using physical SIM cards or international roaming when abroad. And are opting for the eSIM. The eSIM now serves as a backbone of internet connectivity in the UK.
Why is that the case? Continue reading to learn the trends driving eSIM adoption in the UK.
Market overview: Why firms are switching to eSIMs
According to research, the UK eSIM market is expected to have a compounded annual growth rate of about 7.9% from 2024 to 2030. This growth indicates a nationwide increase in the adoption of eSIMs. And that’s inclusive of businesses.
But why exactly are firms switching to eSIMs and ditching the popular physical SIM cards? Well, that’s because eSIMs allow the following:
Operational flexibility and scalability
eSIMs enable firms to remotely provision and manage multiple mobile profiles without the need to swap physical cards. This streamlines device deployment, especially for companies managing large and diverse fleets.
Also, it makes it easy for firms to support their growing remote workforce.
Simplifies device lifecycle management
eSIMs make device onboarding, upgrades, and replacements easier and faster. That’s because IT departments of firms can manage connectivity entirely through software platforms. This helps to reduce downtime and manual intervention.
Enhance security and compliance
The eSIM technology supports advanced security features, such as remote SIM locking and advanced authentication. This helps firms meet regulatory requirements. At the same time, it ensures they can continuously address the growing cybersecurity threats.
Cost savings insight: reducing roaming and mobile bills
Another reason for the increased adoption of eSIMs in the UK is the cost-saving aspect that comes with the technology. eSIMs can be programmed remotely to switch to local mobile network profiles when employees travel internationally.
What does that mean? It means that they will use local networks to connect to the internet. Therefore, employees can avoid expensive roaming charges. What’s more, eSIMs ensure that businesses no longer need to invest heavily in costly global roaming agreements or contracts.
In addition to that, eSIMs eliminate the need for physical SIM cards, as mentioned above. This ensures that firms save on shipping, stocking, and manual administrative tasks associated with traditional SIM cards. And thus, they get to save labor and logistics costs.
Also, eSIM platforms come with real-time monitoring tools, which help businesses to track and analyze mobile usage patterns. The real-time monitoring enables proactive mobile bills cost control and strategic plan adjustment.
Remote team toolkit: how an eSIM helps businesses manage remote teams
According to the Office for National Statistics in the UK, more than a quarter of the adult working force works in a hybrid environment. That makes efficient mobile connectivity vital. And business eSIM rises to the task.
It enables organisations to support a remote workforce across geographies by doing the following:
- Ensuring instant mobile connectivity on a new employee’s device, as IT teams can simply push an eSIM profile remotely to any supported device.
- Enabling seamless offboarding, as the IT department can deactivate and wipe an eSIM profile remotely when an employee departs from the company.
- Keeping employees online without roaming hassles.
- Monitoring, managing, and updating eSIM-enabled devices through centralised platforms. This improves visibility and reduces administrative workload. At the same time, it enables IT to enforce policies without physical access.
- Reducing remote work risks, as eSIMs are very secure. The eSIMs eliminate the need for physical SIM swapping, which prevents social engineering attacks like SIM-jacking.
- Enabling remote workers to switch to local networks as they move between countries or regions. This enables reliable services for work. At the same time, it ensures businesses can avoid the cost of multiple physical SIMs.
The above are only a few of the reasons why businesses have shifted to eSIM for remote work management. Find out more info here about how eSIMs help businesses support remote workers efficiently.
Tech integration: eSIMs in business travel and corporate
The eSIM technology makes it easy for businesses to navigate abroad. It ensures that employees can switch between carriers or data plans based on location. The best part? That process can take place automatically or with only a few taps.
This ensures that employees can enjoy uninterrupted connectivity wherever their work takes them in the world. Also, the uninterrupted connectivity facilitates effective international conferences, cross-border meetings, or site visits in regions with limited coverage from UK providers.
In addition to that, eSIMs enable businesses to preconfigure and deploy devices using Mobile Device Management (MDM) platforms that support eSIM provisioning. This allows IT departments to assign, activate, and monitor data plans across an entire mobile workforce from one dashboard.
The benefit of that is that it reduces setup time and improves security. In addition to that, businesses are now more than ever adopting the eSIM because it helps them to streamline travel logistics and maintain constant communication.
Future forecast: eSIM adoption trends in uk‑ireland b2b
eSIM adoption among businesses in the UK and Ireland is highly likely to grow rapidly through 2025 and beyond. One of the main reasons for that is that about 70% of all cellular devices by 2030 will be eSIM-enabled, including smartphones, IoT devices, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and more.
This will enable more eSIM adoption. In addition to that, mobile network operators in the UK and Ireland will leverage eSIM’s ability to automate profile management. That means they will eliminate the physical logistics of physical SIMs.
This will:
- Simplify the device onboarding process for businesses
- Lower roaming and management costs
- Improve the process of scaling device fleets
Also, the need for corporations to be environmentally responsible can fuel the adoption of the eSIM. The physical SIM cards are plastic. After disposal, they contribute significantly to environmental degradation. Therefore, the shift to eSIM can help businesses in the UK and Ireland to be environmentally responsible.
