Last year, Stocklytics writer Jastra Kranjec described how the Internet of Things “has entered almost every market over the past several years, providing seamless means of direct communications between people, processes, and devices.”
This, indeed, holds quite true today. Alongside the sheer proliferation of AI, robotics and automation-centric solutions driving Industry 4.0, IoT has paved the way for networks of interconnected devices to provide real-time data-driven insights for future-forward businesses. From industrial manufacturers using ruggedized sensors to predict equipment maintenance needs (see our Industrial IoT News Hub for more IIoT-specific info like that) to retailers provisioning smarter technologies for personalized consumer experiences, the boom in widespread relevance of IoT has since translated to greatly increased efficiencies, cost savings, and significant competitive advantages for those strategically leveraging the boon of IoT.
And, according to more data presented by Stocklytics, the global IoT market is expected to see yet another year of double-digit growth. We’re talking a rise in revenue of 18% to a staggering 1.38 trillion by later this year.
Trillion (News - Alert), readers. With a capital “T.”
How IoT has exploded from millions to billions — to the expected trillions, as we’re now seeing — makes a ton of sense. According to Statista Market Insights, as well, the global IoT market grossed nearly $510 billion in 2019. A year later, this figure rose to approximately $544 billion; still not a number to wag a finger at. However, the market’s momentum catapulted in 2021, following nearly a full year of the COVID-19 pandemic; revenue surged by almost 40%, reaching $773 billion. In 2022, global revenue hit over $970 billion, increasing by 27% year-over-year.
No Sherlockian-style mystery to solve here; IoT has rapidly become a bona fide trillion-dollar industry.
Per Stocklytics and Statista, more than one-third of total IoT revenue this year — landing in the ballpark of $494 billion — will come from automotive. That tracks; we have a whole section of IoT Evolution World dedicated to precisely that. Following automotive is the aforementioned IIoT at $325 billion in forecasted revenue this year, representing an 18% increase year-over-year.
So, by 2025? 2028? Into the next decade?
Well, much of this may depend on a can’t-overlook factor:
Security.
According to Trevor Cooke, an online privacy resources specialist at Earthweb, growing threats to IoT devices include the likes of firmware vulnerability exploits, as well as both physical hardware-based and credential-based cyber intrusions. To counter such threats, people like Cooke highly recommend “building fortresses around your devices” with DNS filtering, enhanced device authentication and encryption protocols, network intrusion detection measures, continuous monitoring and incident response, and other like paths of action. Doing so serves not only the business putting said implementations in place, but also a.) any consumers and their data that could be put at risk, and b.) other businesses that may benefit from promoting these initiatives.
So, the long-story-short of this? Though no singular market prediction is 100% spot-on (nor is any one security measure utterly bulletproof), keeping a sharp eye on IoT (and the necessary security practices it demands) is recommended as technologies around us evolve at wicked pace.