Mentions of the internet of things within the filings of companies in the tech sector were as frequent between July 2021 and June 2022 as in 2016, according to the latest analysis of data from GlobalData.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

When tech companies publish annual and quarterly reports, ESG reports and other filings, GlobalData analyses the text and identifies individual sentences that relate to disruptive forces facing companies in the coming years. The internet of things is one of these topics - companies that excel and invest in these areas are thought to be better prepared for the future business landscape and better equipped to survive unforeseen challenges.

To assess whether the internet of things is featuring more in the summaries and strategies of tech companies, two measures were calculated. Firstly, we looked at the percentage of companies which have mentioned the internet of things at least once in filings during the past twelve months - this was 76% compared to 71% in 2016. Secondly, we calculated the percentage of total analysed sentences that referred to the internet of things.

Of the 10 biggest employers in the tech sector, China Mobile was the company which referred to the internet of things the most between July 2021 and June 2022. GlobalData identified 27 internet of things-related sentences in the Hong Kong-based company's filings - 1.2% of all sentences. Hitachi mentioned the internet of things the second most - the issue was referred to in 0.6% of sentences in the company's filings. Other top employers with high internet of things mentions included CTS, Infosys and NTT.

Across all tech companies the filing published in the second quarter of 2022 which exhibited the greatest focus on the internet of things came from Advantech. Of the document's 2,915 sentences, 132 (4.5%) referred to the internet of things.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

This analysis provides an approximate indication of which companies are focusing on the internet of things and how important the issue is considered within the tech sector, but it also has limitations and should be interpreted carefully. For example, a company mentioning the internet of things more regularly is not necessarily proof that they are utilising new techniques or prioritising the issue, nor does it indicate whether the company's ventures into the internet of things have been successes or failures.

GlobalData also categorises the internet of things mentions by a series of subthemes. Of these subthemes, the most commonly referred to topic in the second quarter of 2022 was 'automated home', which made up 36% of all internet of things subtheme mentions by tech companies.