Enterprise IoT growth has to battle skills and chip shortages, but maturing 5G and AI will help drive it forward. The global enterprise IoT market grew by 22% to a total of $157.9 billion in 2021despite some adverse conditions labncluding labor and chip shortages, according to a study released today by Germany-based research firm IoT Analytics. That figure is slightly lower than the 24% that the company projected in previous reports, but it’s still a substantial rate of growth, and one that IoT Analytics expects will be sustained for the next five years, for a projected total market size of $525 billion by 2027. One of the main factors driving enterprise IoT growth below previous estimates was a shortage of skilled workers, according to the report. Businesses in 2021 had trouble finding enough IoT-conversant hires to move digital transformation and IoT projects forward, with job postings related to IoT growing by 41% between July 2021 and Mach 2022. The firm also cited other research, from Inmarsat, as saying that a paucity of in-house IoT knowledge is one of the key blockers to more widespread IoT deployment. Another key headwind for the enterprise IoT’s global growth is the ongoing worldwide chip shortage. While the impact of the shortage has been felt across almost all markets, it’s particularly painful in the IoT sector, with order lead times stretching to 40 or 50 weeks in some cases, according to IoT Analytics. The company said that 2021 saw a shortfall of around 20 million cellular IoT chips, thanks to the supply shortage. This means that some IoT projects simply can’t be completed, due to supply problems and consequent price increases. Despite these and several other negative factors—including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the attendant political fallout, ongoing security concerns and mediocre demand growth—IoT Analytics said that the outlook for enterprise IoT remains relatively strong, thanks to a multitude of tailwinds. “Key macro tailwinds for the IoT market size going forward include maturing technologies such as AI, 5G, and cloud as well as the role that IoT plays in reaching sustainability goals,” said principal analyst Philipp Wegner. In addition, advances in connectivity, including more mature 5G, LPWAN and even low-orbit satellite networks, should add flexibility to potential IoT deployments, according to the study, and buy-in from the major public cloud providers—Google, Amazon and Microsoft all have extensive IoT offerings—will also propel the market forward. Related content news HPE Aruba adds genAI search tools to network management platform HPE Aruba is using proprietary LLMs to better understand questions posed in its Networking Central platform and generate more accurate, detailed responses. By Michael Cooney Mar 26, 2024 2 mins Generative AI Data Center Management Network Management Software brandpost Sponsored by HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN with SWG: building a SASE foundation By Gabriel Gomane Mar 25, 2024 7 mins SD-WAN feature 4 reasons to consider a network digital twin Today's network environments are too complex to track by purely manual efforts. With digital twin technology, IT teams can build a virtual model of the production network and use it to validate configurations, simulate changes, and streamline ma By Bob Violino Mar 25, 2024 9 mins IoT Security Network Management Software Network Security news Cisco taps former Microsoft, Broadcom exec to grow networking hardware portfolio Martin Lund will lead the group responsible for delivering the silicon, optics, and hardware for Cisco's core switching, routing, and wireless offerings. By Michael Cooney Mar 25, 2024 2 mins Careers Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe