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What’s Next on the IoT Front in 2020?

IoT

The power of the internet has become all-pervading over the past five years, leading to the creation of a world where everything is connected to everything else via the web. Today, constant connectivity has moved beyond smartphones, computers and tablets to include everything from appliances to buildings and entire industries.

Internet of Things is no more a buzzword or part of some sci-fi flick. It is a reality fondly referred to as IoT.

What is more interesting is the fact that with the roll out of 5G in 2020, IoT is going to become more pervasive. This makes it more interesting for us to look forward to the coming year. Here are our top five IoT predictions for 2020:

  1. Increased number of connected devices: The Internet of Things is no more just some theoretical technology but a reality which is going to expand further in 2020. In 2015 and 2016, the number of connected devices was 9 million and 3.9 billion respectively. According to Gartner’s prediction, we will see 20.4 billion connected devices by 2020. This number is certainly enough to demonstrate the rate at which IoT is going to grow this year.
  2. Smart cities to be on the rise: The concept of smart cities is not new. They are being developed across the globe including India. In 2020, the concept of smart cities is going to receive further impetus. From smart appliances at your home, to smart cities with enhanced surveillance system, the data gained from IoT will create a hassle free and comfortable life in smart cities.
  3. Better Adoption of IoT in Healthcare: Slowly but steadily, the health industry is going to see wider adoption of IoT devices in 2020. According to a report by Frost and Sullivan, the internet of medical things is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 26.2% and reach $72,000 million by 2021. The medical devices such as portable devices, equipment, sensors, health monitors and other variety of medical devices are going to get connected with IoT. The intelligent wearables which help communicating the patient parameters while travelling will become more popular.
  4. Increased Deployment of IoT in Manufacturing: Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) or to call it in simpler words, IoT in manufacturing has been the key trend in 2019. The number of factories becoming smarter by deploying internet of things has been a trendy discussion topic this year and it is expected to be discussed even more in the year to come. Problem prediction and identification are going to be the most crucial outcomes of IoT in manufacturing. Enhanced floor management, monitoring of employee productivity and mushrooming of smart factories is expected to get better in 2020. Manufacturers are looking to deploy sensors, wearables and automated systems as a way to streamline production, logistics and employee management via data collection and analytics.
  5. IoT Security to be prioritised: More the devices will be connected with the internet, more security concerns are going to emerge. “The number of cyberattacks on IoT deployments will also increase significantly as we are still not seeing the level of cyber hygiene and diligence required to keep hackers from breaching our defences. Hackers have also started going after personal data of employees like never before. This is being done to force them by coercive methods or by using their stolen credentials to gain access to core systems and networks. This is a worrying trend and is already worrying cybersecurity teams, analysts and vendors alike,” says Kiran Zachariah, Vice-President, IoTBusiness Solutions, Subex.

When it comes to IoT, 2020 is certainly going to be interesting as development and security, both will go hand in hand.

“From connected doorbell cameras to wireless speaker systems, we will see a growth in attack modes coming in via unsecured apps or weak login credentials. This threat is further complicated by the emergence of accessible deepfake technology, which can pose a threat for voice- or biometric-controlled connected devices,” says Sean Duca, vice president and regional chief security officer, Asia Pacific & Japan, Palo Alto Networks.

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