Organisations in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are expected to invest over $8.47 billion on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies this year, according to the latest forecast from global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
A recent update to the firm’s Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide shows that IoT spending in the MEA region will grow 15.9 percent year on year in 2019 and reach $17.63 billion by 2023 as governments and businesses ramp up their investments in digital transformation projects.
“IoT adoption in the MEA region is expected to accelerate over the coming years as organizations from both the public and private sectors look to improve their provision of customer services, expedite decision making, improve the quality of products and services, accelerate their time to market, reduce costs, and increase productivity,” said Krishna, program manager for telecommunications and IoT at IDC MEA. “And as organizations continue to reap the value generated by IoT, we can expect to see further development of innovative industry-specific solutions.”
According to IDC, the big four countries in the region, namely South Africa ($1.9 billion), Saudi Arabia ($1.49 billion), Turkey ($1.24 billion), and the UAE ($0.65 billion), are expected to account for 62 percent of total IoT expenditure in the MEA region in 2019.
The industries that are expected to spend the most on IoT solutions in 2019 are manufacturing ($1.52 billion), government ($1.11 billion), consumer ($1.09billion), transportation ($1.06 billion), and utilities ($0.73 billion).
Manufacturers will direct most of their IoT spending in 2019 towards solutions that support manufacturing operations and production asset management. In the government sector, public infrastructure asset management, public safety and emergency response, and intelligent transport systems, will account for over 66 percent of IoT spending in 2019.
Over 75 percent of consumer IoT spending in 2019 will be driven by investments around smart home technologies, remote health monitoring, and connected vehicles. In the transportation sector, fleet management and freight monitoring solutions together will account for approximately 80 percent of IoT spending in 2019. Meanwhile, smart grids for electricity will account for 78 percent of total IoT spending in the utilities sector.
“Ongoing national transformation programs and digital transformation projects will continue to fuel IoT adoption over the coming 12 months, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” said Krishna. “As such, these two countries are expected to contribute a combined $2.13 billion of the MEA region’s total IoT spending of $8.47 billion in 2019.”
