18 Billion Reasons to Monitor IoT Performance at the Edge

There are about 18 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices in use today. For context, there are “only” 8 billion people in the world. These IoT devices, from industrial scanners to retail sensors, are embedded in daily operations, handling tasks that were once manual, siloed, or slow to scale. As more industries rely on IoT to improve efficiency, how can they ensure performance at the network edge where these devices operate?

How IoT in Manufacturing Improves Operations

IoT refers to physical devices such as barcode readers, sensors, and machinery that connect over wired or wireless infrastructure to exchange operational data. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global IoT market is expected to grow to $153.2 billion by 2029, with much of that growth fueled by industrial use cases that demand speed, precision, and automation.

In manufacturing, IoT plays a central role in linking physical workflows with digital systems. An expanding network of connected devices equipped with sensors, embedded software, and communication interfaces is designed to collect, share, and respond to data in real time. Often deployed on the factory floor or near production systems, these devices operate as close to the source as possible to minimize latency and enable faster decision-making.

Barcode scanners are a great example. As materials move through production, often at remote sites along the network edge, scanners capture checkpoints, trigger next steps, and update inventory systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms. This live exchange reduces delays, eliminates manual tracking, and enables more agile planning. But if a device fails to capture a scan or transmit data in time, the entire process can stall.

In manufacturing, IoT performance plays a critical role in these key areas:

• Scan-to-system timing measures how quickly barcode events update enterprise systems.
• Production flow validation confirms that devices track material movement through each assembly stage.
• Networked device stability monitors the behavior of wired scanners operating across factory floors.
• Workflow trigger reliability verifies that scan data consistently initiates the correct next step in the process.

These interactions represent essential checkpoints for supply chains. Although dashboards and reports offer a view into overall operations, the business goal is to shorten the time it takes to determine whether performance on the floor meets production expectations.

How IoT Shapes the Retail Customer Experience

Retail environments are shaped by IoT just as much as manufacturing, although interactions often happen directly in front of customers. Handheld scanners, mobile checkout devices, smart shelves, and radio frequency identification (RFID) systems all play a part in how products are tracked, sold, and replenished to help retailers respond in real time by adjusting pricing and updating stock. But they also rely on constant communication between in-store devices and backend systems, often across edge networks that weren’t designed to support dozens of connected endpoints.

When performance slips, the impact is immediate: checkouts slow down, inventory data becomes unreliable, or fulfillment handoffs are missed. That’s why understanding where key interactions occur and how they’re performing is essential.
In retail environments, IoT performance plays a critical role in these key areas:

• Point-of-sale (POS) interaction speed measures how quickly transactions process after item scans.
• Inventory sync accuracy ensures shelf sensors and handhelds reflect real-time product availability.
• Fulfillment step timing tracks in-store actions tied to buy online pick up in-store (BOPIS) and same-day orders.
• Device-to-network connection health evaluates the consistency of wireless communication for key endpoints.

Each of these represents a moment where technology meets service delivery. As in manufacturing, avoiding operational problems in retail means paying attention to performance at the edge, where the devices and the network are most vulnerable.

How to Improve IoT Device Performance from Edge to Core

NETSCOUT observability solutions help businesses manage complex, distributed IoT environments at scale, especially at the edge. With technologies such as NETSCOUT’s nGeniusONE and Remote ISNG and nGenius Edge Sensor appliances, organizations can unlock the full performance potential of their IoT investments from the edge inward, so connected devices supporting daily operations run reliably, consistently, and with measurable accuracy.

Read this use case to see how a global manufacturer assured performance across its IoT and ERP systems at the network edge during a strategic migration to AWS.