A new study from Juniper Research has found that the global number of Industrial IoT (IIoT) connections will increase from 17.7 billion in 2020 to 36.8 billion in 2025, representing an overall growth rate of 207 per cent. The research identified smart manufacturing as a key growth sector of the Industrial IoT market over the next five years, accounting for 22 billion connections by 2025.

The new research predicts that 5G and LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) networks will play pivotal roles in creating attractive service offerings to the manufacturing industry, and enabling the realisation of the ‘smart factory’ concept – one in which real-time data transmission and high connection densities allow highly-autonomous operations for manufacturers.

5G to maximise benefits of ‘Smart Factories’

The report identified private 5G services as crucial to maximising the value of a smart factory to service users, by leveraging the technology to enable superior levels of autonomy amongst operations. 

It found that private 5G networks will prove most valuable when used for the transmission of large amounts of data in environments with a high density of connections, and where significant levels of data are generated. In turn, this will enable large-scale manufacturers to reduce operational spend through efficiency gains.

Software revenue to dominate Industrial IoT market value

The research forecasts that over 80 per cent of global Industrial IoT market value will be attributable to software spend by 2025, to reach US$216 billion.

 

Software tools leveraging machine learning for enhanced data analysis and the identification of network vulnerabilities are now essential to connected manufacturing operations.

Research author Scarlett Woodford noted: ‘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.’

Download the whitepaper here.

Further Industrial IoT market research is available here.