Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Internet of Things Spending to Reach $1.29 Trillion by 2020

A new forecast from International Data Corp. estimates that the total worldwide spending on the Internet of Things (IoT) will reach $1.29 trillion by 2020. According to the market research firm's Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide, that represents a compound annual growth rate of 15.6 percent over the 2015-2020 forecast period.

Much of that spend will go toward hardware — the largest spending category throughout the forecast, followed by services, software and connectivity, according to IDC. The company predicts that hardware spending will approach $400 billion by 2020; modules and sensors that connect endpoints to networks will represent the bulk of hardware purchases. On the other hand, IDC said, hardware will be the slowest growing IoT technology category, beaten out by software and services.

IDC points to manufacturing as the industry expected to make the largest investment in the IoT; the fastest spending growth will come out of the insurance, consumer, healthcare and retail industries. In addition, "Cross-Industry IoT investments, which represent use cases common to all industries, such as connected vehicles and smart buildings, will rank among the top segments throughout the five-year forecast," said the firm in a press release.

"A fairly close relationship exists between high-growth IoT use cases in consumer product and service oriented verticals like retail, insurance, and healthcare," said Marcus Torchia, an IDC research manager for IoT, in a statement. "In some cases, these are green field opportunities with tremendous room to run. In other verticals, like manufacturing and transportation, large market size and more moderate growth rate use cases characterize these verticals. As a whole, the IoT opportunity is a diverse developing marketplace for vendors and end users alike."

For more information on the Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide, visit the IDC site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • glowing brain above stacked coins

    The Higher Ed Playbook for AI Affordability

    Fulfilling the promise of AI in higher education does not require massive budgets or radical reinvention. By leveraging existing infrastructure, embracing edge and localized AI, collaborating across institutions, and embedding AI thoughtfully across the enterprise, universities can move from experimentation to impact.

  • college students sitting with laptops at an outdoor table

    How Colleges Are Building More Connected and Responsive Student Support

    Colleges are making steady progress in building more connected and responsive student support systems. By aligning services and improving coordination, institutions are enhancing both the student and staff experience.

  • large cloud icon on the right in an abstract world above a polygon with a dark blue background

    Cloud Security Alliance Expands Focus on Governance and Assurance for Agentic AI Systems

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) recently announced a series of CSAI Foundation milestones aimed at securing what it calls the agentic control plane, including a new catastrophic risk initiative, CVE Numbering Authority authorization, and the acquisition of two agentic AI specifications.

  • blue wooden cubes block texture abstract background

    Gartner Estimates Worldwide IT Spending at $6.31T for 2026

    Gartner recently forecast that worldwide IT spending will total $6.31 trillion in 2026, a 13.5% increase from 2025. Sectors experiencing the largest growth include data center systems, software, and IT services.