Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers has been advocating the concept of the "Internet of Things" for a while now. In a recent keynote presentation at the International CES in Las Vegas, Chambers predicted that the market for this new concept will be worth around $19 trillion in the very near future.
The concept of the "Internet of Things" hinges on loT, which is a term that industry professionals use for objects and devices embedded with sensors and other electronic equipment. This basically means that almost anything and everything can be connected to each other electronically. While this is a relatively new concept, it has been gaining ground gradually over the last few years. More and more devices and everyday objects are being equipped with sensors and transmitters. Over the last few years, the market has seen the emergence of Bluetooth speakers, smart TVs and even smart home appliances. If the predictions are correct, the consumer market will soon see a massive influx of interconnected devices.
A report from Gartner has estimated that loT-based products and services will be worth around $1.9 trillion by the year 2020. A 2013 McKinsey report went even further with an estimate of somewhere between $14 trillion and $33 trillion by the year 2025.
Given the large potential of the "Internet of Things," Cisco has been attempting to serve as the main provider of the networking technologies required for loT. In fact, the company opened their Internet of Things division last Oct. 2013 to prepare for the upcoming technological shift. It has also begun acquiring the technology it needs for the massive endeavor. Last May, Cisco purchased louleX, a company specializing in data management.
"It's going to be a new kind of IT. It's going to first of all have to be very simple to use," says Chambers in his CES keynote address.
Newly announced technologies such as Intel's miniscule Edison computer may also play a big part in the predicted loT revolution.
