London, United Kingdom - 22 Aug 2017

The Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem is set to bring forth a myriad of new technologies, devices, and communication protocols, all fighting for dominance as established and new vendor entrants attempt to get a bigger slice of the market. However, ABI Research believes that it is also evolving at such a rapid pace that its future will bring forth a whole new spectrum of data analytics and related services. This is not only set to transform the IoT landscape but also shift the focus of how companies operate in the coming years by emphasizing data exchange as a new form of currency.

A significant percentage of companies are witnessing this shift but very few of them have a strategy in place. Even leading vendors across multiple sectors are aware that they are sitting on a treasure trove of customer and machine data but are unable to monetize it to its full potential.

“IoT data sharing, exchanging, and even selling initiatives will not be just additional aspects of the IoT environment. These services are actually the next evolutionary step”, comments Dimitrios Pavlakis, Industry Analyst at ABI Research. “From the creation of application enablement platforms and innovative management services, to artificial intelligence and machine vision applications, we will experience transformative data governance and exchange services between all intertwined verticals.”

A few industry leaders are taking active steps to address these future opportunities while driving this transformation. Gemalto’s IoT platform allows for both original equipment manufacturers and cloud service providers to implement flexible monetization models. Ericsson is also at the forefront of monetizing the IoT, tackling connectivity, data management, and analytics. Bosch’s platform bridges open source applications and open standards with cloud services and IoT projects. ABI Research forecasts that in 2017 the total installed base of connected devices will reach 27 billion. This number is expected to hit 55 billion by 2022, further fueling the IoT shift.

These findings are from ABI Research’s IoT Data Exchange Services report.This report is part of the company’s M2M, IoT & IoE research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights.