(c)iStock.com/Piotr Adamowicz

Big data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) are expected to add £322 billion to the UK economy by 2020, according to research released by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and analytics provider SAS.

The research, which builds upon a previous report from Cebr on big data analytics adoption, argues big data and analytics will contribute £40bn per year between 2015 and 2020. Back in 2012, Cebr argued the value of ‘data equity’ was at 0.7% of the UK’s gross domestic product, a figure which is expected to rise to 2.2% by 2020. IoT is expected to reach £81bn by 2020, to 0.7% of GDP. Overall, the market for the two by 2020 is expected to be twice the size of combined education, NHS, and defence budgets for 2015.

“Collecting and storing data is only the beginning,” said Cebr CEO Graham Brough, adding: “It is the application of analytics that allows the UK to harness the benefits of big data and the IoT. Our research finds that the majority of firms have implemented between one and three big data analytics solutions.”

“The combined benefits of IoT and big data will fuel our economy like nothing else,” said Mark Wilkinson, SAS regional vice president. “This report illustrates the considerable impact over the coming years of more organisations embracing big data and IoT to improve decision making that affects efficiency, risk management and new business opportunities.”

The telecoms industry currently has the highest rate of big data and IoT adoption, at 67% and 61% respectively, yet healthcare is expected to struggle in both big data analytics (52%) and IoT (26%).

Other research has examined how IoT will infiltrate workplace habits. A report from Webroot and IO argued that more than half of UK businesses polled plan to employ a ‘chief IoT officer’ in the coming year.