How BIG the IoT is?

There are already more linked devices than people in the world, and this number is growing.

According to IDC, there will be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices, or "things," in the world by 2025.It also says that industrial and automotive equipment provide the largest possibility for connected "things," but that smart home and wearable gadgets will see rapid adoption in the near future. 

According to Gartner, the enterprise and automotive industries will account for 5.8 billion devices this year, up nearly a quarter from last year.Because of the ongoing installation of smart metres, utilities will be the largest users of IoT.

The second most common usage of IoT devices will be security devices such as intrusion detection and web cameras.The fastest-growing area will be building automation, which includes linked lighting, followed by automotive (connected autos) and healthcare (monitoring of chronic conditions). 

Figure 1: IoT Market scale by 2021

Industry-specific offerings, such as sensors in a power plant or real-time location devices for healthcare, are divided into two categories: IoT devices that can be used in any industry, such as smart air conditioning or security systems, and IoT devices that can be used in any industry, such as smart air conditioning or security systems.

Table 1: Years Wise Segmentation of IoT Market (Units in Billions)

Years	2018	2019	2020	2021 (expected)
Building Automation	0.23	0.31	0.44	0.46
Automotive	0.27	0.36	0.47	0.50
Transportation	0.06	0.07	0.08	0.11
Health Care units	0.21	0.28	0.36	0.45
Manufacturing and Natural Resources	0.33	0.40	0.49	0.53
Information	0.37	0.37	0.38	0.40
Retail and Wholesale Trades	0.29	0.36	0.44	0.46
Physical Security	0.83	0.95	1.09	1.20
Utilities	0.98	1.17	1.37	1.56
Government	0.40	0.53	0.70	0.90
Total	3.96	4.81	5.82	6.57

Source: Gartner 

While industry-specific products will lead the way in the early stages, Gartner estimates that by 2020, cross-industry devices will account for 4.4 billion units, while vertical-specific devices will account for 3.2 billion. Consumers buy more gadgets, but businesses spend more: according to the analyst firm, consumer spending on IoT devices was roughly $725 billion last year, while enterprise spending was $964 billion. Spending on IoT devices by businesses and consumers will reach over $3 trillion by 2020. 

According to IDC, global investment on the Internet of Things will exceed $745 billion in 2019, up 15.4 percent from $646 billion in 2018, and will surpass $1 trillion in 2022.Discrete manufacturing ($119 billion in spending), process manufacturing ($78 billion), transportation ($71 billion), and utilities ($61 billion) were anticipated to be the top IoT industries. Projects to support asset management will be critical for manufacturing, while freight monitoring and fleet management will be major priorities in transportation.

Smart-grid initiatives for power, gas, and water will dominate IoT spending in the utilities business. Consumer IoT spending is expected to reach $108 billion, making it the second-largest industrial segment, with much of the money going to smart homes, personal wellness, and connected vehicle infotainment.

Manufacturing operations ($100 billion), production asset management ($44.2 billion), smart homes ($44.1 billion), and freight monitoring ($41.7 billion) will be the most heavily invested in use cases.

Author

Prof Manish Bhardwaj

Assistant Professor 

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

KIET Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad