Amplifying the IoT Ecosystem,
WSN Markets Will Reach $100 Billion in 2018

ON World’s recently completed Wireless Sensor Networks Markets report covers 50 wireless Internet of Things (IoT) market segments for Smart Homes, Smart Buildings, Smart Energy, Smart Lighting, Smart Cities, Industrial Automation, Health & Fitness, Wearables, Personal Sensors and Others.

San Diego, CA Sept. 25, 2014— Cloud-connected wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are transforming global industries and disrupting the technology landscape, according to global technology research firm ON World.  Several WSN markets have more than doubled annually in recent years and the largest growth rates are yet to come as mobile sensing and Internet of Things (IoT) developers adopt, disrupt and compete.

"The Internet of Things is transforming our world and lives,” says Mareca Hatler, ON World’s research director.  “There are thousands of applications today using millions of wireless sensing devices that create life enhancing changes in energy usage, security and safety, health and wellness, smart lighting, building management and optimized industrial processes.”

Over the past decade, WSN unit shipments have grown from tens of thousands to hundreds of millions and advances with low power wireless components, mesh networking and hardening standards have attracted thousands of developers and billions of dollars of venture capital.  From the industrial plant to the smart home, wireless sensor networking continues to be one of the most disruptive technology areas for developers and investors. 

Until recently, much of the focus has been on WSN technologies such as IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee that connect to the cloud and other systems through dedicated gateways.  Today, mobile sensing devices such as smart watches, smart glasses and health/fitness monitors will surpass half a billion unit shipments between 2013 and 2018.  By the end of this period, Bluetooth Smart will take the lead in WSN unit shipments as mobile sensing and expanding cloud platforms spawn new WSN markets.

IEEE 802.15.4 is the most widely used WSN technology today and ZigBee standards make up 80 percent of the unit shipments.  Selected by Comcast and other cable operators for their smart home packages, ZigBee was also chosen by the Connected Lighting Alliance for residential smart lighting.  With millions of products sold to date with each using both WiFi and 802.15.4, Nest Labs (Google) is a founding member of the Thread Group that is fast-tracking IP addressability for smart home wireless mesh networks.  Other founding members are key companies in the ZigBee market-- ARM, Freescale, Samsung and Silicon Labs-- as well as Big Ass Fans and Yale Security.

In 2018, global annual revenues-- including equipment and services-- for WSN markets will reach $102 billion up from $23 billion in 2013.  New WSN markets—where wiring is not feasible— will make up the majority of the revenues at this time.  Residential systems will make up over half of the unit shipments in 2018 but commercial, industrial and municipal WSNs continue to accelerate and are projected to grow by a 38% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the projection period.

Based on thousands of interviews and surveys with executives across the whole global WSN value chain, Wireless Sensor Networks Markets includes analysis and in-depth market size forecasts on 50 WSN market segments including by device, chipset and technology with revenues for equipment, services and RF modules/chipsets.

The report synopsis and a free executive summary are available from: http://onworld.com/wsn

About ON World:
ON World provides global business intelligence on smart technology markets. For the past decade, our research reports and information services have been used by Fortune 1000 companies, startups and investors worldwide.

Media contact:
Mary Purvis
e: purvis at onworld.com
ph: 858-259-2397

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