Internet of Things (IoT) devices are numerous, do not have much memory, and collectively produce a lot of data. IoT devices, which are often called embedded devices or smart objects, are typically lowpower, lowmemory devices with limited processing capabilities. These devices are used in a variety of applications, such as environmental monitoring, healthcare monitoring, process automation, and location tracking. Many embedded devices can transmit data wirelessly, and some are capable of transmitting over a wired connection. However, connectivity is generally unreliable and bandwidth is often constrained.
In 2003, there were only 500 million Internet connected devices worldwide. By 2010, that number had grown to 12.5 billion devices, or 1.84 devices per person.

Cisco estimates that 50 billion IoT devices will exist by 2020 and more than 500 billion IoT devices will exist by 2030.

Io devices collectively and individually produce a lot of data. For example, an airplane generates 10 terabytes (TB) of data for every 30 minutes of flight, and a tagged cow can generate an average of 200 megabytes (MB) of data per year. However, IoT devices often do not have the processing power to analyze the data, nor do they have the power or bandwidth to transmit a lot of data.