2021 IoT Trends and Predictions: I expect an exciting year for IoT advancements in 2021, and you?

If in previous years many of the Internet of Things (IoT) predictions have failed, the year 2020 has been no exception. This time justified by the virus outbreak.

In my article " 2020 IoT Trends and Predictions: Be prepared for the IoT Tsunami” I wrote that we should be prepared for the Internet of Things (IoT) tsunami, but it won't be in 2020". I didn't imagine the special circumstances of the year "MMXX". Today, I do see clearly that Covid-19’s impact is difficult to ignore looking forward into 2021 and beyond. This pandemic is going to accelerate adoption in many industries that have been affected and will have to make some changes to how they operate.

The year 2020 has been a significant year in terms of the emergence of technologies leading to a much better space of IoT to flourish and grow.

I'm not going to make my own predictions this year. Although I have taken a responsibility for my followers to collect and publish the predictions of other recognized or enthusiastic voices of the IoT.

Here I summarize some of them. My advice is to keep relying on optimistic predictions as there are many Reasons to Believe in Internet of Things.

-         Forrester - Predictions 2021: Technology Diversity Drives IoT Growth

• Network connectivity chaos will reign. We expect interest in satellite and other lower-power networking technologies to increase by 20% in the coming year.
• Connected device makers will double down on healthcare use cases. In 2021, proactive engagement using wearables and sensors to detect patients’ health at home will surge.
• Smart office initiatives will drive employee-experience transformation. We expect at least 80% of firms to develop comprehensive on-premises return-to-work office strategies that include IoT applications to enhance employee safety and improve resource efficiency.
• The near ubiquity of connected machines will finally disrupt traditional business. In 2021, field service firms and industrial OEMs will rush to keep up with customer demand for more connected assets and machines.
• Consumer and employee location data will be core to convenience. In 2021, brands must utilize location to generate convenience for consumers or employees with virtual queues, curbside pickup, and checking in for reservations.

-         CRN - 5 Hot IoT Trends To Watch In 2021 And Beyond

• Changes In Real Estate Trends Will Push Smart Office Initiatives
• The Internet Of Behavior Is Coming To Your Workplace
• Location Data Will Become More Prominent
• This Year’s Pivot To Remote Operations Will Expand Connected Assets
• Connected Health Care Will Ramp Up In 2021

-         The future of IoT: 5 major predictions for 2021 , based on Forrester

-         TechoPedia - 6 IoT Predictions for 2021: What's Next? –

1. An Increase in IoT Remote Workforce Management Products
2. More IoT-Enabled Options for Smart Cities
3. Improving Driving and Autonomous Vehicles
4. The IoT Will Boost Predictive Maintenance
5. The Connected Home over Internet Protocol (CHIP) Standard Will Become a Reality
6. Market Enticements With Multipurpose Products

-         Forbes - 5 IoT Trends To Watch In 2021

1. Can You Turn Off Your Alexa? We'll likely see an increase in the security surrounding smart devices, including AI-driven, automated ability to scan networks for IoT devices.
2. More Use Cases in More Industries - the IoT has the ability to mean big money for almost any industry.
3. IoT Helping to Build Digital Twins - the IoT may be the perfect partner for the development of digital twins, for almost any application. Especially for things like construction, engineering, and architecture, that could mean huge cost and time savings.
4. IoT and Data Analytics - the IoT is no longer just about monitoring behavior and spitting out data. It's about processing data quickly and making recommendations (or taking actions) based on those findings.
5. Improving Data Processing at the Edge - With the confluence of 5G networks, an increase in IoT and IIoT devices, and a dramatic increase in the amount of data we are collecting, I don't see this trend going anywhere but up

-     Security Today - By 2021, 35 billion IoT devices will be installed around the world.

-         IoT Agenda - Mitch Maiman - Intelligent Product Solutions (IPS)- IoT predictions for 2021 –

• Medical IoT
• Radio frequency services
• AI and augmented reality
• Electric vehicles
• Remote work

-         IoT Agenda - Carmen Fontana, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer -Top 5 IoT predictions for growing use cases in 2021

• Wearables will blur the line between consumer gadgets and medical devices
• Consumers will be more concerned about data privacy
• AI IoT products will be more accessible
• Digital twin adoption will explode due to increased remote work
• Edge computing will benefit from green energy investment

-         IoT World Today - IoT Trends 2021: A Focus on Fundamentals, Not Nice-to-Haves. IoT trends in 2021 will focus on core needs such as health-and-safety efforts and equipment monitoring, but IoT in customer experience will also develop.

-         Rockwell Automation Predictions for 2021

• IT/OT Integration is critical for answering the $77 billion need for IIoT
• Edge is the new cloud
• Digital twins save $1 trillion in manufacturing costs
• Pandemic promotes AR training as the new standard for a distributed workforce
• Automation accelerates employee advancement through human-machine interface

-         Top 5 IoT Predictions For 2021; What Future Holds?

• Private IoT networks
• Digital health
• Cities would turn smarter
•  Remote offices
• Improved location services

-         Finances.online - 10 IoT Trends for 2020/2021: Latest Predictions According To Experts

-         J2 Innovations - Smart Building, Equipment and IoT Trends for 2021 –

• Remote work and management
• Changing the way we work
• Flexible spaces
• Digital processes- 2021 will see ever more processes becoming digital.
• The convergence of IT and OT - The industry will continue to see a concerted push to integrate and leverage the vast amounts of valuable data derived from Operational Technologies (OT) into the Information Technology (IT) side of the enterprise
•  A new kind of interoperability - A good example of that is The Web of Things (WoT), which is an open source standard being pioneered by Siemens

-         Krakul - IoT trends to expect in 2021 - Cloud service providers are the most prominent vendors within the IoT space. 2021 will also see the rise in IoT development partnerships. Brands, who not only require cloud transformation will need a hardware partner to ensure IoT devices perform to both consumer and business needs. Whether those IoT device applications will see use by consumers, businesses or the industry – the common concerns shaping IoT solutions for 2021 include:

• integration
• usability
• security
• interoperability
• user safety
• return on investment (ROI) for the business case

-         Analysis Mason - predictions for business connectivity, communications, IoT and security in 2021 –

• A major mobile operator will buy one of the IoT market disruptors.
• A new deployment model for private LTE/5G networks will emerge – the public industrial network
• Private networks will become a topic for financial sponsors.

-         TBR (Ezra Gottheil)- 2021 DEVICES & COMMERCIAL IOT PREDICTIONS

• AI in IoT will increasingly be encapsulated in specific functions like recognition and detection
• onversational user interfaces, based on voice or typed communication, will play an increasing role in business Solutions
• THE EMERGENCE OF THE CHIEF DATA OFFICER ROLE WILL INCREASE ORGANIZATIONAL CLARITY, ACCELERATING IOT ADOPTION

-         Frost & Sullivan - Top 4 Growth Opportunities in the Internet of Things Industry for 2021

• Exponential growth of edge computing in public and private networks
• Convergence between IT and OT to drive end-user concerns on IIoT security, privacy, and data protection
• Emerging techs: convergence of IoT, AI, and blockchain
• The future of retail post COVID-19

-         Sierra Wireless - What Will Happen to IoT Security in 2021?

• Security as a Service Rapidly Expands into the IoT Market
• Companies Will Demand That IoT Solution Providers Establish Their Security Bona Fides
• A Return to IoT Security Basics 

-         Eseye - 10 IoT Trends to Watch in 2021 and Beyond

1.      Real-Time visibility of food supply chains becomes possible

2.      COVID-19 accelerates the digital transformation of the city-centre

3.      Enterprise adoption of IoT advances

4.      IoT collapses the supply chain, bringing OEMs closer to consumers

5.      IoT designers recognise that getting hardware right is hard

6.      MNOs adapt to compete globally

7.      A federation approach creates a viable economic model for MNOs to deliver IoT

8.      The network switch moves to the Cloud

9.      The emergence of “V-MNOs”

10.  Data insight moves from digital to physical interactions 

-         IBM on 2021: Five 5G predictions – including cloud security, cellular IoT, drone deliveries

1.      IoT goes cellular 

-         2021 Prediction from the Edge and IoT -  We tapped our networks of vendors, experts, and luminaries to get their prognostications on the potential for IoT, edge, and 5G computing in 2021. What you’re about to read is a lightly edited compendium of their contributed comments.

-         Tern- 7 IoT predictions for 2021 – by Al Sisto

1.      IoT will align closer with AI

2.      Increased remote work will see more digital twinning

3.      A bigger range of wireless connectivity options

4.      An increased focus on predictive maintenance

5.      Industrial automation will be adopted more widely and faster

6.      Social distancing will increase demand for space monitoring

7.      Improving data processing at the edge

-         Matchnation - Three IoT platform predictions for 2021 –

1.      Enterprise customers will demand high-resilience IoT solutions to support business continuity requirements

2.      Exceptional IoT vendors will provide digital twins (and other platform services) that have been quantitatively verified to scale with an IoT solution

Enterprises will redouble their focus on IoT device management, the unsexy underbelly of IoT

-         Davra - 3 IoT Trends To Watch Out For In 2021

1. Buildings Get Smarter
2. The Rise and Rise of Connected Industrial Assets
3. IoT Healthcare Investments

Previous Predictions collected in my articles   

2020 IoT Predictions - 2020 IoT Trends and Predictions: Be prepared for the IoT Tsunami | LinkedIn

2019 IoT Predictions - https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/yes-we-continue-making-iot-predictions-2019-francisco-maroto/

2018 IoT Predictions -  https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/have-we-already-bored-predicting-iot-francisco-maroto/

2017 IoT Predictions - https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/finally-2017-year-internet-things-i-do-think-so-francisco-maroto/

Key Takeaways               

In spite the global pandemic has influenced product introduction timelines, causing some things to be fast-tracked, while others lose priority, enterprises, consumers, and different stakeholders will continue to drive demand for new and improved internet of things applications, technologies, and solutions in 2021 across verticals and geographies.

IoT will continue to gain footholds, as people and enterprises become comfortable and familiar with the technology and it is incorporated into daily life in seamless ways.

You must not forget that by the year 2025 IoT devices installed worldwide would be 75.44 Billion. That is a whopping number, which will relentlessly soar further, will give a positive impact on our lives and businesses alike.

I expect an exciting year for IoT advancements in 2021. And you?

 Thanks in advance for your Likes and Shares