Dubai-Mubasher: Gartner estimated that 1.6 billion connected things will be used by smart cities in 2016, a rise of 39% from 2015, according to a recent study on Wednesday.
“Smart commercial buildings will be the highest user of Internet of Things (IoT) until 2017, after which smart homes will take the lead with just over 1 billion connected things in 2018," said Bettina Tratz-Ryan, research vice president at Gartner.
IoT can help reduce the cost of energy, spatial management and building maintenance by up to 30%, added Tratz-Ryan.
IoT deployment in commercial buildings will continue to grow at a rapid pace over the next few years, and is on pace to reach just over 1 billion in 2018
In smart homes, the consumer IoT applications that are fuelling growth are smart TVs, smart set-top boxes, smart bulbs and various home automation tools such as smart thermostats, home security systems and kitchen appliances.
Smart homes will represent 21% of total IoT use in smart cities in 2016, and will record the highest increase over the next five years, according to the report.
