Martin KovacsInternet of Things (IoT) spending will grow from US$698.6 billion in 2015 to nearly US$1.3 trillion in 2019, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), with the Asia Pacific region a clear global leader.When it comes to IoT spending, more than 40 per cent of the worldwide total has come from the Asia Pacific this year, with North America and Western Europe the second and third largest regions, respectively.
The IDC has forecast that the regions that will experience the fastest growth in IoT spending over the five-year forecast period are Latin America, followed by Western Europe, and Central and Eastern Europe.
“The Asia/Pacific region’s robust IoT spending outlook builds on three dynamics: developing countries’ technology investment needs are not fully met with traditional IT, which is allowing IoT investments to accelerate; government investments in infrastructure development and local business modernisation, in China, India and the Philippines, for example, are incorporating more and more IoT elements; and a burgeoning new consumer class is accelerating expenditures in goods and services, including those with IoT components,” Marcus Torchia, IDC research manager, Internet of Things, commented.
Manufacturing and transportation topped worldwide IoT spending from a vertical industry perspective in 2015, with totals of US$165.6 billion and US$78.7 billion, respectively.
The IDC forecasts the industries that will record the fastest IoT spending growth over the next five years will be the insurance, along with the healthcare and consumer industries, with the consumer IoT market to comprise the third largest IoT spending category by the end of the forecast period.
“Manufacturing and transportation are both a good fit for IoT deployments,” Vernon Turner, IDC senior vice president and IoT research fellow, commented.
“Both industries have been connecting their supply chains, products, customers, and even workers, for some time now, and really embrace the value of business outcomes.”