LONDON — Technavio’s latest report on the global Internet of Things (IoT) devices market provides an analysis of the key trends expected to impact the market from 2015 to 2019.

The global IoT devices market is forecast to grow from $7 billion in 2014 to $45 billion by 2019, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 44 percent. The market is calculated on the basis of six products. They are smart a/c, smart refrigerators, smart thermostats, smart watches, smart glasses, and smart lighting.

According to Navin Rajendra, a lead research analyst for computing devices at Technavio, “The global IoT devices market is at its nascent stage, so very high growth is expected in the coming years. Technological advancements and changing consumer lifestyles will lead to the high adoption of IoT devices.”

The top three emerging trends in the global IoT devices market are:

• Increased channel partnering.

Smart thermostat vendors are working to develop devices that are user-friendly in terms of installation. They are also expanding their market partnerships to boost product sales and gain market share.

According to Technavio, utility companies and HVAC service providers are building commercial partnerships with smart thermostat providers to derive mutual benefit. HVAC service providers use the data collected from smart thermostats to calculate service requirements and to roll out predictive maintenance schedules. Similarly, utility companies are working to leverage the advantage of using data from smart thermostats to create consumer awareness and to maintain peak load demand. For example, Southern California Edison introduced the Bring-Your-Own-Thermostat concept to incentivize energy savings and to promote energy conservation.

• High demand for fitness devices.

The demand for wearable technology in fitness and sports has been increasing rapidly because of an increase in health awareness among individual consumers. “A number of professional sportspeople use high-end wearable devices to accurately measure their physical activities. This is an important trend as several fitness device manufacturers are entering the smart watches market and are combining both of the technologies. Smart watches could be the perfect solution for a user that prefers a single device that can perform several functions,” said Rajendra.

• Crowdfunding.

Several vendors have used crowdfunding to raise capital for their projects. This has benefited the market in several ways. First, it increases awareness among potential customers. Second, it encourages new vendors to enter the market, which will increase competition and decrease prices. Third, it allows vendors to anticipate the demand for their products, directly communicate with potential buyers, and involve them in the product development stage. This can help vendors to build the right products for the market.

More information is available here.

Publication date: 2/29/2016

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