IoT is predicted to generate 403ZBs of data a year by 2018, up from 113.4ZBs in 2013. But according to Cisco, not all generated data will be sent to data centres. In three years times, colo sites should be hosting 8.6ZBs, up from 3.1ZB in 2013.

IDC has predicted that by 2020 one tenth of the world’s data will be produced by machines. The organisation forecast that in five years time the amount of connected devices communicating over the internet will reach 32 billion and generate 10% of the world’s data.

CBR compiles a list of the top 10 key areas set to foster data growth resulting from IoT connected solutions.

1. Air travel

Arming planes with smart sensors to prevent failures is already a reality. These sensors produce several terabytes of data per flight. For example, Cisco said that a Boeing 787 aircraft could generate 40 TBs per hour of flight.

These IoT solutions in the air industry have several applications beyond preventing failure. They can reduce fuel consumption, adjust speeds and reduce travel times.

2. Mining

For the mining industry, the main benefit from using IoT is safety. By automating machines (M2M), humans are not required to stay close to the vehicles and risk their lives.

Cisco predicts that mining operations can generate up to 2.4TBs of data every minute.

Rio Tinto is one of the first mining companies in the world to have deployed an IoT system on its trucks. The company is remotely controlling a number of vehicles in West Australia using the Autonomous Hauling System (AHS). The project has led to savings summing up to $300 million.

3. Cars

A smart IoT connected vehicle is a fountain of data. It is constantly transmitting data to manufacturers, to road operators, to its driver, to the authorities, etc.

According to Machina Research, data generated by smart cars could crash mobile networks with data surges by 2024.

The company said connected vehicles are expected to total 2.3 billion by then, which will increase data traffic up to 97% during rush hour traffic at some cell points.

4. Utilities

SAP estimates that the worldwide revenue opportunity presented by the IoT for the utilities industry by 2018 is $201 billion. Smart meters are just an example.

According to the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, by the end of 2014 there were a total of 20.8 million gas meters and 25.3 million electricity meters operated by the larger energy suppliers in British domestic properties.

Smart meters collect data on how much energy is being used every 30 minutes, 24/7, 365. This sends to the cloud several TBs of information every year.

5. Cities

Smart cities will be made of everything out there. Street lamps talking to the grid, urban parks connecting to services and rivers sending out alerts on pollution levels.

All this data is generated on a daily basis, and it’s stored in the cloud. Millions of sensors, deployed in every city will constantly produce huge amounts of information.

For example, Westminster City Council has installed solar-powered bins that can communicate with council workers and tell them how full they are. The system uses telemetry and infrared sensors, and led to a 60% reduction in bins collection.

6. Wearables

Juniper Research predicts that by 2018 there will be 130 million wearable devices shipped across the world. Cisco estimates that by 2019 more than 578 million wearables will be in use around the world. These solutions are constantly collecting data on health, fitness and wellness.

The amount of data produced by wearables varies according to the device being worn and the type of sensors it has included.

In Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI) Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2014 to 2019, in four years time mobile data traffic will reach 292 EBs per year, up from 30 EBs last year.

7. Sports

As sports adopt more wearables and intelligent clothing to improve performances, clubs are also looking at new ways to read the field and polish tactics using predictive analysis.

SAP has been involved with the sports world for long and has produced immense amounts of data over the last few years.

NBA took on SAP to make its statistics accessible to fans, opening the clubs data to the world. SAP deployed its analytical software, primarily used in business environments, to create a database that records every single move players execute, players’ stats, and much more.

8. Logistics

Until today, transportation of goods would be over once the supply chain shipped the products. But with IoT the service will be extended further beyond this, and smart goods will constantly produce more data.

According to SAP, some logistic companies are already collection data from their suppliers, and also from their suppliers’ suppliers.

Most of this data will be RFID, giving logistic companies the ability to analyse it in real time and tackle any eventual problems that might happen in the chain.

9. Healthcare

Smart healthcare is already being adopted in several countries. Huge virtual platforms store patient data that can be accessed by health services anywhere else.

The health sector will see huge benefits from IoT, with sensors being deployed across all areas in a medical unit.

Companies like Medical technology Stryker are using connectivity to prevent power surges in medical devices, including critical instruments used in surgeries. All this information is stored for future analysis.

10. Smart homes

Smart homes are already a reality and by 2020 consumers expect this ecosystem to be widely available.

Splunk predicted that one smart connected home today can produce as much as 1GB of information a week. Times that by all the UK households and that is over 26 million GBs of data every week.