Machina Research Forecasts $3 Trillion IoT Market by 2025
Market research firm Machina Research this week released its annual forecast on the global Internet of Things market, reporting that the total number of IoT connections will grow from 6 billion in 2015 to 27 billion in 2025, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16 percent. That represents a slightly lower estimate from 2015, when the firm predicted that the number of connections would grow from 5 billion in 2014 to 27 billion in 2024—a CAGR of 18 percent.
This year’s report also reveals slight shifts in the type of connections that will comprise the IoT. It predicts that by 2025, short-range technology (such as Wi-Fi or ZigBee) will account for 72 percent of those connections—a slight uptick from the 71 percent they account for now, and a reversal from the decline to 69 percent that Machina predicted in the forecast it released in 2015. And while last year, Machina said that by 2025, 14 percent of connections would be enabled by low-power wide-area network (LPWA) radios such as those developed by Sigfox and the LoRa Alliance, the 2016 report scaled that back slightly, to 11 percent.
As for revenues, Machina expects the global IoT market to generate $3 trillion by 2025, with $1.3 trillion generated by end users through the sales of devices, connectivity and applications and the remainder generated by “upstream and downstream IoT-related sources such as application development, systems integration, hosting and data monetization,” according to the 2016 report. But as Fortune notes, the $1.3 trillion estimate for 2025 in this year’s report is down from the $1.6 trillion that Machina cited in last year’s study. That lower forecast is partly due to the larger-than-expected role that smartphones are playing in the IoT, Machina analyst Margaret Ranken told the magazine. End users are relying increasingly on applications running on their phones, and are using the phones’ integrated sensors for such things as navigation and health applications, rather than using separate devices, such as dedicated navigation computers for drivers or fitness trackers, for the same uses.
Verizon Bolsters Position in Transportation Sector With Fleetmatics Deal
Telecommunications company Verizon Communications announced this week that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which it will acquire Fleetmatics Group, a provider of fleet and workforce management software, for $60.00 per share in cash. The agreement represents a value of approximately $2.4 billion.
Fleetmatics’ software taps into GPS receivers and telematics devices on fleet vehicles to provide tracking services, routing optimization, and information regarding driver performance or extended idling.
The acquisition will give Verizon’s telematics business unit a stronger foothold in the transportation and logistics industries. Earlier this summer, Verizon announced its plans to acquire Telogis, a cloud-based mobile enterprise management software company that also serves the logistics industry. That deal, the details of which were not disclosed, closed on July 29.
Murata Partners With Semtech, ARM on LoRa Module
Electronics component manufacturer Murata is set to release a low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) wireless module, compliant with the LoRa specification, this fall. This module measures 12.5 millimeters millimeters by 11.6 millimeters by 1.76 millimeters (0.5 inch by 0.46 inch by 0.07 inch), is constructed in a metal-shielded package and includes a Semtech SX1276 ultra-long-range spread-spectrum wireless transceiver (for use at 868 MHz in Europe and at 915 MHz for North America) and an STMicroelectronics STM32L0 series ARM Cortex M0+ 32-bit microcontroller. The module has general-purpose input-output ports that can support up to 18 sensors, switches and status LEDs, the company reports, and the module is powered from a 2.2 to 3.6 VDC supply. Murata says that the module will be available in production quantities starting in October 2016, though it has not released pricing.
The IoT, According to NIST
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a publication, titled “Networks of Things,” that seeks to define the Internet of Things and highlight its implications for network and computer security. NIST computer scientist Jeff Voas, who works in the agency’s computer security division, penned the report, in which he describes the IoT as a component of a larger entity called the Network of Things (NoT). The IoT requires internet connectivity, the report explains, while the NoT does not.
The report is written for computer scientists, IT managers, networking specialists, and networking and cloud-computing software engineers. It describes four main fundamental elements of the IoT—sensing, computing, communication and actuation. The report goes on to address the reliability and security of IoT and NoT systems. Voas writes, “The vocabulary and science of the Network of Things will help researchers understand how the components of IoT interoperate, and compare the security risks and reliability tradeoffs.” The report is available here.
Event Technology Provider Loopd Releases Trio of Features
Loopd, a three-year-old San Francisco firm that issues Bluetooth-based dongles to event attendees—who can then use them to collect contact information from other attendees, and which event organizers can use to track the movements and interests of attendees—has announced three new features. Those features are: key influencer rankings, lead intelligence sourcing and targeted survey results.
Key influencer rankings enables event organizers to identify which attendees have made the greatest number of contacts and attended the most sessions or educational events, and thus could be recruited to endorse the event. Lead intelligence sourcing offers event exhibitors insight into attendee activity at an event by providing lists of attendees who stop by their booths and linger there for a set amount of time (based on how long guests’ Bluetooth badges are within range of a reader at the exhibit). With targeted survey results, event organizers send short online surveys, via email or text, to specific attendees—based both on their profile and evidence (badge reads) that they attended a certain session. Tests have shown response rates to these surveys are 200 percent higher than response rates to conventionally issued surveys, the company reports.
Last week, Loopd also announced its second-generation sensor, which supports data encryption, an upgraded user interface and a six-hour battery life. It is expected to be made available next month.