Connected cars and smart energy will drive the cellular Internet of Things market to a fourfold increase in connections to 908 million by 2019, new research has claimed.
The report, from 451 Research, said the sector is benefiting from several factors making it easier than ever before to enter. The first is falling hardware and bandwidth costs. The second is cloud-based middleware and data platforms, which make it easier to gain information from big data.
The other advantage is the hype surrounding the sector, raising awareness of how the IoTs and M2M can affect RoI, competitiveness and support new business models.
Brian Partridge, Research Vice President, said: “We continue to be bullish that ultimately the hype of IoT will be proven to be warranted back on business impact. Over the forecast period we expect that M2M/IoT solution suppliers will find fertile ground in vertical markets such as retail and government that will adopt IoT/M2M to enable strategic digitisation strategies such as smart cities and the use of digital signage, mobile point of sale, and connected kiosks to drive the transformation from brick and mortar to ‘click and mortar’.”
A separate report from the research firm found enterprises are turning to wearables in a bid to deploy enterprise solutions. Citing research conducted in the United States, the report found 39 percent of IT departments plan to deploy wearable-based solutions during the next six months, and 24 percent within the next year.
Ryan Martin, Analyst, IoT and Wearable Technologies at 451 Research, said: “The release of Apple Watch has opened the flood gates governing wearables’ adoption. But now that the river is running, it’s less about where it will end and more about where – and when – to start. We expect wearable technology to deliver a key interface and input into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).”