The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), web-enabled devices and the connected home is inevitable – here’s IDC’s top ten predictions on how it’s going to shape the IT industry.
1. Cloud growth
Within the next five years, more than 90 per cent of all IoT data will be hosted on service provider platforms as cloud computing reduces the complexity of supporting IoT ‘Data Blending’.
2. Security managers will be forced to adopt IoT policies
Within two years, 90 per cent of all IT networks will have an IoT-based security breach, although many will be considered ‘inconveniences’. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) will be forced to adopt new IoT policies.
3. IoT at the edge
By 2018, 40 per cent of IoT-created data will be stored, processed, analysed and acted upon close to or at the edge of the network.
4. Networks will reach bursting point
Within three years, half of IT networks will transition from having excess capacity to handle the additional IoT devices to being network constrained, with nearly 10 per cent of sites being overwhelmed.
5. Firms will adopt new business models
By 2017, 90 per cent of datacentre and enterprise systems management will rapidly adopt new business models to manage non-traditional infrastructure and BYOD device categories.
6. Businesses will embrace IoT
Today, over half of all IoT activity is centered in manufacturing, transportation, smart city and consumer applications, but within five years all industries will have rolled out IoT initiatives.
7. Governments will spend more on it
Competing to build innovative and sustainable smart cities, local government will represent more than 25 per cent of all government external spending to deploy, manage and realise the business value of the IoT by 2018.
8. The future will be open source
By 2018, 60 per cent of IT solutions originally developed as proprietary closed-industry solutions will become open-sourced, allowing a rush of vertical-driven IoT markets to form.
9. Wearable tech will rival smartphones
Within five years, 40 per cent of wearables will have evolved into a viable consumer mass market alternative to smartphones.
10. Consumers will get more used to a connected world
By 2018, 16 per cent of the population will be Millennials (those born in the year 2000 and beyond) and will be accelerating IoT adoption due to their reality of living in a connected world.
"The Internet of Things will give IT managers a lot to think about," said Vernon Turner, Senior VP of Research at analyst IDC.
"Enterprises will have to address every IT discipline to effectively balance the deluge of data from devices that are connected to the corporate network. In addition, IoT will drive tough organisational structure changes in companies to allow innovation to be transparent to everyone, while creating new competitive business models and products."
Image source: Shutterstock