Market analysts predict that interest in IOT will increase in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, with revenue expected to more than double by 2023, reaching an expected value of over US$20-billion.

This is according to the Telco IOT Offerings and Market Opportunity Assessment in AME report released by global market analysis firm GlobalData.

The Report suggests the MEA region will be the second fastest growing region for IOT revenue, second behind the Asia-Pacific.

While it is acknowledged that the technology is in its early stages of uptake across a number of vertical markets, utilities, government and manufacturing have been identified as the main drivers behind the revenue growth.

A media release by GlobalData quotes Houda Bostanji, EMEA Telecoms Director at GlobalData, as saying: "IOT expenditure in the region reflects the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC's) primary investment areas. With some of the most high-profile smart city programs, government and transportation, spend is high. There is a commonality across leading vertical industries such as government, utilities and manufacturing in many regions. These verticals account for significant spend, which is expected to continue throughout the forecast period.

"Standardised use cases might be developed by global telcos to cater for common needs across the world, for example catalogues of smart metering, smart cities and Industry 4.0 solutions."

In 2019 Hassen Hamza, Presales & Business Development Manager MEA, Nexign said South African communication service providers should focus on IOT (and 5G) monetisation.

"As 5G is rolled out and becomes more available we will see an evolution of IOT devices, services and other offerings. 5G and IOT will also allow for advancements in the development and deployment of Smart Cities, Smart Industries, Smart Utilities, Smart Transportation, Smart Healthcare, and more - with each of these requiring reliable communications networks in order to function," said Hamza.

In December 2019 Gartner listed several key trends it believes will impact digital infrastructure in 2020, including what it described as 'the overwhelming impact of IOT'.