Morgan Stanley: IoT to see major growth in 2017

The Internet of Things (IoT) could explode in popularity next year, as semiconductor manufacturers prepare for an onslaught of product launches and customer engagement.

Financial services firm Morgan Stanley compiled data from 117 decision makers at manufacturing firms, and found that 90 percent are developing new chips and sensors with IoT in mind.

It will take 12 to 18 months for those chips to arrive on the market, when they do, Morgan Stanley predicts a surge in consumer interest for IoT products and a similar rise in the amount of products available.

IoT has already seen a good amount of growth in the past 12 months, as consumers start to warm to the idea of a smart thermostat or door lock. That said, Nest’s struggle to launch new products may have slowed down the market, as the company is still seen as a leader in the market.

Morgan Stanley bullish on manufacturing side

Any issues on the consumer side are not being felt in the boardrooms of major manufacturing firms, where the SoftBank-ARM deal has forced them to speed up research and development of chips for IoT.

SoftBank has already signalled its interest in pushing ARM towards building chipsets specifically tailored to the IoT market. If the acquisition is approved, which seems very likely, it could force heavy investment from rivals in the industry.

For a lot of homeowners, smart home devices are still not something on their radar and we doubt 12 months will be enough to change most people’s opinions, but these devices are starting to become more recognizable. Some analysts expect growth to be higher in the enterprise market, at least for the first five years, as businesses start to look into ways of saving money and improving productivit,