2026 Trends to Watch: IoT

John Canali

Principal Analyst, IoT

As part of Omdia's Internet of Things (IoT) practice, John is based in Boston. His specialist areas of coverage include service provider IoT strategies, IoT platforms, IoT product and go-to-market approaches, and key IoT vertical markets, including connected cars.

Prior to joining the Omdia (formerly Ovum) IoT team in 2019, John spent over five years working in product management and product development with AT&T's IoT organization. He provided commercial and market support in areas including connected cars, fleet solutions, smart cities, and smart homes. Before joining AT&T, John was an analyst with Strategy Analytics, focusing on connected car markets, technologies, and opportunities. John holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Trinity College in Connecticut and a Master of Science with distinction in international strategy and economics from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.  

Andrew Brown

Practice Lead, IoT

Andrew Brown is an industry expert on enterprise mobility and the IoT, with 25 years’ experience providing consulting and advisory services in IT market research, with a specialist focus on enterprise, IoT, mobility, connectivity, B2B, AI, security, and wireless networks. In addition to managing a team of analysts that advises on all aspects of the IoT ecosystem, Andrew spends his time helping network service providers, device vendors, regulators, and many other vendors understand the implications and opportunities presented by the growing IoT space.

Andrew joined Omdia from Strategy Analytics, where he worked for 14 years. Prior to that, he worked at IDC for a decade. He also worked for Lucas Automotive GmbH in Germany as a market analyst. He gained a joint honors degree in marketing and German from Lancaster University in the UK.

Shobhit Srivastava

Senior Principal Analyst

Shobhit is a seasoned industry analyst with over eight years of experience providing consulting and advisory services covering mobile devices and ecosystems, components, semiconductors, and IoT. At Omdia, he focuses on IoT hardware and platforms, including IoT modules, chipsets, and other components. Shobhit is based out of Toronto, Canada.

Shobhit joined Omdia after completing his MBA from IE Business School with a specialization in technology and entrepreneurship. Prior to his MBA, he was a research analyst at Counterpoint Research for almost six years, covering diverse industry sectors. He also worked as a technology consultant at Wipro for a few years. His interests lie in helping businesses understand the emergence and intersection of multiple technologies like AI, IoT, cloud, and next-generation connectivity and how they can be leveraged for future growth. This interest comes from his engineering background, and Shobhit also holds an engineering degree in information technology from Vellore Institute of Technology, India.

Alexander Thompson

Senior Analyst

Alexander Thompson is a Senior Analyst at Omdia, where his main responsibility is forecasting and carrying out research in IoT topics, including connectivity.

Alex was previously working as a Senior Analyst in consumer entertainment in the Media and Entertainment team at Omdia, covering esports and working on a consulting project encompassing the entire global M&E landscape. Prior to joining Omdia in 2021, Alex worked as an IoT Forecast Analyst at GSMA Intelligence and as an R&D Engineer at Sony.

Alex previously attained a Bachelor of Engineering in electrical and electronic engineering and a Master of Science in telecommunications with business, both at University College London.