Internet of Things will change everything

IDC makes all-encompassing claim for the effect on the IT industry

Dare we mention the phrase "paradigm shift"? IDC has suggested that the oncoming Internet of Things (IoT) represents a truly new IT world order.

Vernon Turner, senior vice president of enterprise infrastructure, consumer, network, telecoms and sustainability research at IDC, said the concept is now occupying the minds of technology vendors everywhere as it represents vast potential for increasing revenue and customer base.

"I expect the current IoT use cases are just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

"The momentum of the IoT is driven by a number of factors. There is no doubt that business and consumer demand exists and will continue to expand for IoT."

As a result, IoT is poised to "change everything", according to IDC.

IoT technology and services global revenues are expected to expand from $4.8tn (£3tn) in 2012 to $8.9tn by 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9 per cent.

Enablers include the development of smart cities, cars and houses with enhanced connectivity, and "an increasingly internet connected culture".

That is not to say there are not some inhibiting factors. Turner went on to explain that there are several hurdles which vendors and customers alike will have to overcome to make the IoT vision real.

On the supply side, he cited a lack of standards, global scalability and ecosystem for application development. On the demand side, the challenges included lack of awareness and other IT or mobility priorities, Turner said.

Nevertheless, IDC expects the IoT installed base to tip 212 billion "things" globally by 2021. There is of course already a large number of essentially autonomous, wired, connected things.

What is different in IoT is the pervasiveness of wired connectivity and internet access anywhere, any time.