By Osservatorio Internet Of Things, SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT Politecnico Milano
The potential of the Internet of Things in various fields is increasingly evident and concrete and significantly influences every aspect of our existence, from everyday life to travelling, public services and domestic life. The numbers are clear: the IoT “world” was worth € 3,7 billion in year 2017 (+32% compared to 2016). Services are the main motor for growth, representing 34% of the market (€ 1,25 billions, +52% in comparison to 2016). Almost half of market is hauled by smart meters (26%) and connected cars (22%), followed by Smart Building (14%), transport Smart Logistics (9,7%) and Smart City (8,6%). Smart Car and Smart Logistics represent the best prospects of success for 2018. With regard to the former, the field is worth € 810 million (+47%), thanks to the circulation of 11 million connected cars, representing over a quarter of the Italian fleet. GPS/GPRS boxes for localisation, risk and drive control -partnering with insurance firms-, are still leaders of this trend, but “natively” connected cars are significantly growing (+68%) in parallel. The field of Smart Logistics transport solutions (worth € 360 millions) represents the most significant growth in 2017 (+45%). Its main applications concern the management of company fleets and satellite anti-theft devices, with 1,2 good transport vehicles connected by SIM card. The themes of intelligent mobility, then, are naturally linked to those of IoT projects. Even the Smart City (9% of the market, 320 million euro) recorded significant growth rates (+40%). 48% of Italian municipalities have already initiated some projects in the last three years, while three out of four are planning new actions in 2018 to make cities “smarter”. Those initiatives are mainly focused on lighting (52% of municipalities), tourism service (43%), waste collection (41%), mobility (traffic management 40%, parking management 33%) and security (39%). Industrial IoT is in full development in Italy and a further rise is expected thanks to the National Industry 4.0 Plan, which gave a significant contribution to the diffusion of relevant information and the adoption of IoT solutions in companies.