A new report has revealed that cellular connected Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) devices will increase four fold to 908 million in 2019, driven largely by the adoption of wearables in the enterprise.
The report said the increase in active cellular IoT/M2M connections is due to a decline in hardware and bandwidth costs, where almost every enterprise can now have the benefits of virtualising the physical world.
Organisations can securely generate insights from machine data at better scale, when compared to earlier processes, with the help of cloud-based middleware and data platforms.
The latest 451 Research data report said the buzz around the topic is generating overall awareness of the transformational potential of IoT/M2M with respect to ROI, competitiveness and support of new business models.
Highest volume connections will be connected passenger vehicles and smart homes, while the pay as you drive insurance segment will increase the fastest.
451 Research research vice president Brian Partridge said: "We continue to be bullish that ultimately the hype of IoT will be proven to be warranted back on business impact.
"Over the forecast period we expect that M2M/IoT solution suppliers will find fertile ground in vertical markets such as retail and government that will adopt IoT/M2M to enable strategic digitisation strategies such as smart cities and the use of digital signage, mobile point of sale, and connected kiosks to drive the transformation from brick and mortar to click and mortar."
The report also revealed that 39% of IT decision-makers at companies that use or plan to utilise wearable technologies will deploy solutions in the next six months, and 24% intend to install them in the next 12 months.
81% of IT decision-makers who say their company intends to deploy wearables in the next six months will support smart watches.
451 Research analyst, IoT and wearable technologies Ryan Martin said: "The release of Apple Watch has opened the flood gates governing wearables’ adoption.
"But now that the river is running, it’s less about where it will end and more about where – and when – to start. We expect wearable technology to deliver a key interface and input into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Wearables have the potential to become an interface – if not the interface – for IIoT access."
