According to tech experts, the Internet of Things (IoT) will bring a new technological revolution in the near future.
In January 2014, many people could not believe Cisco CEO John Chambers statement that the "Internet of Everything" is potentially five to 10 times more impactful on society than the Internet itself and will represent a $17 trillion market. But just 2 years later, it seems that Chambers' prediction for the Internet of Things could be even on the conservative side.
According to Wisconsin State Journal, today even a low-end estimate of world's connected devices by 2020 is a pretty impressive number. Various tech experts come with different numbers, but all of them are truly amazing figures.
The technology research firm Gartner estimates this number at 26 billion, while Cisco Systems predicts 50 billion. Intel forecasts 200 billion, while International Data Corp. predicts 212 billion.
The point is clear, regardless of how the 2020 predictions turn out. The Internet of Things is here to stay and its size of the market will be measured within a few years in trillions of dollars.
At the GE Healthcare Institute in Waukesha, the third annual Wisconsin Tech Summit explored the potential of the Internet of Things. Most of the participating companies were looking for information management solutions involving devices speaking to other devices or systems.
As broadband Internet access expands and more devices are being created with built-in sensors and Wi-Fi capabilities, smartphone use is exploding and technology costs are falling. This creates a global platform for the growth of the IoT.
According to Tech Crunch, there is no question that IoT is opening in a new era of innovation, connecting the machine and digital worlds to bring greater efficiency and speed to diverse sectors, including healthcare, energy, aviation and automotive. But with more endpoints open to attackers and sensitive data increasingly accessible online, businesses are quickly realizing the vital importance of security.
Managing the IoT revolution is a daunting prospect for tech experts. They must worry about protecting privacy, storing and safeguarding data and making sure there is enough broadband capacity to keep networks running.
