our stories

tech never sleeps, so neither do we

The emerging market trends that are driving IoT growth

What are the factors that are driving the growth of the Internet of Things? Some are consumer-driven pull factors. Others are industry driven push-factors as businesses develop new solutions that leverage IoT capabilities. Legislation and other technological advancements also play a part.

Statista reports that the Internet of Things (IoT) market is expected to see a significant surge in revenue, reaching a staggering $1,387 billion worldwide this year. It predicts that the market will continue grow, anticipating an annual growth rate of 12.57% (CAGR 2024-2028).

If this growth rate holds firm, the resulting market volume would be $2,227 billion by 2028. So what is driving this extraordinary growth?

What are the market trends that are driving IoT growth?

There are a number of push and pull factors that are driving the growth of the IoT and, especially, the IIoT.

Interest of big industry players

When the big technology players start introducing IoT solutions, it signals the maturation of the market. Trust in these brands and their established solutions encourage people who might otherwise not have considered an IoT strategy to begin thinking about investing more seriously in IoT.

Manufacturing and the industrial IoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has experienced fast growth rates. Manufacturing currently accounts for the largest single sector as a consumer of the Internet of Things. It accounted for 26 percent of the market in 2022. The needs to optimise manufacturing operations, reduce resource consumption, track goods and materials around the factory and supply chain and develop predictive maintenance solutions are driving growth in the sector.

The drive towards smart vehicles

Among various segments, Automotive IoT is projected to dominate the market, with a substantial market volume of $494bn by 2028. The need to track, monitor and charge electric vehicles and integrate new payment mechanisms and renewable sources into the grid network are spurring a huge growth in IoT deployments.

Environmental regulation & energy efficiency goals

The idea that “what gets measured gets managed” is driving a huge growth in IoT metering and sensor solutions to help track and manage the consumption of energy. This is true in the home, in offices and business premises, in consumer locations such as cinemas and shopping centres and in public sector buildings, such as government offices and hospitals. The energy crisis has added a convincing financial dimension to the need to reduce energy use – making these IoT monitoring solutions the first step in a circular process to monitor, manage and reduce.

Changing consumer expectations

Consumer’s changing attitudes to technology are helping to power the growth in the IoT market at home and in business. There are now more digital natives in the workplace than there are digital immigrants.

Healthcare connected devices

One area where IoT growth is being driven by both consumers and providers is in healthcare. Consumers like the empowerment that fitness trackers offer them over their own health and fitness. Meanwhile, healthcare providers are developing solutions to give patients more control over their own healthcare and support more preventative approaches to medicine.

 

5G

The rollout of fifth-generation wireless (5G) has increased the speed and bandwidth of wireless networks while also reducing latency when compared to previous wireless standards. Since many IoT devices use cellular communications to send data to and from apps hosted in the cloud, these advancements in coverage and in the speed and bandwidth available make new solutions possible.

 

Mesh networking

Industrial sites which may have struggled to implement of comprehensive Wi-Fi network across them, either due to size or obstructions, are benefitting from new mesh networking solutions that enhance the Wi-Fi coverage across the site. With more comprehensive coverage and fewer spots that aren’t covered, IoT solutions can be rolled out into areas it wasn’t previously possible to reach.

 

Cloud computing

The migration to cloud computing has helped to drive IoT take up. First, in the hosting of the apps with which IoT devices communicate. Perhaps most importantly, cloud computing environments offer the agile data storage and flexible compute power needed to store and use the data generated by connected IoT devices.

 

Advanced data analytics

Data analytics breakthroughs are also helping to drive IoT growth. The information from IoT devices needs to be used and converted into relevant insights to be useful. New low-code and no-code data solutions and AI-powered analytics make it easier for non-specialists to manipulate and interrogate data. The more useful data is, the more enticing the opportunity to capture it. This new, democratisation in the usefulness of data is another driver in the growth of the IoT

stuck for answers?

Understand the questions