Predictions from Dermot O’Shea, co-founder and joint CEO of Taoglas, on possible 2019 developments in IoT and related enabling network technologies.
(Editor’s Note: Where did the year go? 2019 is almost upon us, and the brightest minds in the real-time analytics space are looking forward to the new year and taking their guess at where they think this space is going. Help us expand the discussion and build out the future of real-time by joining the RTInsights Brain Trust)
Here’s the forecast from Dermot O’Shea, co-founder and joint CEO of antenna-solutions firm Taoglas, with four big developments he sees coming in IoT and networks in the next year:
#1: NB-IoT and Cat-M will continue to frustrate. While carriers have touted their 5G accomplishments, much of the 4G LTE technology for IoT is not yet ready for deployment, and that has frustrated many vendors with business models relying on it. Some modules are still not certified and base station and test equipment software has still not been updated to support NB-IoT and Cat-M. There is a general feeling that carriers need to dial down their 5G rhetoric and spend 2019 fixing the issues with 4G and deliver on that promise fully.
#2: Vendors will begin to see their perseverance in IoT pay off. Vendors that have been around since the early days of IoT are finally beginning to make hay, and 2019 is when we’ll see the real growth in the market that has been forecasted for years. The reason? Many industries are beginning to finally see scale in their IoT applications, and new applications are popping up with scale that no one forecasted. While 10,000 units of an IoT antenna used to be a big order, 100,000-unit orders are now common.
Examples: Electric scooters as a mode of last-mile transportation, which wasn’t even a thing three years ago, now number in the hundreds of thousands—soon to be millions—across the world. Street lighting, electricity meters, and other utility and smart city applications will also see exponential growth in 2019. The IoT tsunami that was predicted for the latter half of the 2010s never materialized, but instead, a series of small waves will increase IoT deployment numbers dramatically.
See also: 4 Predictions for Cloud, DevOps, and IT Ops Analytics and More in 2019
#3: Businesses will further embrace cellular back-up for business continuity. Companies such as retailers, fast food chains and other businesses will further protect their interests by embracing technologies that keep their business up and running (and those credit cards swiping) during network issues. Normally an application reserved for the largest financial services companies, business continuity via cellular routers will continue to grow amongst businesses of all sizes and types as they hedge against Wi-Fi and power outages, and network downtime.
#4: Everybody knows what IoT is. In every earnings call and research report, IoT is mentioned and businesses in all sectors realize the benefits it can bring. If they are not using it as a competitive advantage, they are scrambling to catch up with their competitors in order to implement it. Companies that work on construction sites, hospitals, oil wells and anywhere there are assets are realizing that they can save money and increase efficiency across their supply chain with IoT. It is easy and cheaper than ever before, and it appears on prime-time TV ads and newspaper articles on a daily basis.
