When we think of 2021, some key words come to mind: variants, COVID-19 (of course), lockdown, WFH (work from home), vaccines, and booster. The pandemic has continued to take center stage as we’ve learned to keep calm and carry on while hoping for better days to come. Soon. But, the IoT has also been a bright spot with eHealth becoming a crucial part of day-to-day life for many, plus EVs, smart energy and cybersecurity topping headlines.
This time last year, we asked for your predictions for the coming year and we’re keeping that tradition alive with the 2022 IoT prediction survey. What’s your IoT vision? What sectors do you think we’ll see the most growth in next year? Be an industry visionary and share your ideas!
What’s New in ’22?
The Internet of Things (IoT) was once considered solely applicable to the B2B world, with the promise of many consumer uses and the potential to transform industries. One day. We’ve fulfilled that promise with 12.3 billion IoT connections worldwide, surpassing non-IoT connections, and telehealth entering most people’s daily routine during the pandemic. Electric vehicles (EVs) and the importance of cybersecurity inside the cars as well as the charging station and smart energy ecosystem are impacting millions of lives. Today’s IoT is taking the place of the smartphone as the new “transformative” technology.
It appears that COVID-19 will continue to impact our lives in the coming year, with continued supply chain issues and the worldwide chip shortage slowing down IoT growth. According to IoT Analytics, growth projections have been lowered slightly due to the pandemic and supply chain issues to 27.1 billion connections expected by 2025 down from last year’s forecast of 30.95 billion for the same period.
Will eHealth, smart energy, and connected cars continue to lead the IoT?
Last year, you predicted connected healthcare growing the most followed by smart energy, connected cars and smart city applications. Will 2022 bring more of the same or will we see more growth in new categories? With general crime and ransomware attacks increasing, how important do you think cybersecurity will be in the coming year? Global construction is expected to grow by 6.6% this year and up to 42% by 2030 driven by home demands and government programs. Will smart homes take a bigger piece of the IoT growth pie moving forward?
Smart Energy and Connected Cars
Climate change, aging infrastructure, raging wildfires, brownouts/blackouts and the increasing use of EVs are all making smart energy a crucial piece of the IoT. Remote meter reading is just part of the advantages IoT provides. Load management to prevent brownouts and blackouts, and possibly identify and manage aging power lines to prevent wildfires are important aspects of smart energy.
The integration of renewable energy sources, as well as energy consumers, at the center of the smart grid, will help meet the demands of our increasingly connected world.
Electric Vehicles and connected cars will support the way towards sustainability, with less emissions or less road congestion. Regulations and standards, such as UNECE wp29 or ISO 15118 will continue to be needed to help guide this unprecedented growth towards more connected and sustainable devices.
How important do you think this will be next year?
Cybersecurity and ransomware
With increased connections comes a higher risk of cyber-attacks. Ransomware attacks are a major concern, especially for hospitals that can see its critical care technology and machines taken offline due to a hack. OEMs can mitigate risk with a security by design approach and consulting with industry experts to ensure protection across the lifespan on an application. Gartner predicts that 40% of board of directors will have a board member overseeing a cybersecurity committee, raising its level of importance within organizations worldwide. IoT cybersecurity has always been a top concern for the industry, and it will continue to be a critical component for both growth and maintaining the current connections. Do you think it’s the most important concern for the new year?
What else with impact the IoT in 2022?
5G officially arrived in 2021 and it will continue to have an impact on the IoT, but how much will that be in 2022? The GSMA estimates that 5G connections will grow to reach 1.8 billion by 2025, bringing a powerful combination of unprecedented speed, expanded bandwidth, low latency, and increased power and cost efficiency that will help drive billions of new IoT connections and future innovations. What industry do you think will best use 5G’s power first?
What’s ahead for IoT in 2022? We want to hear from YOU. Please take our quick 2022 IoT prediction survey and share your vision for the coming year.
Wishing you health & happiness in the new year!
