Top 10 Internet of Things(IoT) Predictions for 2020
Published: 2020-08-31 16:56:55

IoT is drastically changing the world for the better. There was a time when internet connectivity was available only on phones and computers.  In the past decade, this focus has shifted to all technologies. Gradually, we are seeing the development of devices that connect to the internet. All these devices collect and share data to make our lives easier.

##What is IoT?
You must know what IoT is by now, but for general understanding, [IoT](https://novateus.com/iot-predictions-2020) is a broad umbrella. It includes all devices that you don’t expect to connect to the internet i.e. refrigerators, irons, etc. These devices should be able to communicate with the internet without your interaction. So, your laptop and your smartphone are not IoT devices.

The idea of making devices smart, including sensors in them, evolved around 1990. The last decade is the hallmark for the development of IoT devices and ideas and theories related to it. We all know the tech industry appreciates innovations and new ideas. Devices like smart refrigerators started making all the noise. Could these smart devices really minimize the hassle?

In the last few years, the introduction of self-driving cars and home hubs like Google Home and Amazon Echo has definitely made a lot of lives easier. The development in IoT over the years has grown gradually and each year, we expect, will be more beneficial than the other. In 2019 alone 9.5 Billion devices connected to IoT, against the predicted estimate of 8.3 Billion. Tech giants like Huwaei, Microsft, Amazon, etc. made [big advancements](https://iot-analytics.com/iot-2019-in-review/) in IoT. Every year experts predict the estimated growth of IoT in the upcoming year. We have come up with a list of predictions for 2020 as well.

##Top 10 IoT predictions in 2020
IoT Merges with Big Data and Blockchain
Big Data is essentially just analytics on raw data. These connected devices create a big data stream daily. Analysis of this regular freshly generated data by thousands of devices is necessary. Consequently, the generation of meaningful trends by analyzing this raw data is essential. I hope you understand the link between the internet of things (IoT) and Big Data now. Data Scientists properly analyze the data to make it useful. In easy terms, IoT helps collect the data, while Big Data helps make the data into something useful for the business.

Now, we move to IoT and BlockChain. You might know a little about blockchain because of BitCoins. Well, based on the previous understanding of IoT and big data, blockchain comes at the third step. We don’t intend to go deep into the nitty-gritty of blockchain. Blockchain is essentially like a database that connects multiple people. All these people know all the content of the database. As new people are added they are updated accordingly. So, blockchain provides us with a unique opportunity to keep the big data from our IoT devices secure.

###Adaptation of IoT in Health Care
![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/kt7r36wqs3p7pw415s0l.png)

With advancements in internet of things(IoT), regular hospitals are becoming smart hospitals. Think about it, a facility where everything is centralized and collected in one place. Hospitals will starts implementing facilities like remote patient monitoring. In 2018, the introduction of a remote monitoring system for diabetic patients changed everything. A device, as small as a penny, was inserted into a patient’s arm to measure the blood glucose levels. Consequently, the vitals could be monitored using your android or iOS devices.

This is only one such example, numerous other solutions exist as well. Additionally, Tracked ingestible sensors, mobile health, etc. all these solutions bring huge benefits in the health care field and leave room for research and improvement.

###An improvement in IoT Security
We live in a world where nobody is safe from cyber-attacks. As technology progresses, so does the risk. Let's be honest, security wasn’t the main goal when developing IoT solutions. The introduction of IoT devices in every field of life has made the job of security officials even harder.

The [IoT](https://novateus.com/iot-predictions-2020) security space is where IT security was 10 years ago. We have a long way to go when it comes to security. In the upcoming year, the design of safer systems by design approach is predicted. Previously, companies focused more on developing and marketing these products as soon as possible. Even so, now as the concern for IoT system security is being raised ground plans will be put in place to upgrade their security. With the number of IoT devices estimated to grow to 25 Billion this year, the risk will grow as well but so will the security measures.

###Revolutionization of IoT through AI
![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/o4l7ucj880gvgtuaortx.jpg)
In 2018, you might have seen a robot named Sophia surfacing on Social Media. Sofia performed a duet with Jimmy Fallon and left the world amazed by the accuracy of human emotions she could perform. She was developed by Hanson Robotics, who not only mirrored human intelligence but also enabled the robot to show human emotion. Everything you saw used enhanced Artificial Intelligence.

It is expected that 80 percent of all enterprise IoT projects to include AI as a major component by 2022. Just like Big Data and Blockchain, AI will revolutionize the internet of things by capturing more actionable data from its devices. While AI makes devices smarter, IoT enables them to connect. AI experts are working to build a machine learning system that automatically detects anomalies in data generated from sensors and devices, essentially IoT devices.

It has been estimated that with this revolution of IoT, machine learning can help make operational predictions up to 20 percent earlier than with business intelligence tools. These predictions will be more accurate as well.

###5G Networks Continue to Fuel IoT Growth
![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/wj96psuirrhxydqlep5c.jpg)
5G continues to innovate many industries and has evidently also made industries like the internet of things an integral part of our daily life. We think that 5G is the foundation to help the world realize the full potential of IoT. 5G is not just about the speed but a combination of high-speed connectivity, very low latency, and ubiquitous coverage. With connectivity being the most important factor in the industry nowadays, 5G has started to bring about a major change.

Not only will it continue to service smartphones and other similar options, but it will be used in the connection of IoT devices. These are high-risk situations where a two-second delay could cost lives. Not only will this be a growth opportunity but businesses will have to come up with fast market solutions integrating IoT and 5G.

###More Networks – More Fragmentation
Up till now all the predictions you read were positive and gave way to a better future. But fragmentation is a problem that IoT has been facing for a few years as more and more devices are in need of connectivity solutions. The addition of new devices every now and then makes figuring out fragmentation very difficult.

It is predicted that as new devices are designed, their IoT parts and the variety that they are present in the solution will cause a lot of fragmentation. A lot of complexity goes into figuring these out, and businesses will struggle in getting their IoT solutions from the project development phase into the real world. Although we will go through fragmentation issues but the advent of 5G and its continued evolution of IoT will make these issues easier to defragment.

That being said, there is still no way to solve the problem of fragmentation completely without a strong push by organizations like IEEE or government regulations to have common standards for IoT devices.

###More Cities will Become “Smart”
![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/e2ur9j4ltbdywwavb5vp.jpg)
The continued migration to urban areas has put huge pressure on public services and urban planning authorities. As of 2018, 4 billion people were living in urban areas. Moreover, an increase of 2.5 Billion is expected in the next thirty years. That is almost half of the world’s population living in urban areas. This is the reason why cities are continually implementing solutions driven by technology, IoT solutions, and data to manage the added burden put on the cities.

These are the new “smart” cities. You may have seen many such advances like self-driving cars, smart buildings, police officer wearables, smart trash collection, etc. Cities will continue to adopt solutions like real-time crime mapping, IoT ecosystems for transport, smart city solutions, and many more. Adaptation of all these internet of things solutions will decrease the highly risen ratio of each sector of the city by 10 to 20 percent. As more and more cities adopt smart city solutions, each city will have its own strategy. On top of it all, you, the citizens will be the most important aspect of these solutions.

###Increased IoT in Manufacturing
Manufacturers can boost the speed of production as well as the quality of their products with the use of IoT manufacturing systems. Manufacturers are estimated to invest up to $45.3 Billion in IoT implementation by 2022. This is a big increase as compared to the $12.7 Billion back in 2017.

Predictive maintenance will continue to be done in the manufacturing machines through IoT. Machinery is using remote data collection IoT platforms that wirelessly patch and update machinery in a timely manner through predictive maintenance. New machinery will be introduced in the market, and it is predicted that by 2022 every business will have at least one IoT solution-driven device.

The introduction of IoT driven inventory management is expected to be on the rise. Inventory management operations like asset tracking, remote tracking, and management of the supply chain will be revolutionized.  Companies will see an increase in revenue and reputation as a result of the introduction of IoT inventory management in their system.

###Big Money
It is predicted that by 2020 IoT is expected to drive $334 Billion dollars in revenue and $117 Billion in cost reductions all over the world. IoT has been boasting productivity for many major US factories and industries. The employees have seen an increase in productivity ranging from 40 to 60 percent.

The impact IoT has caused in the tech industry will inevitably cause more startup venture capitalists to invest big money in IoT projects for hardware, software, and services. Spending in this sector will increase by $1.4 trillion. Investments in IoT startups will continue to increase because of the growing dependability of customers on IoT ecosystems. Let’s be frank, wouldn’t you like to have the lights in your home automatically turned off when you lie down at night? This is just one easy example. Imagine what it’s like for investors.

###The Emergence of “Digital Twin” Energy
Digital twin energy has only begun to emerge in the world of green energy solutions and IoT ecosystems. But who are the digital twins? You know about the troubled twin already. Let us give you a refresher. You might have a general idea about the transmission and distribution of energy over an extensive landscape. The United States alone has a 9200 unit electric grid that needs to be managed efficiently. Handling such an enormous amount of management manually can get tiring and result in inefficiencies and in some cases equipment failure.

On the other hand, the not so troubled twin is included in the top 10 strategy developments 2019. Digital Twin is a cloud-based simulated model of a physical process, object, or service. Even though it has been around for years, you’ve probably just heard about it today. The performance and monitoring of the power grids are enhanced by these  AI-enhanced machine learning models. This was the basic idea of the twins.

Through the use of “digital twin” energy manufacturers can track and monitor how their devices are interacting with the manufacturing process. This allows the business to predict changes that may be needed ahead of time. The digital twin energy will grow in 2020 as 48% of the manufacturers have decided to use it.

##Conclusion
The advent of IoT has just begun and 2020, like the years before, is a foundation year in the revolution that it will create. This technology has just begun to mature and has started to develop into startups inspired by its potential to become a full-blown business in the upcoming years. Even though we can somewhat predict what 2020 has in store but that is not all. So whether you’re a small business or a big company IoT will make its way into your business and the more open you are to the idea the more beneficial it will be for you.