Worldwide spending on the internet of things (IoT) is set to grow 16.7% year-on-year, reaching over $800 billion in 2017 and nearly $1.4 trillion by 2021, as organisations continue to invest in the hardware, software, services and connectivity that enable IoT, according to a forecast by market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC). The Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan (APeJ), will be the IoT investment leader with spending expected to reach $455 billion in 2021, followed by the US ($421 billion in 2021) and western Europe ($274 billion). Manufacturing will be the leading industry for IoT investments in all three regions, followed by utilities and transportation in APeJ and western Europe, and transportation and consumer in the US. Cross-Industry IoT spending will be among the leading categories in all three regions as well. The discussion about IoT has shifted away from the number of devices connected. The true value of IoT is being realized when the software and services come together to enable the capture, interpretation, and action on data produced by IoT endpoints. According to IDC, the industries making the largest IoT investments in 2017 are manufacturing ($183 billion), transportation ($85 billion) and utilities ($66 billion). Cross-industry IoT investments, which represent use cases common to all industries, such as connected vehicles and smart buildings, will be $86 billion in 2017 and rank among the top segments throughout the five-year forecast.

(Live Mint)