Cisco CEO John Chambers at the World Economic Forum
The potential economic impact of the ‘Internet of Everything’ economy is US$14trn for global private-sector businesses in the next 10 years, Cisco CEO and chairman John Chambers has predicted.
Cisco defines the Internet of Everything as bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.
In his blog Chambers wrote: “We define the potential value at stake to be a combination of net new economic value created as a result of the ‘Internet of Everything’, as well as value that will migrate from lagging companies and industries to those that take advantage of new innovations – minus the cost of implementation. Based on our analysis, the Internet of Everything has the potential to increase global corporate profits by approximately 21pc in aggregate over the next 10 years.”
The five main factors that Cisco claims fuel the Internet of Everything value at stake are asset utilisation (reduced costs) of US$2.5trn; greater labour efficiencies of US$2.5trn; eliminating waste in supply chain and logistics of US$2.7trn; more customers through better experiences of US$3.7trn; and innovation/reduced time to market of US$3trn.
The main technology trends contributing to the Internet of Everything include cloud and mobile computing, big data, increased processing power and business economics, like Metcalfe’s Law.
Use cases that demonstrate the Internet of Everything economy in action will be smart grids, smart cities, connected healthcare, digital education, smart factories, future transport solutions and digital media, marketing and entertainment.
“I believe that businesses and industries that quickly harness the benefits of the Internet of Everything will be rewarded with a larger share of that increased profitability. This will happen at the expense of those that wait or don’t adapt effectively. That’s why the value is ‘at stake’ – it’s truly up for grabs,” Chambers said.
