The Italian market in the Internet of Things saw a record increase of 35% during 2018, reaching a total turnover of € 5 billion. A study by the Politecnico di Milano Internet of Things Observatory proposes figures and assessments.
A remarkable +35% is the figure recorded, for 2018, by the Italian IoT market, demonstrating that this sector of technological development is in full development. According to research by the Politecnico di Milano, almost half of the market consists of smart meters (1,4 billion) and connected cars (just over 1 billion). Smart Home (+ 52%) and Smart Factory (+ 40%) are the segments that show the most spectacular growth. The Smart City also sends an important signal: 36% of the Municipalities have started projects in the last three years, with more robust and innovative initiatives, while 58% of the factories have launched at least one Industrial IoT project.
In short, the conclusion is obvious: the Italian Internet of Things market continues to grow at a rapid pace, reaching a value of 5 billion euros, with an increase of 35% compared to 2017, driven both by applications that exploit the “traditional” cellular connectivity (2,8 billion euros, + 27%), both from those using other communication technologies (2,2 billion, + 47%). The growth of the Italian market is in line with that of the other western countries, where it fluctuates between + 25% and + 40%, driven above all by services enabled by connected objects that now cover 36% of the market, equal to 1,8 billions of euros and up 44% over the previous year.

The IoT market drivers
The effect of regulatory obligations was very significant, leading to the installation in 2018 of four million connected gas meters and 5,2 million of second-generation smart electricity meters. The second most developed area is the Smart Cars, which are worth just over 1 billion and represent 21% of the market, with 14 million connected vehicles, a third of the car park in Italy. Even 70% of the vehicles registered in 2018 are equipped with a SIM or bluetooth connection system since production.
Followed by applications for the Smart Building (600 million euros, + 15%), mainly for video surveillance and management of energy consumption within the building, IoT solutions for logistics used for the management of company fleets and for satellite burglar alarms (465 million, + 29%) and Smart City solutions (395 million, + 24%). The Smart Home (380 million), the area with the highest growth, equal to + 52%, and Smart Asset Management applications (270 million, 25%), Smart Factory (250 million, +40 %) and smart agriculture (100 million euros, 2% of the market).
According to the study of the Internet of Things Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, the IoT solutions offer is very dynamic and in continuous development also thanks to startups.

Presented at the conference “Happy Birthday Internet (of Things)”, this interesting research has the merit of proposing concrete figures to support the widespread impression, among professionals but not only, that the IoT is in great development.
“The Italian Internet of Things market is in full swing” – confirms Giulio Salvadori, Director of the Internet of Things Observatory. “The technologies evolve and the LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) communication networks expand, alongside the 5G experiments. Startups proliferate and new market opportunities are born, for example with In-Thing purchase and design-driven approaches.”
“In a market in great turmoil” – according to Professor Angela Tumino – “the ability to extract value from the collected data becomes increasingly strategic, which can enable new business opportunities for companies and allow the integration of the offer with new services to value added. Precisely services, such as predictive maintenance of machinery inside factories or monitoring the occupancy status of individual car parks in the city, represent a strong driving force for the IoT sector.”

Future perspectives
According to the observatory forecasts, the growth of the Italian IoT market will continue also in 2019, concentrated mainly in the Smart Metering, Smart Car, Smart Home and Industrial IoT segments. In the coming months, another 4 million smart meters will be installed, along with 5.8 million second-generation electricity meters. Furthermore, starting from the end of 2020, also the newly installed heat meters must be remotely manageable and from 2027 the obligation will concern all the meters in use.
A significant growth is also expected in Smart Cars, with entry into force in March 2018 for the new homologations of the obligation linked to eCall (automatic alert to activate rescue services in the event of an accident) and for the offer of new services enabled by connectivity, such as preventive maintenance based on component monitoring and the integration of smart speakers in cars, which will allow users to interact with their vehicle via voice.
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