The global industrial Internet of things (IIoT) market continues to transform under the influence of government digitalization programs, the desire to shorten supply chains and the rise of smart factories. Statista analysts predict that the United States will remain the leader in the next five years, while China’s share will stabilize at about 25% until 2029.
Large economies – the USA, Germany, France, Japan, China and Russia – are implementing strategic initiatives for the digital transformation of production with government support. This is one of the main drivers of IIoT implementation.
The second important trend is the reduction of logistics leverage. New production facilities are increasingly being located closer to consumers, rather than in regions with cheap labor. Thus, “innovation diffusion” is gradually shifting from mainland China to other countries.
The third trend is the transition from the targeted use of technology to fully automated “smart factories”, where all processes are combined into a single digital ecosystem. The world leaders in this area are part of the Global Lighthouse Network, which as of June 2025 included 189 advanced production facilities.
Among the network participants are Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft, Intel, Google, Sony, Nintendo, Kia, Hyundai. These companies are partially moving their factories out of China and giving priority to the development of “smart factories” in their countries.
Thus, the IIoT market is moving towards decentralization and intellectualization of production. For businesses, this means the need to invest in digital platforms and move capacity closer to the customer to remain competitive.
Source: @nerzhavey
