The current excitement around the Internet of Things (IoT) often centers on consumer products such as smart homes, connected cars and fitness trackers. Yet the broader impact of IoT reaches far beyond consumer use: it is reshaping entire industries and ecosystems, improving efficiency, safety and productivity across many sectors.
Though IoT is still fairly early in its development, the number of connected machines grows every day. Large industries that form the backbone of the global economy — manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, mining, transportation and healthcare — are adopting IoT technologies to optimize processes, reduce costs and gain new operational insights. At the same time, enterprises and organizations across sectors are deploying IoT solutions to future-proof their businesses and unlock new value.
The scale of IoT’s potential is substantial. For example, Ericsson’s Mobility Report forecasts that by 2023 more than 30 billion devices will be connected, with around 20 billion related to the IoT. Connected IoT devices are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 19 percent through 2023, driven by emerging use cases and increasing affordability of sensors and connectivity.
Given these trends, how can operators take full advantage of IoT’s growth?
Preparing for 2018 and beyond
First, choosing the right transformation partner is crucial. Operators should collaborate with partners who offer end-to-end capabilities and deep industry knowledge. The best partners also have the ability to assemble broader ecosystems, introducing additional specialists and vendors as needed to deliver complete, scalable solutions.
New mobility and automation solutions are evolving quickly and can be transformative for industries such as manufacturing, automotive and agriculture. In agriculture, for example, modern solutions combine AI, IoT and cloud technologies to maintain optimal growing conditions for a wide variety of crops. These platforms are designed to integrate additional IoT devices easily as growers’ needs change, enabling incremental investments and faster time-to-value.
Standards, security and interoperability matter. By adopting standards like Lightweight M2M (LwM2M) and IPSO object models, and by using pre-validated, interoperable devices and applications, operators accelerate time-to-market and reduce integration risk. This approach helps monetize IoT faster while maintaining high levels of security and operational reliability.
How does 5G fit in?
5G is a central part of the IoT ecosystem’s evolution as mobile networks upgrade to support next-generation connectivity. 5G provides capabilities such as ultra-low latency, higher throughput and improved reliability, enabling new categories of IoT applications that were previously impractical on legacy networks.
With 5G, operators can support use cases that demand real-time responses, high data rates or massive device densities — for instance, autonomous vehicles, mission-critical industrial automation and large-scale smart city deployments. As 5G coverage expands, the range of deployable applications and commercial opportunities for operators will grow accordingly.
Future outlook for IoT
In the near term, operators have significant opportunities to expand revenue through new IoT-driven services. Rapid IoT adoption means many businesses across industries can create new revenue streams by deploying connected systems or optimizing existing processes with sensors, analytics and automation. Organizations that fail to adopt IoT strategically risk falling behind competitors that use these technologies to cut costs, improve offerings and deliver better customer experiences.
The time to prepare is now: operators and enterprises should evaluate use cases, invest in interoperable platforms, strengthen security practices and build partnerships that support scalable deployments. Proactive planning and disciplined execution will determine who captures the greatest share of IoT value.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss these topics and share IoT use cases? Consider attending the IoT Tech Expo World Series events, which run in locations including Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam. These events are co-located with AI & Big Data Expo, Cyber Security & Cloud Expo and Blockchain Expo, allowing attendees to explore the broader technology ecosystem in one place.