The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has presented a study on the economic development of the Internet of Things (IoT), entitled “The Internet of Things: Mapping the value beyond the hype”. According to the study, in 2025, the IoT is expected to be able to achieve an Economic Value Added (EVA) of between US$4 billion and US$11 billion globally, which would correspond to approximately 11% of the global economic output.
MGI believes that the greatest economic potential of the IoT lies in factories, where growth could be as high as US$3.7 billion, as a result of higher productivity, improved energy efficiency and greater job security. In cities, networking is anticipated to yield up to US$1.7. If public authorities leverage the opportunities for the development of smart cities, this will lead to optimised public transport and improved air and water quality, for example. In the healthcare sector, the IoT could pull in added value of up to US$1.6 billion, through constant monitoring of patient data, and consequently better care.
In addition, improved monitoring of traffic data, logistics chains and the condition of vehicles, such as cars, trains and aircraft, could generate added value of US$1.5 billion. In the retail sector, automatic check-out systems, optimised store layouts and the use of smartphones for customer retention could result in higher sales figures and shorter waiting times, which would correspond to growth of up to US$1.2 billion. Finally, in the smart home sector, a more widespread use of smart home systems and self-controlled robots could provide for added comfort, cut costs and improve security, which, altogether, would correspond to added value of approximately US$300 million.
To ensure that this potential can, however, be tapped, hardware manufacturers, users, the government and society must follow certain recommendations, regarding cost control for the various systems, for example. MGI also states that in addition to the need for more widespread use of Big Data, users’ security and data protection considerations also need to be taken seriously. It is therefore imperative that governments define suitable framework conditions in good time.
The complete “The Internet of Things: Mapping the value beyond the hype” study can be downloaded for free from McKinsey’s website.
(Source: McKinsey&Company/rf)