Large Companies Stand To Gain The Most From The Massive 'Internet of Things,' Tech's New Growth Market

Large businesses will be the main force driving Internet of Things adoption.

The Internet of Things will also connect cities and homes to the internet. But the largest IoT opportunity will be the "enterprise," or business-to-business market. The IoT will help companies manage factories, office buildings, and warehouses.

Businesses have the capital and reach for large-scale IoT purchases. They will see benefits from the IoT accrue fast enough to spur further adoption and investment. In a new report from BI Intelligence, we detail why the enterprise IoT will be the key driver of the internet's new growth phase.

Consider:

1. Enterprise will have the largest device share, accounting for 39% of the roughly 23 billion active IoT devices we expect by the year 2019.
2. Most of the spending will go toward software and services, while hardware sales will account for a very small slice. Enterprise-focused IoT software and services sales will reach $43.9 billion by year-end, while hardware will account for about $2.3 billion in revenue, according to our estimates. (See chart, above.)
3. Globally, manufacturing will be the industry that spends the most on IoT services and devices.
4. Most enterprise IoT devices will be unsexy. They will be inexpensive, small, rudimentary internet-connected sensors and chips attached to once-inert devices.
5. Security and costs are the main barriers to enterprise IoT adoption. There is a high cost associated with setting up IoT systems, and there are worries about new vulnerabilities to hacking. But with companies like AT&T, Cisco, Google and others placing large bets on the IoT, it's likely the wrinkles will be ironed out, and costs reduced.

The full report:

• Examines how many IoT devices the enterprise will use and what those devices will look like
• Forecasts the value that businesses will see from implementing IoT solutions and the amount that will be spent upgrading
• Analyzes executives sentiment towards the IoT and how they are already putting the IoT to work
• Examines which industries are at the forefront of implementing the IoT and how they use the data the IoT generates
• Provides specific case studies of how businesses are using IoT systems in their workplace

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