THE IOT MARKET ACCELERATES

The Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem contains a complex mix of technologies and services including, but not limited to, modules/devices, connectivity, IoT platforms, storage,
servers, security, analytics, and IT services. IDC tracks IoT spending by organizations, governments, and consumers on a biannual basis and finds that the market momentum has
been sustained year over year as stakeholders continue to invest in connected products and solutions. IDC's current forecast predicts that the worldwide IoT market will grow
from $580.4 billion in 2016 to $1.13 trillion in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.4%.

IoT is becoming a strategic imperative for many organizations as they look to transform business models, competitively differentiate themselves, and/or reduce customer churn by improving customer experience, driving efficiencies, or generating feedback loops on products or services. IoT investment across the technology stack is increasing because of this accelerated demand. By 2021, however, IDC believes more than 55% of spending on IoT projects will be allocated specifically toward the software and services components of the stack. The movement of the budget from hardware and connectivity toward application platforms and analytics makes sense as organizations increasingly look to gain insights from the IoT data they have gathered. However, the ability to take appropriate action based on that insight requires an architecture that supports real-time data analysis.