Internet Of Things Devices To ‘Triple’ By 2020

New analyst predictions from Juniper Research estimate 38.5 billion units will be hooked up to the Internet of Things (IoT) by 2020 as the number of connected devices across the world triples in number over the next few years.

The majority of the new devices will come from the industrial world, as new verticals uncover the possibilities of working smarter than ever before.

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Juniper’s predictions were published in a report entitled The Internet of Things: Consumer, Industrial & Public Services 2015-2020, which found that while the number of connected devices already exceeds the number of humans on the planet nearly twice over, many businesses are still trying to simply get their systems and devices connected.

Analytics is highlighted as being one of the key uses for the IoT, with the report saying these functions will form the backbone of the long-term success, taking data from a wide range of sources and creating useful conclusions.

However there are still several hurdles to overcome before the IoT can fully experience this new growth, not least of which involves interoperability. Juniper says that the range of conflicting standards continues to slow progress, however there are signs that standards bodies and alliances are beginning to engage to overcome these hurdles.

‘We’re still at an early stage for IoT’, noted research author Steffen Sorrell, ‘Knowing what information to gather, and how to integrate that into back office systems remains a huge challenge.’

The IoT ”‘represents the combination of devices and software systems, connected via the Internet, that produce, receive and analyse data,” the report adds. “These systems must have the aim of transcending traditional siloed ecosystems of electronic information in order to improve quality of life, efficiency, create value and reduce cost.”

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