International. Gartner, Inc. forecasts that 8.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2017, up 31% from 2016, and will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. Total spending on terminals and services will reach nearly $2 trillion in 2017.
Regionally, Greater China, North America and Western Europe are driving the use of connected things and the three regions together will account for 67% of the total installed Internet of Things (IoT) base in 2017.
In addition to smart meters, applications tailored to specific vertical sectors (including field manufacturing devices, process sensors for power generation plants, and real-time location devices for healthcare) will drive the use of connected things between companies until 2017. However, starting in 2018, interprofessional devices such as those targeting smart buildings (including LED lighting, HVAC, and physical security systems) will take the lead, as connectivity leads to higher-volume, low-cost devices. By 2020, devices across industries will reach 4.4 billion units, while specific vertical devices will amount to 3.2 billion units.
While consumers buy more devices, businesses spend more. In 2017, in terms of hardware expenses, the use of connected things between companies will lead to US$964 billion. Consumer requests will amount to $725 billion in 2017. By 2020, hardware spending in both segments will reach nearly $3 trillion.
