Prepare for 'Internet of Things': Gartner

BY 2020, expect to have a home full of Web-aware appliances and you'll be wearing a couple of them at all times as well, say Gartner analysts.

In less than 10 years, we will see manufacturers flooding the market with gadgets in order to satiate unpredictable consumer tastes, and the load of these gadgets will tax data centres and networks heavily, said Jim Tully, chief of research, semiconductors and electronics for Gartner.

This scenario, dubbed the "Internet of Things" (IoT), describes a network of interconnected gadgets and systems, all talking to each other through the Web. This includes "smart" appliances like Web-connected refrigerators, to wearable smartwatches connected to mobile phones, and so on.