Big data and IoT to create 182,000 UK jobs by 2020, says Cebr
SAS-backed research finds growth in big data analytics and the Internet of Things will boost UK economy to tune of £322bn by 2020
Big data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) will create 182,000 new UK jobs and add £322bn to the economy by 2020, according to a new report.
Carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) on behalf of analytics vendor SAS, the report was based on 409 interviews with senior UK decision makers, as well as official government data.
Big data analytics will contribute £241bn to the UK economy between 2015 and 2020, the report found, with IoT predicted to chip in a further £81bn to the nation's coffers.
Cebr arrived at these figures by asking business decision makers about the efficiency, innovation and business creation gains they have already enjoyed as a result of investments in IoT and big data and then factoring in projected adoption growth of the two technologies.
Some 93 and 91 per cent of survey respondents who said they had invested in big data and IoT reported a reduction in costs.
Big data will bring about efficiency benefits of £220.4bn, innovation benefits of £12.4bn and business creation benefits of £8.1bn over the next five years, the report claimed.
The equivalent figures for IoT were £72.5bn, £4.5bn and £4.3bn, respectively.
In terms of adoption rates, some 56 per cent of firms have rolled out big data analytics today but that will shoot up to 67 per cent by 2020, Cebr said.
The IoT adoption rate is set to hike from 30 to 45 per cent during the same period, driven by the rise of smart homes, wearable tech and other connected devices, it added.
"This report illustrates the considerable impact over the coming years of more organisations embracing big data and IoT to improve decision-making that affects efficiency, risk management and new business opportunities," said Mark Wilkinson, SAS regional vice president - Northern Europe and Russia/CIS.
"Among the sectors that are set to benefit most over the next few years will be manufacturing, professional services, retail banking and telecoms."