Gartner: Internet of Things to reach 26B units by 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT), which excludes PCs, tablets and smartphones, will grow to 26 billion units installed in 2020, representing an almost 30-fold increase from 900 million in 2009, according to a new report from Gartner. The research and consultancy firm said IoT product and service suppliers will generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion (€218.5 billion), mostly in services, in 2020. It will result in $1.9 trillion in global economic value-add through sales into diverse end markets.

The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment. Just recently, in an effort to kick start the creation of standards for the Internet of Things, Qualcomm gave the code behind its AllJoyn framework to the Linux Foundation. In turn, the Linux Foundation said it created the new AllSeen Alliance that will use AllJoyn to develop a new interoperable standard for connecting devices and objects to the Internet.

"The growth in IoT will far exceed that of other connected devices. By 2020, the number of smartphones tablets and PCs in use will reach about 7.3 billion units," Gartner analyst Peter Middleton said. "In contrast, the IoT will have expanded at a much faster rate, resulting in a population of about 26 billion units at that time." Release