The proliferation of connected devices that is the heart of the Internet of Things, both at a consumer and an industrial level, represents a significant opportunity for hardware makers. The overall connected device market will spur growth from the data center to the edge device. But within that broad growth the application needs of IoT will favor certain hardware makers over others and provide new opportunities for those hardware developers that can produce processors, sensors and communications chips capable of addressing the unique and evolving needs of IoT.
Key findings include the following:
- Future hardware growth markets fueled by IoT include microcontrollers, sensors and communications chips.
- Chip manufacturers that offer excellent power envelopes, small size, competitive pricing, along with the possibility of integration of multiple applications (security, networking, sensors) will offer additional competitive products.
- Unlike the x86 Intel dominated microprocessor space, a degree of customization for applications and a diverse product line are important factors for a successful microcontroller producer.
- The sensor market carries risks of commoditization and favors those companies that can amass and package multiple sensors.
- We remain far from settling on dominant standards for IoT, and a number of different communications protocols are competing. Communications chip makers will need to both remain flexible and ally themselves with standards bodies that have support and excellent interoperability.
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IoT Hardware Opportunities originally published by Gigaom, © copyright 2015.
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