By linking infrastructure together using sensors, machine learning and analytics and presenting data in real time, the IIoT can help companies understand their business processes better and, by analysing the data coming from sensors, can make their processes more efficient and even open up new revenue streams. The IIoT can also give them an insight into the broader supply chain, which will allow businesses to coordinate and create further efficiencies.

By 2022, 28.5 billion fixed and mobile personal devices and connections will help drive global IP traffic to reach 4.7 zettabytes annually. To support this traffic, we see the following trends emerging:  Edge, fog and serverless computing will redefine cloud computing and increase the criticality of always-on connectivity; PoE will become a powering strategy for wider array of higher-wattage devices and IoT applications; single-pair Ethernet will emerge as cost-effective transport for power, connectivity and security to the billions of IoT edge devices; enterprises will continue network densification strategies to support evolving 200/400G backbones; and Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax will make their way into new installations.

As the IoT environment evolves, cabling will be one of the critical factors in determining usable bandwidth in a network and the associated operational costs. However, the choice of cabling can have a big influence on temperature rise and energy costs – so service providers need to consider all options carefully. A structured cabling system is flexible, reliable and highly efficient for moving, adding and changing the infrastructure as the network grows.