Cisco embarks on internet of everything drive with IPv6 call to arms

There will be 50 billion internet-enabled devices in use across the world by 2020, a truly staggering number, especially considering there are ‘only' 10 to 13 billion devices currently in use.

This figure was the headline grabbing prediction from a Cisco report into the state of the networked world. Now, following on the heels of this report, the firm has set out its stall to make sure it's at the heart of this this drive to the ‘internet of everything'.

Last week chief executive John Chambers published a blog post claiming the firm has identified the market value of this industry at a cool $14.4tn. And like any firm keen to keep shareholders and market watchers happy, it wants a piece of this huge pie.

"I believe that businesses and industries that quickly harness the benefits of the Internet of Everything will be rewarded with a larger share of that increased profitability," Chambers said in his post.

"This will happen at the expense of those that wait or don't adapt effectively. That's why the value is ‘at stake' - it's truly up for grabs."

Keen to find out how the firm will ensure it turns this into reality, V3 spoke with UK chief technology officer for Cisco, Ian Foddering, to find out more. His key message related to the old chestnut of IPv6 adoption.

"The ability to connect all the devices we expect to see will require a radical rethink of the infrastructure in place and that will centre around the adoption and use of IPv6," he said.

"It's been around a long time yes and it's being deployed but it's going to be the key enabler for allowing us to do things around new areas of technology like health monitoring and smart cities."