Internet of Things will reach 20 billion devices this year
The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand rapidly, and the smart home will be one of the keys to further growth through the 2020s, according to new research from Strategy Analytics. The report found that nearly 20 billion IoT and connected devices will be deployed worldwide by the end of this year, and a further 10 billion will be added over the next four years.
Enterprise IoT has been the key sector in recent years – it currently accounts for 52% of the total connected and IoT installed base – but longer term projections suggest that the smart home is likely to become a major generator of connected and IoT device deployment growth during the 2020s, taking the total figure towards 50 billion.
The research also showed that smart home devices will overtake smartphones by 2021 as a share of deployed connected and IoT devices. Also, the IoT will grow by 17% in 2017, but annual growth will decline to 9% by 2021.
“The original connected device, the PC, now represents only 5% of the total market, which illustrates how the internet has permeated so many aspects of our lives,” said David Mercer, principal analyst at Strategy Analytics and the report’s author.
Commented Bill Ablondi, director, smart home strategies at from Strategy Analytics: “The smart home is only at the beginning of its evolution, and as homes install increasing numbers of connected devices it is set to become one of the largest segments in the wider internet of things over the coming decade.”
