Major events in the global Internet of Things in 2017

Recently, iot.ru reviewed the major events of the global Internet of Things in 2017. In 2017, the major events in the global Internet of Things focused on five major areas: industrial Internet of Things, driverless cars, 5G, information security, and robots.

(I) The IoT market is growing rapidly

According to Gartner data, global IT spending exceeded $3.5 trillion in 2017, up 1.4% year-on-year. According to IDC data, global IoT spending exceeded $737 billion in 2016. Enterprises are actively investing in IoT hardware devices, software, services and communications. The companies with the most IoT servers in the world are mainly from the United States and EMEA. ABI Research said that the total revenue of IoT application providers providing mobile and communication satellite services will exceed $138 million in 2017. The number of new wired and wireless ports connected to the Internet of Things reached 66 million in 2017, compared with 13 million in 2016. IoT Analytics experts pointed out in the "Global IoT Platform" report that the number of global IoT platforms exceeded 450 in 2017, up 25% year-on-year. More than 40 countries have built IoT platforms, and half of them are built by companies headquartered in the United States. When compiling a list of "300 large IoT projects", Berg Insight analysts emphasized that the 300 large IoT projects have more than 156 million active users. According to Vodafone statistics, the number of companies using more than 50,000 IoT devices has doubled recently. IDC said that IoT technology spending will reach $772 million in 2018, an increase of more than 14% year-on-year. The compound annual growth rate from 2017 to 2021 will reach 14.4%. Total digital transformation technology spending in 2018 will exceed $1.3 trillion. Spiceworks believes that 69% of companies will use IoT solutions in 2018.

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2. Autonomous vehicles are ready to take off

In the first half of 2017, Intel's announcement of a $16 billion acquisition of an Israeli startup known for developing computer vision technology and machine learning attracted global attention. Intel estimates that by 2035, the number of driverless cars on the road will outnumber traditional vehicles. Cars with autopilots will create a new market of $7 trillion.

In 2018, DHL will use self-driving trucks to deliver letters and goods, and General Motors and Lyft are jointly testing driverless taxis on American roads. It is estimated that driverless cars will reduce the losses caused by possible accidents in the United States by $340 billion.

Berg Insight predicts that there will be about 71 million driverless cars in the world by 2030. Json & Partners' forecast is relatively conservative, with the number of driverless cars reaching 30 million in 2035.

(III) Global 5G deployment is accelerating

In 2017, many operators around the world accelerated the deployment of 5G, and 78% of providers are testing 5G. According to a survey by Ericsson, 28% of respondents plan to deploy 5G test networks in 2018. The European Union signed a joint declaration on the development of 5G. European 5G will use the 694-790 MHz frequency band, which will be open to operators before 2020. Three-quarters of the respondents surveyed said that their companies will spend more on 5G services than on 4G services. ABI Research estimates that the average annual growth rate of home users accessing broadband through wireless technology, especially 5G technology, will reach 30%, and the number of home users will exceed 151 million by 2022.

UBS analysts are skeptical about the possibility of 5G's rapid and comprehensive coverage. For most providers, network construction will be a huge investment. For example, the number of 4G base stations operating in the New York metropolitan area is about 1,200. To cover the entire area with 5G, the number of base stations will have to be increased to 635,600.

However, providers such as Japan's NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank Group are optimistic about 5G deployment, and they plan to launch 5G nationwide by 2023. Currently, South Korea's SK Telecom, Japan's NTT Docomo, South Korea's KT, China Mobile, and the United States' AT&T have entered the list of "most promising 5G operators" compiled by Juniper Research. Analysts estimate that in 2025, total 5G service revenue will reach US$270 billion.

(IV) Global spending on information security increases

A Cisco survey of ordinary consumers showed that 90% of respondents did not trust the security of IoT devices, 96% of companies and 90% of individuals wanted to increase information protection for the industrial IoT, but the survey results showed that all consumers would not give up using smart devices.

Users' concerns are understandable: there are often viruses that use vulnerabilities in IoT devices to infect targets and form botnets. For example, the Mirai malware in the fall of 2016 attacked several large global Internet service companies, communications providers in the United States and Western Europe. The Hajime virus caused more than 300,000 IoT devices to be infected. According to statistics, the number of network attacks on IoT devices increased by 280% in the first half of 2017. For this reason, Cisco, Bosch Foxconn, Gemalto, Consensus Systems, BitSE and Chronicled jointly established a blockchain alliance to deal with IoT security issues. By 2021, corporate spending on information security will increase from the current $83.5 billion to $119.9 billion.

(V) The industrial robot market is getting bigger

A McKinsey report pointed out that by 2030, robots will replace 400 million to 800 million workers worldwide.

Frost & Sullivan predicts that under optimistic circumstances, the robot sales market will reach $237 billion in 2022 from $31 billion in 2017. The global corporate robot market will reach $70 billion in 2023. According to ABI Research, industrial robot revenue will reach $45 billion in 2025.