• by Chase Martin , August 4, 2016

The long-term view of the Internet of Things shows high numbers across the board.

Global volume of IoT connections will increase from 6 billion last year to 27 billion by 2025, according to a new report.

The IoT Global Forecast and Analysis 2015-2025 report from Machina Research comprises analysis of the future of global IoT connections, applications, technology, traffic and revenue based on the firm’s IoT forecast database.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of IoT devices use short-range connections, such as WiFi and Bluetooth, and the top areas of use are consumer electronics and building security and automation. That aspect of the IoT appears to be stable, since the longer-range projection is for such connections to increase only 1% to 72%.

Cellular network connected devices will continue to grow in volume, but will also shift toward new uses of connectivity, such as connected digital billboards and connected cars. More than 2 billion connections will rely on cellular networks by 2025 and almost half (45%) of those will come from connected cars, according to Machina.

Along with the high numbers of connections will come a lot of data. More than 2 zettabytes (equivalent to the storage capacity of 63 billion standard smartphones) of data will be created, most of which will come from consumer electronics. However, IoT will account for less than 1% of the data transmitted over cellular networks.

Other research suggests that this type of Big Data can provide new opportunities when used in conjunction with other IoT technologies, specifically artificial intelligence.

Recent research from Juniper found that in the next five years, artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities will drive a 960% increase in revenue for the consumer loans segment of the financial sector.

Using AI for risk-assessment will help financial institutions expand their markets significantly by taking into consideration other data points and factors than just FICO credit scores when issuing consumer loans.

Last year, Fintech companies that cited artificial intelligence as part of their core strategy spent $83 billion on research and development, according to Juniper.

IoT generated $750 billion globally last year, according to the Machina report.

By 2025, total revenue will grow to $3 trillion, $1.3 trillion of which will come directly from end-users paying for IoT products and services. The top grossing countries will be the U.S. (22%), China (19%) and Japan (6%).