Internet of Things market to hit $7.1 trillion
Dubai, July 13, 2014
The Internet of Things market is set to reach $7.1 trillion dollars by 2020, according to a recent survey by Fortinet, a leader in high-performance network security.
The survey titled ‘Internet of Things: Connected Home’ probed home owners about key issues pertaining to IoT and was independently administered through 11 countries.
It gives a global perspective about the Internet of Things, what security and privacy issues are in play, and what home owners are willing to do to enable it.
John Maddison, vice president of marketing at Fortinet, said: “The battle for the Internet of Things has just begun. The ultimate winners of the IoT connected home will come down to those vendors who can provide a balance of security and privacy vis-à-vis price and functionality.”
The survey found about 61 per cent of all respondents believed that the connected home (a home in which household appliances and home electronics are seamlessly connected to the Internet) is ‘extremely likely’ to become a reality in the next five years. China led in this category with more than 84 per cent affirming support.
A majority of respondents voiced their concern that a connected appliance could result in data breach or exposure of sensitive, personal information.
When asked about the privacy of collected data, a majority of global respondents stated ‘privacy is important to me, and I do not trust how this type of data may be used.’ India led the world with this reponse at 63 per cent.
About 62 per cent of respondents, when asked how they would feel if a connected home device was secretly or anonymously collecting information about them and sharing it with others, answered ‘completely violated and extremely angry to the point where I would take action.’ The strongest responses came from South Africa, Malaysia and the US.
About 66 per cent wanted only themselves or those whom they have given permission should have access to the data collected by a connected home appliance, said the report.
The government should regulate collected data said 42 per cent of the respondents, while 11 per cent said that regulation should be enforced by an independent, non-government organization.
A nearly equal proportion of respondents thought a home router should provide protection and ‘my internet provider should provide protection.’
The report also found that home owners are willing to pay for a connected home with about 50 per cent saying they would pay more for their internet service in order to ‘enable connected devices to function’ in their home.
Price was the primary factor that would impact buying decisions of connected devices, which was followed by features/functionality and then manufacturer brand.
“The Internet of Things promises many benefits to end-users, but also presents grave security and data privacy challenges,” said Maddison.
“Crossing these hurdles will require clever application of various security technologies, including remote connection authentication, virtual private networks between end-users and their connected homes, malware and botnet protection, and application security − applied on premises, in the cloud and as an integrated solution by device manufacturers.” - TradeArabia News Service
