Farnell, an Avnet company and global distributor of electronic components, products and solutions, has today announced the results of its fourth annual Global IoT Survey which reveals the strong growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) across a wide range of industries. The Global IoT Survey generates new insights on their critical market, including opportunities and challenges for engineers and system integrators working in IoT.

This year, there was a dramatic change in the attitude to deploying artificial intelligence (AI) in IoT systems. Engineers are better informed and more willing to deploy AI as they find ways to use it to improve products and increase the return-on-investment of their systems. The research also showed a growing trend for establishing partnerships to accelerate the delivery of new IoT solutions as well as the continued advancement of Industry 4.0 and importance of selecting the most appropriate connectivity platform early in the design process.  

The survey results confirmed that while IoT deployment continues to grow strongly, there is no single “defining” IoT application. Multiple industries are adopting IoT in their own way at statistically similar rates.

Cliff Ortmeyer, Global Head of Technical Marketing for Farnell said: “Many businesses are finding new and inventive ways to incorporate IoT hardware, software, and cloud-based applications across a diverse range of industry sectors. However, it’s challenging to identify a core driver outside of what is already working for them within their immediate scope of work. Nevertheless, the migration to a world benefiting from the IoT is only set to grow and warrants our investment in future annual surveys. Farnell is committed to supporting customers in their IoT journey and can offer a growing portfolio of IoT products and solutions, as well as access to new market insights that enables innovation.”

The Global IoT Survey provides an opportunity for IoT product designers and system integrators to share their experiences on IoT deployment and identify markets yet to engage with the technology. The survey is designed to capture state-of-the-industry perceptions as businesses and consumers migrate to an IoT-driven world. The key emerging trends highlighted in this year’s survey include:

• Communications/connectivity was identified as a significant concern for IoT development as there are numerous options available which must be compatible with the host system environment. Selecting the optimum solution, whether wired, wireless, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN or others is challenging. Farnell’s wide portfolio of communications products helps engineers make the right decision and equip their IoT nodes with the most appropriate communication standard for each application.
•  IoT for manufacturing is seen by 30% of the sector respondents as the bedrock of productivity improvements and is already a leading adopter of IoT technologies. Of all the industry sectors, manufacturing appears to be the most comfortable with IoT and remains the one to watch for signs of how the adoption will progress.
• AI has seen exponential growth in the past year. Respondents using AI in some fashion jumped from 39% in the previous survey to 56%, with another 26% stating that they expect to at least consider using AI in the future. This suggests disparate sectors are becoming increasingly comfortable with its deployment.
• Private cloud services are falling out of favour as there are too many advantages to joining one of the big three providers including AWS, Google or Azure.

Compared to the 2021 Global IoT Survey, the new research indicates that:

• Innovative and flexible suppliers are now essential partners for the exponential growth in the broad and highly diverse range of applications being developed and installed to deliver IoT benefits.
• Industry 4.0 remained the primary application, representing the primary market for 18% of the respondents. Strong growth in the use of the IoT for energy management was also evidenced, increasing from 10% in 2021 to 16% this year. The increase in energy prices around the globe after the survey closed suggests that energy management could be even more important in 2023.
• Companies are engaging in IoT development because they see opportunities to grow their business and establish leadership in their industries. However, the research showed a growing trend towards working with partners to develop IoT solutions, and a demand for standardisation and interoperability, rather than companies having to develop their own closed systems.
• Attitudes to IoT development and deployment have changed dramatically with engineers better informed and more enthusiastic about the return-on-investment advantages of the IoT, particularly in energy management.

The Global IoT Survey was carried out by Farnell from January to March 2022 and a total of 2263 qualified responses analysed to provide greater understanding of the technologies, challenges, and opportunities designers and system integrators of IoT solutions face.

Farnell offers an extensive range of development tools for IoT and works with innovative providers to deliver the latest for AI and security. Customers can access technical support and design resources including the IoT Hub, AI pages and an AI Configurator on the Farnell website. Fast delivery is available on all major development boards for IoT including the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Computer, Raspberry Pi RP2040 silicon, Raspberry Pi Pico, BeagleBone AI-64 and Ultra96 V2 as well as Kunbus and Industrial Shields’ industrial PLC control solutions.

Customers can read the full results of Farnell’s fourth Global IoT Survey at Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

Newark, the Development Distributor, announces the launch of the second, annual IoT Survey. The survey is an opportunity for engineers designing IoT and IIoT projects to give latest insights on the market and help shape the product range and technical resources offered by Newark to support this continually expanding and diversifying technology.

The survey is open from September 18 to December 4, 2019 and the results will be made available in February 2020. All participants in the survey can enter a prize draw with the opportunity to win a range of prizes including an iPad pro and Amazon gift cards.

The survey results will indicate the growth of existing and emerging IoT applications and reveal the technologies being deployed in IoT solutions. By enhancing its understanding of the market areas, design requirements and new trends, Newark stay ahead of customer needs and ensures they can support product designs now and in the future.

Lee Morgan, Senior Technical Marketing Manager EMEA, Tektronix, expects security, energy consumption, predictive maintenance and smart cities to feature prominently in this years’ results: “I think one of the most exciting IoT industries is the Smart City, with the advent of 5G (and future wireless technologies) allowing for reliable high-speed data between devices, this opens up a new era in areas such as real-time traffic guidance, how busy restaurants/exhibitions/attractions are at certain times allowing for dynamic queue management, street lighting changing brightness when detecting people walking past.” He adds: “Energy Consumption is a real hot topic at the moment, we already have mature products in the marketplace that enable energy management in the household (think Hive and Nest), these do not just allow us to control heating, light or appliances at the touch (or say!) of a button, they also allow us to be mindful of wasting energy. Imagine the savings that could be had on a wider industrial or even country wide scale? for example, streetlights that only come on when a car is within a certain distance.”

Jacky Perdrigeat, VP EMEA Marketing & Application, Microcontrollers and Digital ICs and

Gerard Cronin, Head of Marketing Communications at ST Microelectronics added:

“We expect the survey to confirm that Security, Reliability, and Ecosystem are all critically important in IoT development. The relative importance of each of these depends on the end application – and this is why ST offers a full range of products and technologies to enable developers the flexibility to emphasize the features that best meet their markets’ needs. We’d also expect that due to the enormous value that industries and cities can realize from smart applications – for safety, efficiency, and convenience – that Smart City and Smart Industry applications may become the largest (value) markets in the long term. Because the IoT enables developers to add intelligence wherever it can make people’s lives better, there is an incredible value proposition for end markets that will ultimately ensure its success.”

This is the second year Newark has run the survey and this time the inclusion of AI-related questions will show how the IoT industry is changing and embracing new technologies. The new questions will reveal where AI is being included in the IoT design process and if it is now being integrated in IoT products or solutions.

Results from the 2018 survey showed the key requirement to maximise the benefits of IoT was the need for common standards and policies. It also revealed the growing role of hardware in the design process, with engineers using a range of hardware platforms to accelerate development pace and shorten time-to-market including the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black. Results also highlighted key application areas expected to grow in the next five years including home automation, industrial automation and control, and Artificial Intelligence.

Cliff Ortmeyer, Global Head of Technical Marketing for Newark and Farnell says: “Opportunities and applications for the Internet of Things are growing at an increasing pace and we ensure that our customers have immediate access to the hardware and software they require to minimise their product development times. Our increasing range of modular solutions means designers no longer need to have a deep understanding of AI to build this into their systems.”

Newark customers can find support and design resources including the IoT hub, AI pages and an AI configurator on its website. Next day delivery is available on all major development boards for IoT including Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Computer, Avnet SmartEdge IIoT Gateway, Microsoft Azure Sphere Starter kit, BeagleBone AI and Ultra96 V2.

To get involved in the global survey of IoT developments and enter the prize draw click here. Share your thoughts online using #FarnellGlobalIoTIndex. Terms and conditions for the IoT Survey and prize draw are available on the element14 community.