Smart Factories will launch IoT revolution, research predicts
The number of global connections under the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is set to increase to 37 billion by 2025 as the concept of 'Smart Factories' becomes realised, according to the latest data released from Juniper Research.
The "Industrial IoT: Future Market Outlook, Technology Analysis & Key Players 2020-2025" report predicts that the number of global connections will be more than double the 2020 figures, which currently sit at around 17.7 billion, representing market growth of 207%.
It analysed several areas for consideration when preparing the implementation of digitalisation in the workplace, including AI, machine learning, cloud services and private networks.
The research was conducted using 15 IoT platform providers, who were graded based on an in-house leaderboard across eight regions and 19 countries, including Brazil, Australia, China, Canada, South Korea, the US and the UK.
Such platform providers include tech giants such as Nokia, Hitachi, Huawei and Microsoft.
The IoT is an Industry 4.0 concept that allows for information to be shared freely which provides nearly unlimited potential for innovation and refinement. It is considered to be essential in permitting full digitalisation.
The concept of smart factories will allow for greater autonomy and innovation in every aspect of production, from self-optimising runtimes enabling more intuitive designs, to cost-cutting and streamlining the final product and even aiding in supply chain logistics.
In computing terms, a "connection" simply refers to one computer communicating or syncing data with another, allowing for greater freedom of information in an ideal scenario.
The report predicts that both 5G and Lower Power Wide Area (LPWA) will play a pivotal role in creating attractive service offerings to the manufacturing industry and enabling of the smart factory concept.
5G is considered essential to maximising the use of smart factory services by leveraging the technology to enable superior levels of autonomy amongst operations. The data suggests that private 5G networks will prove most valuable when used for the transmission of large amounts of data in an environment where a high density of connections is made.
These data transfer capabilities will allow manufacturers to cut costs through increased efficiency.
The research hints that 80% of the total market value of the IoT will be attributed to software spending by 2025, rising to $216 billion (€185.5 billion) as having primed and contemporaneous software will be essential in maximising both profits and output efficiency.
Scarlett Woodford, who authored the study, warned that businesses should not introduce Industry 4.0 concept too swiftly.
She said: "Manufacturers must exercise caution when implementing IoT technology; resisting the temptation to introduce connectivity to all aspects of operations.
"Instead, manufacturers must focus on the collection of data on the most valuable areas to drive efficiency gains."
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