41 billion missing IoT devices: The biggest prediction miss in the history of IT?

global connectivity

41 billion IoT connected devices have failed to materialise, potentially representing the biggest missed prediction in the history of IT, Eseye a leader in ubiquitous global IoT connectivity, has uncovered.

In 2010, Ericsson predicted that 50 billion devices would be connected by 2020, a prediction echoed by Cisco in 2011. Yet, despite the enthusiasm for IoT, current estimates identify the true figure to be closer to 9 billion, with many of those being mobile phones. Eseye has subsequently identified six key challenges that IoT must overcome in 2020 to reach its potential.

It’s now clear that successful IoT deployments are much harder than previously thought and substantial complexities have been glossed over. This is borne out by recent research from Cisco Systems which has found that more than 75% of IoT deployments fail. A lot of the damage happens before the devices even go live, however. Microsoft estimates that 30% of IoT projects fail at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage, while eight out of ten IoT projects fail before they are even launched, says Gartner.

From hardware design and testing to connectivity, data management and global technical support, there are many obstacles to overcome.

Nick Earle, CEO of Eseye, said: “41 billion missing IoT devices is a monumental miscalculation and arguably is one of the biggest misses in the history of IT forecasting! The two questions that must be asked now, however, are why this happened and what can be done to rectify it? In our view, the ‘why’ primarily comes down to organisations underestimating the complexities of IoT deployments.

“The intricacies involved in creating specialist IoT device hardware, establishing access to global connectivity and the ability to manage vast amounts of data effectively and efficiently, are just some of those complexities. This was recognised by Gartner when it predicted in 2018 that 75% of IoT projects would take twice as long to deliver. Removing the complexities and barriers to IoT development and deployment will see a greater uptake on a global scale. We predict that 2020 will be the year that global IoT rollouts will take off, provided our six key challenges to IoT success in 2020 are overcome.”

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