Australian Internet of Things market skyrockets off the back of Smart Speaker sales

The next big thing in the Australian technology market? Almost no question now it’s the Internet of Things. A long discussed “technology” that has come to life with the recent boom in Smart Speaker sales.

Technology analyst firm Telsyte has today released some interesting data revealing the rise of an emerging market referred to as the “Australian IoT@Home”, which has grown a whopping 55 per cent over the course of 2017.

First of all, we should really explain what it is.. “Hey Google, what’s IoT@Home?

The ‘Internet of things at home’ market includes any ‘smart’ devices which use sensors, software, electronics and connectivity to allow for increased performance by sharing information with a range of other connected devices.

This monumental growth effort has been spearheaded by the advent of the smart speaker, which was the fastest growing IoT@Home product in 2017. Google Home and Google Home mini established themselves as the market leaders driven by holiday season sales, free giveaways with Pixel 2 smartphones, and multipack offers. This surge in smart speaker sales is expected to lay the foundation for further demand in other IoT@Home products.

Telsyte estimates around half a million Australian households currently own a smart speaker, up from less than 10,000 in 2016. Furthermore, the average Australian household has 17.1 connected devices in 2018, up from 13.7 in 2017. Telsyte forecasts this number to grow to 37 by 2022 or 381 million Internet-connected devices nationally. Most of this growth is expected to come from such IoT@Home devices and associated services.

The research also suggests that the smart lifestyle sector (consisting of whitegoods, appliances and house & garden products) will be the largest sector by 2022, as manufacturers bring to market products that have Internet connectivity as a standard feature across their ranges, compared to the current climate where internet connectivity is a luxury that commands a large price.

“Building connectivity into consumer products will allow manufacturers to develop new business models and provide intelligent services that not only change consumers’ lifestyles, but disrupt a number of traditional industries”. Telsyte Managing Director Foad Fadaghi says.

However, despite the potential growth of the IoT@Home market, certain challenges remain present in the industry, mostly to do with privacy and cyber security. Some 41 per cent of Australians are “more concerned about cybersecurity than last year” and 61 per cent are concerned about their private information being exposed online.

Despite these concerns, we have a lot to be excited about! The Iot@Home market is poised to revolutionise the way people live day to day within their homes.