Connected Ecosystems

Key Takeaway:

The anticipated 40% growth in 5G chipsets by 2025 is set to enhance IoT applications, connecting a third of the global population and supporting 1.2 billion connections. Additionally, the recent integrations of satellite and mobile networks could result in sales of over 200 million connected smartphones, illustrating the depth of this transformative trend towards a seamlessly connected technological future. However, this hyperconnectivity will drive worldwide end-user spending on security and risk management in 2024, driven by data privacy and cloud security needs.

Trend Type: Technology

Sub-trends: End-to-End Automation, Digital Infrastructure of the Future, Ecosystems for AI, Satellite Phone Connectivity, Broadband connectivity peak, IT/OT Integration, Connected Manufacturing, Connected Car

May, 2024 • Less than 4 min read

The Connected Ecosystems trend marks a new wave in the ongoing transformative era in technology, where devices and systems are interconnected across various sectors. Last year, in the “Hyperconnectivity” trend, the report addressed a broader scale of connectivity, with the rise in the number of devices at a hype. The most recent evolution touches on multiple facets of the tech landscape, with a renewed focus on integrated ecosystems that open new types of usage, such as in healthcare or mining.
5G Chipsets Expansion
The infrastructure supporting these technologies is evolving rapidly. Notably, a projected 40% growth in 5G chipsets over the next three years, according to BCG, is expected to influence the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) significantly, boosting applications such as remote mining. This growth in 5G technology, coupled with a projected 40% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in Edge applications, is set to reduce latency, improve scalability, and enhance security across industries.
Connected Devices
According to Forbes, the expansion of 5G networks is poised to cover one-third of the world’s population by 2025, enabling approximately 1.2 billion connections that will energize consumer and industrial IoT applications. By 2024, it is predicted that there will be around 17.08 billion connected devices, supporting everything from smart homes to cloud computing innovations.
In healthcare, the IoT market is expected to burgeon to $289 billion by 2028, driven by wearable and sensors that provide real-time health data. In addition, in the telecommunications sector, the integration of satellite and mobile networks is emerging as a lucrative opportunity, with more than 200 million satellite-connected smartphones anticipated to be sold in 2024 alone, according to Deloitte.
Despite the surge in connectivity, the peak of broadband demand might be nearing in some regions. In 2024, according to Deloitte, over 90% of the most utilized online applications are predicted to maintain their current bitrate requirements as per 2023 standards. Furthermore, at least 80% of these applications are not expected to increase their officially advised bitrate until at least 2025.
Cybersecurity
As connectivity and digital technologies become ubiquitous, cybersecurity is gaining prominence. Global spending on security and risk management is expected to reach $215 billion in 2024, according to Kyndryl, up 14.3% from 2023. Investment in data privacy and cloud security is particularly noteworthy, with each segment projected to grow by more than 24% year-over-year.
IT & OT Integration
Lastly, in industrial settings, blending Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) is recognized as essential for digital transformation. A recent survey run by BCG indicates that 62% of IT leaders are advocating for this integration, emphasizing the importance of a unified digital platform to enhance manufacturing processes and outputs.

Use Cases

Ericsson’s 5G Smart Factory

Digital Infrastructure of the Future: In the Ericsson 5G Smart Factory, the company used next-generation connectivity devices to monitor the factory building’s energy output and reduce energy use. Additionally, devices were connected wirelessly to Ericsson’s network, making it easy to add and remove capacity in response to changing demand.

Morgan Stanley fine-tuned GPT-4

Ecosystems for AI: In 2023, Morgan Stanley fine-tuned GPT-4 on 100K internal documents, creating an agent that answers questions for their financial advisors. Their employees regularly ask the agent a series of “golden questions” to make sure its “thinking” stays sharp. When the system answers incorrectly, these knowledge managers go back into the training documents.

Heineken's AI: the best-connected brewer

Connected Manufacturing : The beverage company used AI techniques to trace the true cause of alarms in its packag-ing lines, an issue previously unresolved for 20 years. A combination of natural language processing, agglomerative clustering, and sequence analysis traced the problem to its root causes.

Connected Car: At Mobile World Congress 2024, Cisco’s EVP & GM of Networking, Jonathan Davidson, discusses Cisco’s role in driving the industry towards enhanced connectivity and the transformation of cars into “data centers on wheels.”

Use Cases

Ericsson’s 5G Smart Factory

Digital Infrastructure of the Future:

Morgan Stanley fine-tuned GPT-4

Ecosystems for AI:

Heineken's AI: the best-connected brewer

Connected Manufacturing :

Connected Car:

Sub-Trend Sources
End-to-End Automation: BCG The Next Wave
Digital Infrastructure of the Future: BCG The Next Wave, Forbes Tech Predictions, Kyndryl
Ecosystems for AI: Accenture Tech Trends, Forrester Predictions
Satellite Phone Connectivity: Delloite TMT Predictions, Economist Tech Trends
Broadband connectivity peak: Delloite TMT Predictions
IT/OT Integration: BCG The Next Wave
Connected Manufacturing: MIT Strategy Summit Report
Connected Car: eMarketer Tech Trends to Watch, Trend Hunter

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