The internet of things is growing all the time and the number of connected devices is expected to rise by 12% every year until 2030.
With 27 billion devices online in 2017, that compounded increase will see 125 billion devices joined to the internet in just over a decade from now.
The internet of things is becoming a global, unstoppable movement that is revolutionising competition between businesses, says the report The Internet of Things: A movement, not a market from analysts IHT Markit.
“The emerging IoT movement is impacting virtually all stages of industry and nearly all market areas — from raw materials to production to distribution and even the consumption of final goods,” said Jenalea Howell, research director for IoT connectivity and smart cities at IHS Markit.
The four Cs of the IoT
“This represents a constantly evolving movement of profound change in how humans interact with machines, information and even each other.”
The report divides IoT devices into four categories:
- New connections between devices and information
- Enhanced data collection as the number of connections grows
- Processing the data in new ways
- The creation of new business opportunities, models and solutions
“While internet-connected devices hold tremendous potential, many companies are having difficulty identifying a consistent IoT strategy,” Howell said.
“The four Cs of IoT — connect, collect, compute, create — offer a pathway to navigate and take advantage of the changes and opportunities brought about by the IoT revolution.”
Worries about hacking homes and businesses
Besides the commercial and communications sectors, that swallow around 20 billion of the already connected devices, the three areas that expect to see growth of a fifth or more are medical applications, cars and home consumers.
In a separate study, media company CNBC says the internet of things is important because any devices connected to the internet can talk to each other – like switching on your lights or thermostat while on the way home from a smartphone.
The worry is increasing the number of internet connected devices also makes life easier for hackers, so online security protocols and procedures will have to change at a rate at least as fast as the IoT develops.
>