In 2022 the Italian market ofInternet of Things continues its run: +13% compared to 2021, reaching 8.3 billion eurosdespite the problems related to the shortage of semiconductors and raw materials, as well as the economic and political instability of the war in Ukraine.
Among the various IoT areas, the largest share of the market is represented by Smart Carwith a turnover from 1.4 billion euros, equal to 17% of the total. In second place, IoT applications in the world of utilities (Smart Metering and Smart Asset Management) with 1.37 billion euros, growing but now close to saturation: in 2022 another 1.1 million gas meters connected to utilities were installed domestic (84% of the total) and 1.7 million second generation electric smart meters (64% of the total). Then follow Smart Buildings (1.3 billion), Smart City (830 million), Smart Factory (780 million), Smart Home (770 million), Smart Logistics (715 million) and Smart Agriculture (540 million). The areas that are growing the most within the IoT market, however, are in particular Smart Agriculture (+32%), Smart Factory (+22%) and Smart Building (+19%).
There are 124 million active connected objects in Italy, just over 2.1 per inhabitant. At the end of 2022, there were 39 million cellular IoT connections (+5% compared to 2021) and 85 million connections enabled by other communication technologies (+15%). Among these, a significant boost comes from LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) networks which see a 20% growth in one year, going from 2 to 2.4 million connections. Also this year, the greatest boost on the market is given by applications that use non-cellular communication technologies, 4.5 billion euros, +15%. More contained growth, equal to +11%, for applications that exploit cellular connectivity, whose market value reaches 3.8 billion euros.
These are some of the results of the research of the Internet of Things Observatory of the School of Management of the Milan Polytechnic, presented during the conference “Internet of Things: between continuity and innovation”.
Giulio Salvadori, Director of the IoT Observatory
The growth of the Internet of Things market continues, both in terms of value and maturity of the offer. The awareness of companies, public administrations and consumers is growing, increasingly interested in managing assets and smart devices remotely, activating advanced services and functions, while competition with new global players is on fire. At the same time, expectations for the future are increasing, also thanks to the large investments envisaged by the PNRR and the frequent increases in energy prices, which push companies and consumers to pay greater attention to consumption, also taking advantage of smart technologies.
Angela Tumino, Director of the IoT Observatory
The shortage of semiconductors and raw materials, together with the economic and political instability with the war in Ukraine have partially held back the development, but the Internet of Things market continues to grow tangibly. This occurs above all in the Smart Agriculture sector, where companies have been able to benefit from 4.0 incentives for the purchase of monitoring systems and connected machines, and in the Smart Building and Smart Factory sectors, where the applications dedicated to savings are the driving force energy and safety, facilitated by the incentives, Superbonus and Ecobonus, and by the Transition Plan 4.0.
L’Industrial IoT
The Observatory conducted a survey on 153 large companies and 301 Italian SMEs in the Industrial IoT sector, from which it emerges that the share of small and medium-sized enterprises aware of I-IoT solutions rises to 87%, recording an increase of +41% compared to 2021, while large enterprises are 98%. 77% of large companies and 58% of SMEs have decided to start at least one project. For both types of companies, however, the lack of skills is still the main factor limiting the start-up of projects (44% large companies and 38% SMEs).
Giovanni Miragliotta, scientific director of the Internet of Things Observatory
In general, compared to what was observed in 2021, there is a reduction in the gap between large companies and SMEs in terms of knowledge (-39%) and dissemination of Industrial IoT projects (-23%). This newfound energy on the part of SMEs has been strongly driven by the Transition Plan 4.0: the halving of tax credits starting from 2023 could lead to a slowdown in this dynamic.
Looking at the data collected by connected devices and machines, 48% of large companies and 70% of SMBs use little or no data or even don’t know it. Among the barriers that hinder companies in the analysis and exploitation of data, the lack of skills and specific figures for their exploitation (indicated by 50% of respondents from large companies and 30% from SMEs).
The technologies
The technological evolution of the Internet of Things continues, with the development of 5G and the spread of LPWA networks. Low-power IoT hardware platforms are advancing, with the market launch of new System-on-Chips by the major semiconductor manufacturers, and we are witnessing the release of new high-performance processors and edge computers for the most demanding applications such as example those of video processing – compatible with dedicated processing clouds.
Antonio Capone, scientific director of the Internet of Things Observatory
The process of standardization of the 5G specifications by 3GPP continues, with important milestones for the next releases, while the number of networks is growing globally and the technologies available on national soil. At the same time, the LoRa Alliance expands the certification program, natively enabling IPv6 solutions and introducing the “relay” specification, which allows the coverage to be extended to support applications in the metering and industrial fields.
On the interoperability front, something is moving, in some areas to a greater extent than in others. This is the case, for example, of the Smart Home, where during 2022 the Connectivity Standard Alliance (CSA) has concluded the drafting of the Matter specificationsthe new protocol for Smart Home interoperability, albeit late on the timeline defined in 2020.
PNRR e Internet of Things
The PNRR continues to represent an opportunity for growth to encourage the country’s technological innovation, especially in the light of the energy crisis. Particular attention is placed on the union between IoT and Energy which provides for an investment of almost 7 billion.
In Mission 2 they are expected therefore 3.6 billion for the Smart Grid, in order to improve the capacity and efficiency of the network. TOanother 2.2 billion have also been allocated to promote renewables for energy communities and self-consumption in order to provide concrete support to collective self-production structures that exploit renewable energies. Component 3 of Mission 2 is entirely dedicated to the issue of energy efficiency and the redevelopment of buildings, where IoT technologies can provide a contribution in the development of district heating systems for a value of 200 million euros, with the aim of build or extend existing networks and ensure wider access to the service.
Alongside these main areas, the plan envisages investments for another 25 billion to encourage the innovation of production systems (Smart Factory, 14 billion euro), the digital transition of cities (Smart City, 7 billion) and the activation of programs of home assistance (Assisted Living, 4 billion).