With consumers continuing to experience and embrace the Internet of Things in their homes, cars and in many other aspects of their daily lives, International Data Corp. predicts the worldwide market for related solutions to grow exponentially from $1.9 trillion in 2013, reaching $7.1 trillion by 2020.

Globally, individuals are developing a high affinity for full-time connectivity, which makes consumer IoT a compelling proposition, according to the report. IDC estimates that as of the end of 2013, there were 9.1 billion IoT units installed, with that number expected to reach 28.1 billion by 2020 following a compound annual growth rate of 17.5 percent.

?Many of the ?things? are mobile, and many of the rest will use the mobile networks even if they are stationary,? said Brennan Hayden, vice president of mobile at [x+1], New York . ?So the Internet of Things heralds a massive expansion of the mobile industry.

?The mobile industry is on the forefront of providing utility directly to users, as opposed to simply technology or platforms,? he said.

?The concept of the ?app? ? pioneered by mobile by the way ? will extend in the Internet of Things,? he said. ?The OS extension capability just announced by Apple will be a huge building block for that, enabling the IOT to integrate with the app world from the beginning.?

Mr. Hayden is not affiliated with IDC and spoke based on his experience in mobile.

IDC was not able to provide a response by the deadline.

New business opportunities
IDC defines the Internet of Things as a network of networks of uniquely identifiable endpoints, or "things,? that communicate without human interaction using IP connectivity. Such connectivity can happen on a local basis or global.

The interest and buzz around IoT has been growing steadily in recent years. In 2014, there have been many developments along these lines, including significant advancements in the connected car and smart home markets.

The market promise of the IoT is increasingly becoming a reality as businesses become intrigued by the efficiencies, business process implications and revenue opportunities IoT solutions can generate.

Specifically, the IoT opens up many IT vendors to the consumer market and will create new business opportunities where ever electronic devices have a networking capability.

As a result of these trends, IDC predicts the Internet of Things to results in millions applications available to billions of end points, which significant implications for mobile, social, Big Data and analytics as well as the cloud.

"Mobile and the IoT are profoundly intertwined," said Gary Schwartz CEO/president of Impact Mobile Inc. Toronto. "The mobile device historically is a connectivity utility.

"The focus has been communication and since the advent of the smart phone,  digital content," he said. "But most of the killer app apps are solutions that connect to data and places not residence on the mobile device.

"The IoT is an extention of this into what I call the 'physical app store. Electric Imp, NEST and other IOT solutions leverage the phone to control and personalize things."

Holistic solutions
Key findings from the report include that developed regions garner the majority of the IoT market, representing approximately 90 percent of installed units.

Increasingly over the forecast period, IDC expects product offerings will be differentiated and competition will generally intensify, particularly around holistic solution offerings that incorporate smart analytics and applications.

As the IoT market takes off, it will have significant implications for marketers.

?Modern marketing requires data, and increasingly real-time data,? Mr. Hayden said. "With the IoT, we?ll be literally surrounded with data collection and message delivery vehicles.

?By enabling these tools, the IoT has the potential to extend the marketers database ever more deeply into our lives, providing the opportunity and the challenge for ever more personalized brand experiences and simultaneously, paradoxically, respecting our privacy,? he said.

?The data management alone will require an explosion of growth in that industry, as brands invest in leveraging all of this data.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York />