Cisco Claims $19T Internet of Everything Opportunity at CES

For a company that has exited the consumer space entirely, Cisco Systems (CSCO) sure had a good-sized presence at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where CEO and chairman John Chambers spoke about the growing Internet of Everything phenomenon.

Cisco had the largest presence it has ever had at CES, despite having no products left in the consumer realm. Now focused exclusively on the business market, where it made its name and the vast majority of its revenue, Cisco doesn’t seem to have a place at a consumer technology show. But maybe there’s some method to the madness at the networking giant.

Chambers has been touting the Internet of Everything, a phrase that is more catchy than helpful, for the last couple of years. And according to a new Cisco study, the Internet of Everything will be worth approximately $19 trillion. About $4.6 trillion of that will be from the public sector, with the remaining $14.4 trillion coming from the private sector.

It’s difficult enough to imagine opportunities measured in the billions of dollars, let alone trillions, but it seems that considering all the Internet of Everything concept will touch, the value could easily reach that in the next decade, as Cisco predicts.

Networking will provide the backbone of the growing trend, which represents an opportunity so significant that you can’t help but see dollar signs floating before your eyes. Cisco and its channel partners, there’s a certain slice of that pie they’ll be able to capture. And it won’t be insignificant by any means.

At CES, Cisco has set up an area it dubbed the “Internet of Everything Tech Zone” to demonstrate how technology transitions are combining to make the Internet of Everything come to life.

It’s a trend Cisco is betting big on, and so far there is no reason to suspect the company is on the wrong track. Should it become the massive phenomenon Cisco is predicting, the company and its partners stand to make huge revenue gains as they sell and deploy the infrastructure to support it.