How the cloud is shaping the Internet of Things

Cloud computing continues to expand in both consumer and enterprise markets.

IoT today
According to Mordor Intelligence, in 2020 the volume of the IoT market in monetary terms amounted to 1.1 trillion. dollars and is expected to grow to 6 trillion in five years at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by 2026. These numbers are not surprising when you consider that a recent study by Microsoft showed that by the end of 2021, about 94% of companies will use IoT in one form or another.

Cloud today
Cloud adoption, in general, is also on the rise. According to Gartner forecasts, in 2021, end-user spending on cloud services will reach almost $ 400 billion, and in 2022 – $ 482 billion. In addition, next year, public cloud spending will exceed 45% of all IT spending by enterprises. up from less than 17% in 2021.

While there are many factors affecting the adoption of cloud and IoT technologies, the link between the two is clear. In order to benefit from the data collected from IoT devices, it is necessary to increase access to fast and reliable connections. The cloud offers increased coverage, lower latency than direct dial-up network connections, and an increasing number of IoT-based services provided by third parties.

It is worth taking a look at some of the key trends shaping the cloud and IoT landscape.

1. Cloud-based IoT insights “as a service”
According to research by Markets & Markets, the global Anything-as-a-service (XaaS) market grew at a CAGR between 2016 and 2020. was estimated at almost 40%. IoT as a service is a relatively new concept that builds on the framework of others as a service model. The IoT uses wireless microcontroller units (MCUs) to collect operational data, which are transmitted to the cloud, where any number of services can be controlled. In other words, the advancement of cloud computing is enabling real-time IoT data from anywhere. Using the cloud, you can provide the ability to monitor the operation of production facilities in real-time, track the GPS fleet, equipment, and much more, controlling and reporting on the data obtained using the IoT.

2. IoT security in the cloud
As organizations add IoT devices to their networks, attackers are just waiting to pounce on vulnerabilities in new endpoints. An evolving trend is that security teams are placing particular emphasis on encryption in the cloud of data, both at rest and in transit.

Security features in this area, in particular, are offered by hyper scalers: Azure Security Center includes an Azure IoT product that allows you to encrypt data in hybrid cloud work environments; AWS Security Hub encrypts data from IoT devices accessed through the cloud; Google Cloud Security Command Center helps you identify security configuration errors and centralize encryption.

3. Leveraging IoT services through the cloud and implementing 5G
According to the research company Omdia, in the II quarter. By 2021, 124 million 5G connections were installed worldwide, 41% more than a year earlier. In general, in 2021, according to the company’s forecasts, 692 million such connections will be created in the world. The increased use of IoT is one of the factors driving this growth. As organizations embrace IoT services accessible through the cloud, high connection speeds are imperative. 5G is also helping to bridge the disconnect in remote locations, enabling emerging industries to improve their operations with the IoT.

4. IoT and edge computing
Similar to the trend seen with 5G adoption, organizations are increasingly turning to Edge Computing to handle IoT data as they promise increased connection speed and reliability, especially in big data analytics. IoT devices collect vast amounts of information, but without big data processing capabilities, organizations are missing out on many of the benefits that analytics can offer. Edge Computing is a distributed network model that can work in conjunction with cloud storage to reduce processing latency. Observers expect edge computing to continue to evolve as organizations and consumers increasingly adopt IoT technologies.

5. IoT and artificial intelligence in cloud computing
Cloud computing has become a boon for AI, providing public access to powerful machine learning platforms that require enormous computing power and bandwidth. For example, ML is used to teach how to automate operational processes and optimize supply chains based on collected IoT data.

These examples are the tip of the iceberg in cloud-IoT interactions. With the development of cloud resources, almost any AI application can be accessed through the cloud, greatly expanding the possibilities of using the data generated by the IoT, often in real-time.

Fordewind.io is an IoT engineering and development company based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Our main areas of interest and expertise are the automotive industry and Smart Home/City projects. Contact us right now without a doubt and learn more about how we can help you build the future.