Thriving IoT market heads towards trillion dollar mark

The Internet of Things (IoT) market is expolding with both vendors and enterprises recognising and capitalising on opportunities in this space.

In fact, the worldwide IoT market will grow from $655.8 billion in 2014 to $1.7 trillion in 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.9%, according to IDC.

Devices, connectivity, and IT services will make up the majority of the IoT market in 2020, IDC says.

Together, they are estimated to account for over two-thirds of the worldwide IoT market in 2020, with devices (modules/sensors) alone representing 31.8% of the total.

By 2020, IDC expects that IoT purpose-built platforms, application software, and 'as a service' offerings will capture a larger percentage of revenue.

"While wearable devices are the consumer face of the Internet of Things, and where recognition of IoT appears to begin, the real opportunity remains in the enterprise and public sector markets," says Vernon Turner, IDC Enterprise Systems senior vice president and research fellow (IoT).

"The ripple effect of IoT is driving traditional business models from IT-enabled business processes to IT-enabled services and finally to IT-enabled products, which is beginning to disrupt the IT status quo," he says.

IDC defines the IoT as a network of networks of uniquely identifiable endpoints (or 'things') that communicate without human interaction using IP connectivity.

IDC has identified the IoT ecosystem as containing a complex mix of technologies including, but not limited to, modules/devices, connectivity, IoT purpose-built platforms, storage, servers, security, analytics software, IT services, and security.

It is important to note that autonomous connectivity is a key attribute within IDC's definition and, at this point, the analysts do not count smartphones, tablets, or PCs within our IoT forecast.