'The Revolution Has Begun'

National Instruments, which focuses on industrial applications for the Internet of Things, has worked to grow its product and end-to-end solution portfolio for connected devices. The company's NI Trend Watch 2015 highlighted the new trends tied to IoT and the significance of a platform-based approach to engineering in this space.

Jamie Smith, director of embedded systems product management and product marketing at Austin, Texas-based National Instruments, says the IoT market's development is real—and companies that are tapping into the market's opportunities are seeing a return on investment.

"[The Internet of Things] has started," he said. "Companies who chose to hit on this mega-trend are seeing a return on investment in infrastructure and manufacturing … The revolution has begun."

Following are five trends in the Industrial Internet of Things market that system builders will begin to see in the coming year.