Investment in Internet of Things (IoT) hardware, software, services and connectivity this year is expected to grow by 17.86 per cent to US$6.6bn compared to US$5.6bn last year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC)
The next largest industry ? utilities ? is expected to see investments of almost US$800mn this year.
Wale Babalola, a research analyst at IDC, said that manufacturing and transportation are the vertical industries leading the way in terms of investment in the region, and with both expected to spend an estimated US$1.1bn each in 2016.
He said that the investment in the UAE is expected to increase by 23.74 per cent to US$436.8mn this year compared to US$353mn last year. The total investment in MEA IoT is expected to reach more than US$14.3bn by 2020. IoT solution deployments across the region are to continue to see increased adoption rates, both in the public and private sectors, as stakeholders begin to realise an immediate return on their investments.
