Ambitions are high among those in or looking to get into the IoT market. Some within the industry believe there could be between a whopping 10 to 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020, resulting in trillions in revenue by 2025.
In opposition to those lofty expectations is European and North American-housed technology market research firm Beecham Research, which in a recently released media statement, said it wants companies considering a foray into the IoT market to know that the expectations are ‘unrealistic.’
“There is no doubt that the M2M and IoT markets are moving quickly and there are great new business opportunities, but with unrealistic predictions around the growth of connected devices, there is also the risk that companies will run out of time and money before they see a return on their investment,” said Robin Duke-Woolley, CEO at Beecham Research.
Duke-Woolley added that when not factoring in mobile phones and other devices like tablets, there are significantly less than 1 billion devices worldwide. When considering that figure, he wonders how or why the growth rate for connected devices will exceed 50 percent a year, when those same figures have hovered around 20 to 30 percent a year. If that rate of growth is somehow reached, Duke-Woolley said it wouldn’t be possible to install and implement all of those IoT devices.
Beecham claims those who believe in the great growth within the IoT industry typically suggest that the surge in connected devices will be mostly supported by the implementation of those devices in both the home and workplace. Such devices typically discussed are climate controlling devices, refrigerators and freezers, security alarms, and office equipment. Beecham said it’s hard to support those claims.
“While some households may have a dozen or more connected devices there is no evidence yet of connected devices in the home taking off in a big way,” says Duke-Woolley.
Duke Woolley’s greatest qualm regarding the claims of growth within the IoT industry relates to the purported revenue.
“We need to get real here. The total GDP of the United States – the biggest national economy in the world – is currently 18 trillion dollars annually,” he said. “To suggest that new revenue from IoT will approach even 10 percent of this over a 5 to 10 year period is unrealistic and unhelpful.”
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)