Mind-Twisting IoT Statistics for 2020 - Your Home Is Now Online

Your toaster is just a small appliance that heats your bread to crisp perfection, ushering you into a fresh new day. However, with the constant advancement of Moore’s law and 5G, it won’t be long until your toaster evolves into a full-blown automated pâtissier. To prepare you for the moment when your kitchen appliance develops a mustache, beret, and a funny accent, we’ve prepared some fresh, astonishing, flabbergasting and mind-twisting IoT statistics!

The Internet of Things first appeared in Marshall McLuhan’s “Understanding Media,” where he prophesied about cities becoming information systems. But the first application of IoT technology was the famous Trojan Room coffee pot at the University of Cambridge, which consisted of nothing more than a webcam connected to the LAN. While the coffee pot is not a perfect example of a true IoT device, it became a symbol of the future that’s steadily approaching.

It may not be that easy to define the Internet of Things, especially since it’s still in infancy. However, we can broadly define IoT as a system of interconnected computing devices that have unique identifiers and send data over a network without human interaction. Simply put, the Internet of Things, unlike the Internet of people, requires no maintenance or human input. The applications of these “Internet devices” are boundless and will radically change our society.

Some Benefits of the IoT:

• Connectivity - The Internet of Things enables any device to be connected to a central terminal. In other words, it enables you to check all your connected devices from your phone.
• Efficiency - The IoT enables instant access to information, thus freeing up time and resources for more meaningful tasks. You can look something up simply by asking your voice search assistant, without the hassle of typing it on a computer.
• Convenience - IoT connected devices are essentially computers that can send data in real-time. That means that your fridge can monitor its contents and send you a heads up if you’re out of groceries.
• Wellness - IoT enabled devices are useful in monitoring health conditions and can be beneficial in the prevention of illnesses.
• Personalization - The more you interact with your smart appliances, the more they will be able to predict your tastes and preferences in the long run.

With that in mind, there’s no question that the IoT is bound to change our lives in a profound manner.

General IoT Statistics

1. Gartner IoT research claims that there will be 25 billion devices by the end of 2021.

(Gartner)

The IoT market size, according to Gartner, will also grow at an astounding rate, and an increasing number of IT vendors will shift their focus to AI products. In addition, Gartner IoT survey reveals that 35 % of respondents handling IoT data plan to sell it and that the IoT data market will definitely grow in the future.

2. It’s interesting to note that Cisco IoT statistics also suggest a more modest number of 30 billion IoT devices by 2020.

(ForbesForbe)

In addition, Cisco’s IoT daily generated data statistics say that IoT creates around 5 quintillion bytes of data. To put it in a clearer perspective, that’s 5 with 18 zeros behind it. The most interesting part of this process is that innovative companies will sell their data on informational markets of the future. Even now, IoT data monetization statistics from Cisco, boldly claim that less than 1% of unstructured data is analyzed or used at all.

3. More than 40% of IoT devices will be used in industry or manufacturing.

(Intel)

When talking about IoT, people are generally concerned about the changes in their homes and everyday lives. However, the biggest impact of IoT will occur in manufacturing and industry. Around 40.2% of overall IoT connected devices will be employed in factories, where real-time analytics will enable a more efficient manufacturing process.

4. The Home IoT market is expected to grow to $53.45 billion by 2022.

(Statista)

The market for home-based IoT devices is still in its infancy. However, more and more IoT appliances are finding their way into peoples’ homes. Smart speakers, the most popular iot devices, have already found their way in 31% of US households as of 2019.

5. Only 4.1% of Internet of Things devices will be used for transportation.

(Intel)

Today, there are more than 40 companies working on developing every tired driver’s dream - autonomous vehicles. Although the technology is still a couple of years away from safe application, the prospect of treating your car as a private bus sounds exciting.

6. IoT market trends suggest that B2B IoT devices will increase from 2.5 billion in 2017 to 5.4 billion in 2020.

(FinancesOnlne)

The highest percentage of IoT devices will find its purpose in manufacturing. In fact, through data monitoring, IoT can greatly reduce costs, and increase profits by about 10%.

7. According to McKinsey’s IoT growth statistics, there are 127 new IoT devices connecting to the Internet every second.

(McKinsey Global Institute)

With such a dramatic pace of Internet of Things growth, it’s no wonder that so many IoT devices are going online every second. The number will only rise as time goes by, and soon enough, modern homes, factories, and government institutions will be unimaginable without IoT.

8. The Internet of Things market size is so big, it has the potential to generate $4 trillion to $11 trillion by 2025.

(McKinsey Global Institute)

This number not only includes the rationalization of the manufacturing and marketing processes, but also the new jobs that IoT will create. Apart from manufacturing industries, municipal governments and retail will also see a huge boost in revenue, by as much as $1 billion each.

IoT Consumer Statistics

9. When it comes to statistics for smartphone IoT, it’s interesting to note that the number of smartphone users will reach three billion in 2018.

(Newzoo)

Smartphone statistics are crucial for understanding the future of IoT since much of the IoT network will depend on smartphones to operate. A huge percentage of smartphone users, more than a half to be exact, will come from Asia-Pacific countries.

10. Smartphone stats from Ericsson suggest that the number of mobile IoT connections is expected to reach 3.5 billion in 2023.

(Ericsson)

In fact, Ericsson’s study adds that the number of mobile IoT connections is growing at a rate of 30% annually. Although the number of smartphones in the world is on a constant rise, the highest growth will be seen in North-East Asia, especially China.

11. Statistics on IoT in our homes claim that consumer electronics will account for 63% of all installed IoT units in 2020.

(Statista)

While the Internet of Things is a long way from being fully applied in industry and manufacturing, it’s practically already in our living rooms. And the growth of IoT statistics suggests the general population’s growing desire for smart homes.

Business IoT Statistics

12. Now might be the best time to invest in the Internet of Things, as $1.6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions by the end of 2020.

(PwC)

It is believed that the majority of this investment will be spent on software and application development. Internet of things investments will continue to grow even after 2020, and there’s no telling how much investors might benefit if they invest early on.

13. Transportation & logistics, discrete manufacturing, and utilities industries are projected to spend $40 billion each on IoT platforms, systems, and services by 2020.

(Forbes)

The figures vary greatly from industry to industry. For example, B2C commerce will spend a little more than half - only $25 billion, while the healthcare and process industries will spend only $15 billion.

14. According to smart city IoT statistics gathered by IOT Analytics, 23% of current large-scale IoT projects are smart cities.

(IOT-Analytics)

Smart cities is followed by the connected industry at 17%, and connected building at 12% of projects. It’s interesting to note that 45% of smart-city projects are located in Europe. However, the Americas are leading in the field of connected cars using IoT.

15. The IoT market for ICT-based spending will be worth $581 billion by 2020.

(Forbes)

The ICT market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate between 7% and 15%. When talking about IoT infrastructure market statistics, it’s worth noting that software infrastructure and applications will be 37% of overall IoT spending by 2020.

16. In only five years, from 2017 to 2022, the North American IoT consumer electronics market is predicted to increase from $90 billion to $180 billion.

(Forbes)

Forbes’ IoT statistics and forecast report suggests that the IoT consumer market in North America will achieve a compounded annual growth rate of 12.25%. It’s also worth mentioning that spending on transportation-related IoT applications is predicted to increase from $75 billion in 2017 to $140 billion in 2022, thus achieving a compounded annual growth rate of 10.9% CAGR.

17. According to Internet of Things statistics by Forbes and Accenture, the industrial Internet of Things will reach $123 billion in 2021.

(Forbes)(Accenture)

Industrial Internet will attain a CAGR of 7.3%, and with a high growth rate like that, this may be the best time for Internet of Things investment opportunities. Research from Accenture also suggests that the Industrial IoT will add $14.2 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The biggest winners will be countries that have mature economies, with industrial IoT significantly increasing their GDPs.

18. Sixty-four percent of energy utilities companies rely on industrial IoT to succeed with their digital transformation initiatives

(Forbes)

In addition, Forbes’ IoT company statistics reveal that 58% of surveyed manufacturers say that industrial IoT is essential for attaining greater digital transformation. Surveyees from transportation industries are the most optimistic when it comes to the impact IoT on their industry - 94% of them the IoT growth will also bring an overall growth of their industry.

19. Forty-six percent of respondents from the manufacturing industry state that they are most familiar with industrial IoT.

(GE)

It’s no wonder that those in manufacturing are most interested in the IoT market growth since they benefit the most from automation and greater efficiency. However, only 30% of respondents from the aviation and aerospace industry expressed familiarity with the IoT, although aviation and aerospace would definitely benefit from it.

20. GE’s IoT devices statistics claim that 42% of respondents in the power/energy industry expect that IoT devices will bring a significant revenue rise in their industry.

(GE)

When comparing to other industries, employees from aviation/aerospace and manufacturing industries are the most pessimistic, with 4% of employees believing that IoT devices will bring less revenue.

21. Thirty-six percent of respondents from the manufacturing industry believe that IoT generated data will have a significant impact on cutting the operating costs of their companies.

(GE)

However, it’s also important to note that 38% of respondents from manufacturing also believe that IoT will lower operating costs. Moreover, 42% of surveyees from the transportation sector believe that IoT will bring much lower operating costs.

22. A recent IoT forecast claims that, by 2020, the number of IoT devices in homes will rise to 12.86 billion.

(Statista)

The number of Internet of Things devices in domestic use will rise with a compounded annual growth rate of 34.89%. The highest growth is expected for vertical-specific sensors and devices: from 1.64 billion units in 2017 to 3.17 billion in 2020, with a whopping compounded annual growth rate of 24.57% in just three years.

23. The IoT market today is dominated by five companies that together control 13,300 IoT related patents.

(Forbes)

The IoT market is slowly beginning to consolidate, and all the latest IoT devices are made either by Samsung, Qualcomm, LG, Huawei, or Intel. Currently, Samsung controls the highest number of patents (820), followed by LG (524), and Huawei( 490). Most of their IoT patents focus on discrete manufacturing, transportation, and logistics and utilities. Since the market is still expanding in the IoT, this may be the perfect time to start investing.

24. Microsoft Azure IoT Suite is the most popular platform for enabling connected devices with 29% of developers favoring it for their IoT projects.

(Forbes)

According to statistics on IoT technology use from Forbes, Azure IoT Suite is followed by Google Cloud IT (24%), and Amazon AWS IoT (19%). It’s worth noting that AWS was more popular in smaller organizations (28% in smaller companies versus 9% in bigger companies). In addition, Google’s Cloud IoT is more likely to be adopted by employees in larger companies (37% vs. 15%).

25. Chinese companies most often adopt IoT to increase competitiveness (23%), while American companies most often do so to reduce costs(19%).

(Ovum)

While the growth of Internet of Things may be similar in different countries, objectives for employing IoT technology vary from country to country. Respondents from Malaysian companies rely on IoT to improve business processes, while respondents from Spain list improved user experience as their main reason.

26. More than 80% of industrial manufacturing companies are using or planning to use IoT devices.

(ZDNet)

The potential IoT is so big, it’s no wonder companies want to invest in it. Any company can find good use for data monitoring, automation, and better human-machine interfaces. Better data analysis alone can cut production expenses, bring more efficiency, and improve working conditions.

27. According to TechRepublic’s IoT penetration statistics, two-thirds of US cities are investing in IoT technology.

(TechRepublic)

In addition, 25% of cities that are not involved in an IoT project plan to do so in the near future. However, there’s still no clear consensus as to what a smart city is and how the technology should be implemented. But we can safely say that the Internet of Things trend is slowly conquering our cities.

28. Around 80% of retailers say it’s important to use IoT to customize store visits.

(SAS)

According to the Internet of Things market forecast by SAS, IoT is going to fundamentally change the way retail companies operate. Retail companies can use a wide variety of IoT technologies to boost their sales. We can already see an implementation of suggestion algorithms on major retail websites like Amazon or eBay. In addition, real-time augmented reality technologies will be able to customize customer’s experience from the moment they enter the store.

29. Seventy-four percent of global consumers fear that IoT data collection will jeopardize their civil rights.

(EIU)

Regardless of how many benefits IoT can bring us, there are still concerns about how it may negatively affect civil liberties. An example would be China’s implementation of mass surveillance technology, and use of big data to track its citizens.

30. Forty percent of IoT devices will be used in the healthcare industry by 2020.

(Medium)(Awe.some)

In fact, according to Awe.some’s IoT healthcare devices statistics, the market has hit a record at $33.5 billion this year alone. The IoT is already being used in healthcare, and the statistics don’t surprise us, especially given the benefits IoT can bring to medicine. Hospitals are increasingly relying on electronic skin patches, smart mattresses, glucose monitors, smartwatches, connected inhalers, and many other medical IoT devices.

31. Medium’s IoT healthcare statistics state that healthcare-related IoT revenues will rise to over $135 billion by 2025.

(Medium)

In addition, there are already 26 billion IoT devices that are used in the healthcare industry, and it’s estimated that that number will rise to 75 billion by the end of 2025. Apart from providing a network for constant monitoring of patients, IoT can also bring big data and statistics to the world of medicine, making it easier to create valid medical forecasts.

32. The education IoT market is expected to rise to $11.3 billion in 2023.

(Markets and Markets)

In addition, education IoT statistics also show that the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.8% through 2023. Educational IoT is already finding its way into our classrooms through cloud-based computing, e-learning and connected learning devices.

IoT Security Statistics

33. Iot security statistics state that 84% of companies that have adopted IoT have reported some kind of security breach.

(Aruba HPE)

According to research published by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, cyber threats remain a regular issue in IoT statistics. Interviews with 3,100 IT and business CEOs across 20 countries revealed that although top executives understand the benefits of IoT, they rarely know it can help their business.

34. i-Scoop’s IoT statistics say that 75% of IoT projects fail.

(i-Scoop)

Just like any of the latest IT fads, IoT has attracted many ambitious entrepreneurs with mediocre projects. Around 60% of them get stalled at the proof of concept stage, while only 26% of companies are satisfied with the effect IoT has had on their business.