IoT Spending in the U.S. to Reach $232 Billion in 2016

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There’s no stopping the Internet of Things (IoT), at least according to the latest forecast from IT research firm IDC.

In the United States, enterprises are poised to spend $232 billion on IoT technologies this year, including hardware, software, connectivity solutions and services. Further, IDC expects the IoT revenues in the to grow at a very healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.1 percent from 2015 through 2019.

In 2019, IoT spending in the United States. is predicted to surpass a third of a trillion dollars ($357 billion).

American manufacturers will lead in terms of IoT investments ($35.5 billion) followed by transportation firms ($24.9 billion). Cross-industry demand will be strong, as companies spend $31 billion on IoT products that can be applied to a variety of verticals.

Spending will largely be concentrated on sensors and other IoT devices that enable factories to better automate their operations, along with GPS and other location-based devices that allow for better freight tracking and monitoring. Also expected to generate big revenues are smart building technologies that help optimize building maintenance and save energy.

Vendors with offerings that enable these IoT use cases can capitalize on the wave of demand, said IDC research manager Marcus Torchia. “The long term opportunity for IoT vendors is helping to identify and create immediate and residual benefits for end users through their technologies,” he said in a statement.

“We see strong opportunities across many industries. For example, in highly instrumented verticals like manufacturing and transportation, large data sets are used to optimize operational processes and extend the life of high capital cost assets,” continued Torchia. “In other sectors like healthcare and consumer, IoT technology is being used to produce benefits that improve quality of life.”

IDC identified three IoT use cases that will lead the pack in terms of revenue growth rates: connected cars, insurance telematics and in-store contextualized marketing for retailers.

The worldwide market for IoT-enabled retailing solutions is expected to reach $53.75 billion by 2022, according to a forecast from San Francisco-based Grand View Research released earlier this year. Retailers are expected to snap up Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) and software solutions that will enable them to better manage their inventories and monitor consumer shopping patterns and behaviors.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.