Middle East to be one of world's fastest adopters of IoT

DUBAI: The Middle East is set to become one of the world's fastest adopters of Internet of Things solutions, a network of inter-connected devices that can be accessed online, and expected to generate a revenue of USD 1.95 billion this year, according to a new report.

The Middle East and Africa is set to post the world's highest growth of cloud data traffic, increasing more than 8-fold from 30 exabytes in 2013 to 260 exabytes in 2018.

In 2015, the Middle East's IoT combined hardware and revenue is set to reach USD 1.95 billion, with growth outpacing the global average, according to a report by Deloitte, a professional services network company.

"With the Internet of Things quickly picking up momentum in the Middle East, combined with an increasing number of connected devices, broadband services, and Smart City initiatives, Big Data generation is growing exponentially," said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

A technology week on the IoT will be held here from October 18 to 22 which will focus on key vertical sectors of health, education, tourism, and utilities.

IoT is a network of things embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data.