Dive Brief:
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Internet traffic is expected to nearly triple by 2020, according to Cisco’s new Visual Networking Index report.
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Cisco predicts there will be more than a billion new Internet users and 10 billion new devices and connections online in the next few years.
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The report predicts there will be 3.4 devices and connections for every person in the world by 2020, up from 2.2 per capita in 2015.
Dive Insight:
The report points to two main drivers of IP traffic growth: easier access to personal devices and the Internet of Things.
The projected growth in IP traffic has some experts questioning whether or not current bandwidth capabilities can keep up. As IoT picks up steam, CIOs may need to keep an eye out for other ways of processing the flood of data generated by smart devices, such as fog computing.
IoT connections are projected to grow from 4.9 billion connected devices in 2015 to 12.2 billion by 2020, according to the report. Among industries, the health sector will become the fastest growing user of IoT technology.
Last year, Gartner predicted there will be 25 billion or more IoT devices connected to the Internet by 2020.
Within two years IoT will be the "single greatest source of data on the planet," said Neil Postlethwaite, director of IBM Watson IoT Foundation platform and Device Ecosystem Offering Management.
The popularity of streaming and sharing video online is also pushing IP traffic up. Cisco predicts video will account for 79% of global internet traffic by 2020, up from 63% last year.
