Number of connected devices set to explode, report finds

The rapid rise of Google's Android mobile operating system and the continued strength of Apple's iPhone have fueled an influx of connected devices that only figures to accelerate during the next several years.

According to the latest report from consulting and market analytics firm Compass Intelligence, the number of machine-to-machine and connected devices will increase 25 percent annually through 2015. By that time, researchers predicted, the market for next-generation M2M and connected devices will top 87 million endpoints.

An M2M device is a technology that allows for communication between wired and wireless devices.

"We have entered an era where every device that can benefit from being connected via a cellular connection to the internet will be connected to the internet; and that this hyper-connectivity coupled together with emerging cloud services will propel society into new ways of interacting with the world around us," said James Brehm, a senior strategist for Compass Intelligence.

Nowhere could this be more true than in the enterprise mobility segment. Already, according to a recent whitepaper released by Experian, 18 percent of adult smartphone users can be categorized as mobile professionals.