Research company IoT Analytics predicted growth in enterprise IoT sales would slow during 2024, continuing a downward trend recorded in 2023 as economic uncertainty results in companies scaling back spending.

IoT Analytics stated enterprise IoT spending grew 15 per cent year-on-year to $269 billion in 2023, but noted this was less than the 18 per cent increase recorded in 2022.

It forecast sales would grow 12 per cent to $301 billion this year and noted signs of an upward trajectory beginning in 2025, with a CAGR of 15 per cent predicted from then until 2030.

IoT Analytics stated related services and hardware are “currently the hardest hit” by a general slowdown in corporate spending.

Nevertheless, it predicts spending in China will grow 17 per cent this year, with India tipped to increase 14 per cent and the US 13 per cent. It forecast each nation to remain at the top of the list over the next three to five years.

The research company predicted automotive manufacturers’ spending will grow 14 per cent this year and 18 per cent in 2025, spurred by a “significant change” in the industry as electric vehicles become more prominent, along with a need for “substantial investment” in connectivity, real-time data processing and the use of advanced driver assistance systems.

IoT Analytics explained vehicle makers “must redesign entire factories” as they shift from internal combustion engines to electric power.

Process manufacturing was also tipped as a growth vertical, with spending expected to rise 13 per cent in 2024 and remain up to 2 percentage points higher than the annual market average until 2030.

IoT Analytics cited operational efficiency, safety improvements and improved communications among the factors fuelling process manufacturers’ IoT spending.