The global Internet of Things (IoT) market is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5% from $959.6 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion in revenue in 2028. The growth is driven by the rise of enterprise applications, enhanced by new technologies like 5G and AI. While IoT presents significant opportunities, challenges such as security concerns and fragmented standards must be addressed to ensure its widespread adoption and success, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest Strategic Intelligence report, “Internet of Things,” reveals that enterprise IoT will account for 72% of market revenue by 2028, up from 70% in 2023, while the consumer segment will make up 28% in 2028, down from 30% in 2023.

New terrestrial wireless and satellite technologies will expand IoT connectivity options. Enhanced 5G now supports IoT use cases that demand lower complexity, reduced cost, and decreased power consumption. 5G-satellite non-terrestrial networks (NTN) is a new access technology that will enable devices in very remote locations to upload and download data via satellites. These new access technologies are ideal for devices that require continuous connectivity and extended battery life but do not need the full range of 5G features, such as higher bandwidth and lower latency.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly important as an IoT catalyst. Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) involves embedding AI into IoT devices, software, and services. Combining data collected by connected sensors and actuators with AI supports automated operations and predictive maintenance. AI can run in the cloud, on IoT devices directly with some limitations, or on both the cloud and the device.

William Rojas, research director, Strategic Intelligence at GlobalData, comments, ”AIoT technologies in the form of embedded AI acceleration microprocessors, combined with the addition of new wireless access technologies, will act as a further catalyst for IoT adoption across enterprise and consumer sectors. Deployments that might have initially used only one type of IoT sensor are expanding to include a wide range of sensors as the cloud analytics processing capability continues to expand.” 

Security remains a concern for IoT deployments. The fragmented security standards landscape and weak security of many IoT devices could hold back further IoT adoption. Despite the ongoing industry efforts, there are no globally accepted IoT security standards. Many IoT devices have limited computing capacity and cannot run effective security software, leaving them and the networks to which they are connected vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Rojas concludes, “Unlike other technological methods and tools such as AI, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, IoT is a digital ecosystem consisting of interdependent connectivity and data layers that aggregate, store, and process telemetric, image, and video data from IoT sensors. Embedded AIoT can also play a role in enhancing security at the IoT device level. Where more heavy compute resources are needed with low latency, then edge computing will be the best option.”