The Week In Review: IoT

Deals
IBM and AT&T announced that they will collaborate on computing and connectivity to offer open, standards-based tools on the IBM Cloud for Internet of Things developers to use. Almost 10 million developers will be active in IoT by 2020, the VisionMobile 2016 Internet of Things Megatrends reports forecasts, compared with an estimated 5 million IoT developers at present. “We have heard the call from developers and businesses for more tools to make IoT a reality and together with AT&T, we are bringing together powerful platforms and services to drive collaborative innovation,” Harriet Green, general manager of IBM Watson IoT, Commerce & Education, said in a statement.

AT&T and Avnet will provide developers with the AT&T IoT Starter Kit, which includes application services, cloud-based data storage, connectivity, and a Long-Term Evolution modem running on AT&T’s LTE network. Cisco Systems is also involved in the effort, enabling access to the AT&T Control Center, Cisco’s IoT service platform.

Products
Synopsys this week said it reduced the area and power of the DesignWare USB 2.0 Type-C controller and PHY intellectual property, aiming at Internet of Things edge applications made with ultra-low-power 40-nanometer and 55nm processes. The silicon area has been reduced by 50% while the active power required is lowered by 30% with the IP, according to the company. The IP supports the Unified Power Format standard. “The continued proliferation of IoT edge devices requires more data to be delivered through USB interfaces with minimal power consumption in an extremely small form factor,” Jeff Ravencraft, president and chief operating officer of the USB Implementers Forum, said in a statement.

Market Research
MarketsandMarkets forecasts China’s IoT market will enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 41.1%, hitting $121 billion by 2022. Agricultural IoT applications will enjoy the highest growth rate, according to the market research firm, while low-power wireless network connectivity and device management platforms will also increase significantly.

The 2016 Vodafone IoT Barometer report makes the case that the Internet of Things has become a mainstream technology. Among businesses surveyed, 76% said the IoT will be “critical” to their success, while 37% state they are running their entire business on the IoT. More than 90% of respondents say they are integrating IoT data with analytics, cloud, enterprise resource planning, and mobile; 63% say they are getting “significant” return on investment from IoT technology.