IoT Analytics, a market insights firm for IoT, yesterday released its “State of the IoT – Summer 2019 Update” report that handpicked 43 IoT technologies that companies must keep an eye to stay apace with the market.
“The resulting Emerging IoT Technologies Radar serves as a guide for anyone working in IoT-type environments and projects to understand what technologies they should be watching, evaluating, and perhaps deploying,” said Knud Lasse Lueth, founder & CEO of IoT Analytics, in a blogpost.
The team at IoT Analytics ranked the IoT technologies according to their perceived maturity (based on expert interviews, vendor briefings, secondary research, and conference attendances).
According to the report, IoT technologies often take more than a decade to move towards the centre of the emerging technologies radar.
“The typical technologies depicted here take roughly 12 years to move from being ‘far on the horizon’ to becoming so mature and widely adopted that we consider them ‘mainstream’ (in case a technology does become mainstream which is not always the case),” said Lueth.
He added: “Cloud computing, for example, took ~12 years from being far on the horizon to being considered ‘mainstream’ for IoT settings (Note: AWS was first launched in 2006). Research on 5G was initiated in 2012 and was considered far on the horizon at that time. It has moved to the ‘Coming up’ level now and is expected to hit mainstream for IoT applications in the 2024-2025 timeframe (~also 12 years later). One should note though that some technologies do mature quicker than others.”
Below is the complete list of all software, hardware, and connectivity IoT technologies (each ranked by maturity):
A. IoT Software Technologies
| Technology | Description | Classification | Typical vendor(s) or solutions |
| 1. Cloud computing | Using a network of remote servers to store, manage, and process data | Fairly mature | AWS, Microsoft Azure, Alibaba Aliyun |
| 2. IoT platforms | Form of modular software that allow easy connection of various IoT devices & other value-added functionality (e.g., remote device management, application enablement, analytics) | Nearing maturity | AWS IoT, Microsoft Azure IoT, PTC Thingworx |
| 3. Edge analytics | Collection and analysis of data at the sensor, device, gateway or edge data centre rather than waiting for the data to be sent back to a remote cloud | Nearing maturity | AWS IoT Greengrass, Microsoft IoT Edge, Foghorn, Crosser |
| 4. IoT-based streaming analytics | Real-time processing of streaming of data from IoT devices | Nearing maturity | Cloud vendor solutions, Hortonworks Dataflow, SAS, Software AG |
| 5. Supervised machine learning | ML method where training data for the algorithm includes desired outputs | Nearing maturity | Uptake, Sparkcognition, Senseye |
| 6. Unsupervised machine learning | ML method where training data for the algorithm does not include the desired outputs | Nearing maturity | Uptake, Sparkcognition, Darktrace |
| 7. Containers | Containers are processes with their own virtual resources and filesystems (memory, CPU, disk, etc.), isolated from other applications and containers | Nearing maturity | Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift |
| 8. IoT marketplaces | A one-stop click-and-buy-store, offering complete Internet of Things solutions ready to deploy smart applications including hardware, software and cloud connection | Coming up | PTC, Siemens, ABB, Schneider Electric, Inductive Automation |
| 9. Digital twins | Digital representation of physical assets, processes, systems and devices | Coming up | GE, Azure, Siemens, Honeywell, Emerson |
| 10. Container security | Solutions that protect the integrity of containers | Coming up | Cloud Vendor Solutions, Palo Alto Networks |
| 11. Iot security platforms | Platform offering security solutions for any IoT device class | Coming up | Mocana, Bayshore Networks, Device Authority |
| 12. Real-time database | Database that uses real-time processing to handle constantly changing workloads | Coming up | MongoDB, Counchbase |
| 13. Serverless/FaaS | Developing, running, and managing application functionalities without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure associated with developing and launching an application | Coming up | AWS Lamda, IBM OpenWhisk, Google Cloud Functions |
| 14. Deep learning | Part of a broader family of machine learning methods based on artificial neural networks | Coming up | TensorFlow, Apache Mahout, Caffe, Deepmind, CuriousAI |
B. IoT Hardware Technologies
| Technology | Description | Classification | Typical vendor(s) or solutions |
| 1. CPU | Central processing unit | Fairly mature | Intel, HPE, AMD |
| 2. Security chips | Security-enhancing low-powered modules, include various security-sensitive functions | Fairly mature | Apple, Alphabet |
| 3. Edge gateways | Physical devices that serve as the connection point between the cloud and controllers, sensors and intelligent devices
|
Fairly mature | Dell, HPE |
| 4. GPU | Graphic processing units | Coming up | NVIDIA, AMD, Asus, Intel |
| 5. NAND | Non-volatile flash memory | Coming up | Micron, Samsung, Toshiba |
| 6. ASIC | Application-specific integrated circuit | Coming up | Fujitsu, Honeywell, Advanced Linear Devices |
| 7. DRAM | Dynamic random-access memory | Coming up | Samsung, Micron, SK Hynics |
| 8. FPGA | Field programmable gate array | Coming up | Xilinx, Intel, Altera |
| 9. Neuro-synaptic chip | Brain-inspired computer chip, in which transistors simulate neurons and synapses | Coming up | IBM |
| 10. Smart sensors | Sensors that take some predefined action when they sense the appropriate input | Years out | Texas Instruments, TE Connectivity, Broadcom |
| 11. ML optimised-gateways | Controllers that are optimized for ML algorithms | Years out | Adlink, Intel |
| 12. Energy harvesting for LPD | Supplying electricity to LPDs from one or several forms of available energy from the ambient environment instead of using disposable batteries or a connection to the electricity grid | Years out | STMicroelectronics, ABB |
| 13. Cloud-connected sensors | Sensors that are sending data directly to the cloud | Years out | Schneider Electric |
| 14. Quantum computing | Computation using quantum-mechanical phenomena e.g., superposition entanglement | Years out | IBM, Microsoft, Rigetti |
C. IoT Connectivity Technologies
| Technology | Description | Classification | Typical vendor(s) or solutions |
| 1. WLAN | Wireless Local Area Networks, includes Wi-Fi and its different versions | Fairly mature | Cisco, Aruba, Extreme Networks |
| 2. WPAN | Wireless Personal Area Networks, incl. very short-range (up to ~100 m) connectivity technologies (e.g. BLE, Zigbee) | Fairly mature | DiGi Int., NXP Semiconductors, Silicon Labs |
| 3. Cellular IoT (2G/3G/4G) | Provides connectivity to IoT applications via traditional cellular networks | Fairly mature | China Mobile, Vodafone, Orange |
| 4. WNAN | Wireless Neighbourhood Area Networks, includes medium-range (~500-2,000 km) mesh connectivity technologies based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard (e.g. Wi-SUN) | Fairly mature | Itron/Silver Spring Networks, Wirepas |
| 5. LPWAN | Low-Power Wide-Area connectivity for IoT applications (e.g. Sigfox, LoRa, NB-IoT, LTE-M)
|
Nearing maturity | Semtech, Sigfox |
| 6. Pub/Sub | Form of asynchronous service-to-service comm. used in IoT messaging protocols e.g. MQTT, XMPP | Nearing maturity | AWS, Google Cloud, PubNub |
| 7. eSIM | A SIM-card embedded into mobile devices that enables remote SIM provisioning, allowing storing of multiple operator profiles simultaneously and switching between them remotely. | Coming up | ST Microelectronics, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, ARM |
| 8. Network virtualisation | Abstracts network elements & resources into a logical virtual network that runs independently on top of a physical network | Coming up | Oracle, VMWare, Juniper Networks |
| 9. 5G | The fifth generation of cellular networks, commercially launched in 2019 | Coming up | Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia |
| 10. Wifi 6 | The newest version of the Wi-Fi protocol, also known as IEE 802.11ax | Coming up | Qualcomm, Cisco, Huawei |
| 11. TSN | Time-Sensitive Networking is a set of standards defined by IEEE for the time-sensitive transmission of data over deterministic Ethernet networks | Coming up | ABB, Bosch, Cisco, Siemens |
| 12. Lifi | Wireless communication technology that uses light to transmit data. | Years out | Panasonic, Oledcomm, Philips |
| 13. Satellite IoT | Provides connectivity to IoT applications via satellite networks | Years out | Iridium, Inmarsat, Eutelsat |
| 14. APL (Advanced Physical Layer) | Developing industrial Ethernet standard that seeks to leverage the work of the IEEE 802.3cg (10BASE-T1L) task force to achieve a single twisted-pair industrial Ethernet standard for hazardous areas | Years out | Pepperl+Fuchs, Endress+Hauser, Analog Devices |
| 15. 6G | The sixth generation of cellular networks | Far on the horizon | Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia |
IoT vendors expecting a slowdown
According to the report, digital and IoT markets are currently affected by the global slowdown. IoT vendors are lowering their outlook while technology users are (partially) reducing CAPEX. At the same time, shifting supply chains and skill shortages are becoming key inhibitors to further growth in IoT.
“[There will be] lower growth going forward. IoT Analytics expects IoT markets to grow 30% in the medium-run (next 2 years) and 32% in long-run (5 years thereafter). The market is expected to cross the US$1trillion mark in 2025,” Lueth said.
The global slowdown is currently mostly a manufacturing slowdown with Automotive and Machinery hit the hardest and with weakest outlook. Chemicals/Pharma and F&B are holding up the best, the report noted.
