If you’re looking for industry buzzwords, then 2017’s is arguably the Internet of Things (IoT). For the uninitiated, that’s where your fridge talks to your running shoes that’s all connected to your car and your home air-conditioning unit.
And according to a new study by tech research firm Gartner, all this talk around the IoT’s is fast turning into action.
Gartner forecasts that 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2017, up 31 per cent from 2016, and will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. Total spending on endpoints and services will reach almost $US2 trillion in 2017.
The report follows on from an article on B&T earlier in the week that found satellite technology would fundamentally improve all our access to the IoT.
However, according to the Gartner study, we Aussies are lagging behind in the IoT landscape. It found China, North America and Western Europe are driving the use of connected things and the three regions together will represent a 67 per cent increase over the coming years.
The report found that the consumer segment is the largest user of IoT with 5.2 billion units in 2017, which represents 63 per cent of the overall number of applications.
While consumers purchase more devices, businesses spend more. In 2017, in terms of hardware spending, the use of IoT devices among businesses is predicted to be $US964 billion while consumer applications will amount to $US725 billion. By 2020, hardware spending from both segments will reach a staggering $US3 trillion, according to Gartner.
Commenting on the study, Gartner’s research director Peter Middleton said: “Aside from automotive systems, the applications that will be most in use by consumers will be smart TVs and digital set-top boxes, while smart electric meters and commercial security cameras will be most in use by businesses.”
