News Feature | September 22, 2015

Infographic: How Business Will Use The IoT In The Future — And How It's Using IoT Now

Christine Kern

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

The internet of things

An infographic, “Internet of Things – How will it shape the future of business?” published by Exigent Networks, examined how the Internet of Things (IoT) is impacting enterprises and how it will continue to make an impact in the future.

As Business Solutions Magazine reports, the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought with it a number of new challenges — from security to software to management needs — but it also has created a host of new opportunities. Gartner predicts there will be upward of 25 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things by 2020, with IoT product and service suppliers expected to generate revenue in excess of $300 billion.

The Exigent Networks infographic asserts the IoT will become the largest device market in the world: By 2019 the IoT is set to double the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car, and the wearable market combined, and will result in $1.7 trillion in value added to the global economy in 2019. The infographic also states the majority of revenue will come from the sale of software and infrastructure, while hardware sales are predicted to be only 8 percent of total revenue. The enterprise sector is expected to account for 46 percent of device shipments.

How the IoT will work for businesses could still be unclear to your clients. Mike Foreman, AVG’s General Manager of SMB, stated, “The Internet of Things is one of those nebulous bits of jargon invented by the IT industry, and many people I meet are confused by what it actually means…we wanted to show how the Internet of Things can bring opportunity to small businesses.”

So what are those opportunities? According to the infographic, they include:

  • More efficient, real-time operations
  • New business models
  • Real-time information on mission-critical systems
  • Diversification of revenue streams
  • Global visibility
  • Efficient, intelligent operations
  • Increased cybersecurity and privacy concerns

And while businesses remain concerned about security, cost, and external monitoring of the IoT, 8 out of 10 small businesses believe that it will also provide fresh opportunities for their businesses in the future. 

J. P. Rangaswami, Chief Scientist for Salesforce.com, says, “The quality of real-time information that becomes available will take the guesswork out of much of capacity planning and decision-making.”

And Paul Saffo, Managing Director of Discern Analytics, explains, “The biggest shift is a strong move away from a single do-everything device to multiple devices with overlapping functions and, above all, an inter-relationship with our other devices.”