Internet of Everything: A $4.6 Trillion Public-Sector Opportunity

70 percent of the public sector’s IoE Value at Stake will come from agency-specific implementations, while 30 percent will derive from cross-agency adoption of IoE.

More than perhaps any technological advance since the dawn of the Internet, the Internet of Everything (IoE) — the networked connection of people, process, data, and things — holds tremendous potential for helping public-sector leaders address their many challenges, including the gap separating citizen expectations and what governments are currently delivering.

The transformational impact of IoE in the public sector will be realized through wholesale transformation of the way services are designed and how they utilize information to meet the needs of citizens more effectively. Researchers at Harvard University have identified whole system impacts of smart road systems that go beyond shorter journey times and reduced traffic congestion to also promote better land use as car parking space is used more efficiently — eventually resulting in reduced pressure on urban land use and, hence, lower housing costs.

Visible impact of IoE technologies in the delivery of public services is most advanced in single applications that support specific policy goals. For the public sector, Cisco defines IoE “Value at Stake” as “the potential value that can be created by public-sector organizations based on their ability to harness IoE over the next decade (2013-2022).”

The $4.6 trillion in IoE Value at Stake for the public sector is equivalent to about one-third of the expected civilian labor productivity growth over the next 10 years. Combined, P2M and P2P connections will constitute 69 percent of the total IoE Value at Stake for the public sector by 2022, while M2M connections make up the remaining 31 percent.

Cisco’s research and analysis indicate that cities will generate almost two-thirds (63 percent) of IoE’s civilian benefits globally over the next decade. Interestingly, 95 percent of IoE’s total Value at Stake for the civilian public sector will be driven by just over half (23) of the 40 use cases analyzed by Cisco.

Chronic disease management provides remote monitoring of patients with three chronic diseases: congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and type 2 diabetes. Connected learning delivers an authentic, relevant, collaborative experience through scaling of instruction, use of electronic resources, and data-driven decisions.

As with the Internet itself, IoE’s technologies will transcend national boundaries, so it will be important for governments to work together to promote international collaboration and governance. Governments also need to consider the way that IoE-based systems are planned and implemented, and, in particular, how citizens’ expectations of openness and accountability can be met.

Public-sector leaders have a unique opportunity to “act” rather than “react.”