The modern car behaves increasingly like a smartphone on wheels and connected-car features are the norm. Owners expect a reliable app they can use for basic functions such as unlocking doors and checking the battery status of EVs, and connected services, such as navigation and infotainment, that simply work and improve over time.

Embedded connectivity is now becoming standard, so it no longer sets a vehicle manufacturer (OEM) apart. Connectivity only confirms that a car is online; it says nothing about whether a software update arrived, a remote command worked or a paid-for service is performing as expected. The capability that assures consistent customer experiences is operational visibility: the ability to see, and act on, what each vehicle is doing on the network. For consumers, this visibility delivers reliable connected features, services that feel worth paying for and confidence in the security of their vehicles.

Figure 1: How operational visibility enhances the customer experience

Software updates are now the main way OEMs add features and fix problems after a car has been sold. When an update fails quietly, the owner is left without the latest features or with a security fix that never arrived. Research by J.D. Power found that 37% of electric-vehicle app users have experienced a lost connection or a delayed update, showing how often these everyday interactions fail and how aware customers are of these failures.

Visibility at the network level confirms which vehicles received an update, which did not and why, so the OEM can put it right before the owner notices. For car owners, this means fewer missed features, fewer unresolved faults, quicker issue resolution and greater confidence that the car is always up to date.

A connected car carries multiple streams of data traffic on one connection, including the operational data the vehicle needs to run and the services a driver consumes. Visibility into traffic at the application level lets an OEM separate and measure each service accurately. OEMs can therefore offer a growing range of driver-paid and third-party services while being confident in their performance and ability to price each one accurately. For customers, this opens up a wide range of in-vehicle services, including in-car Wi-Fi hotspots, infotainment, such as music and video, and concierge services.

A connected car is a long-lived, internet-connected device that its owner needs to trust for years. Most drivers give little thought to cyber security until something goes wrong, yet connected vehicles are an increasingly attractive cyber attack target. In 2024, 92% of reported attacks on connected vehicles or OEM cloud systems were carried out remotely, so protection must work across the whole fleet and be managed at the network level,

Visibility across the network lets an OEM spot unusual behavior across the fleet, identify affected vehicles and apply targeted security controls before an issue spreads, often before the driver notices. The result is a car that stays safe, available and dependable throughout its life.

Customer experience has become a real point of differentiation in the highly competitive car market, helping OEMs to retain customers and grow recurring revenue. That experience rests quietly on operational visibility: updates that are assured, services that are accurately priced and security that holds across the whole fleet. Manufacturers that build visibility into the product, rather than treating it as something to fix once a problem arises, will be the ones that earn lasting customer loyalty and sustained growth.

For more than three decades, Aeris has been a trusted cellular platform leader enabling the biggest IoT programs with innovative technologies and borderless connectivity that simplify management, enhance security, optimize performance, and drive growth at scale. Our IoT technology expertise serves a global ecosystem of 7,000 enterprise customers, nearly 30 mobile network operator partners, and 104 million IoT devices across the world. Today, we support 70 automotive programs across 45 vehicle brands and 30+ global automotive OEM groups. Aeris IoT Watchtower^TM, a fully integrated capability on the Aeris IoT Accelerator platform, gives automotive OEMs a single operational view across vehicles, networks, and applications – delivering the network-level insights and enforceable security controls needed to simplify operations, improve efficiency, and support profitable growth. As the largest orchestrator of eSIMs for IoT, we power today’s connected smart world. To learn how Aeris IoT Accelerator Platform, Aeris IoT Watchtower, and Aeris Mobility Suite can secure and supercharge your critical IoT programs, visit aeris.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

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