Juniper Research analyst Anthony Cox writes that a forthcoming report from the research firm predicts that the number of machine-to-machine and embedded devices worldwide will increase to nearly 412 million by 2014. Cox writes that number "represents the tip of the iceberg of its future potential." The analyst's blog post wonders if M2M will drive the next 5 billion wireless connections. While the M2M market includes just about any object with an embedded mobile SIM card (excluding mobile phones), Cox believes that the healthcare market could see one of the biggest growth spurts over the next few years:

"It is likely that one of the smallest current mobile M2M markets represents one of the largest growth opportunities for M2M," Cox writes. "Though there are significant obstacles to be overcome in creating a vibrant market for mobile M2M applications in the healthcare market, not least that life itself may depend on such applications, in time rising populations alone will guarantee a very large market for m-Health monitoring."

"And while today m-Health applications use WiFi and Bluetooth linked to the internet to transfer data, it is only a question of time before the cellular networks and their expanded reach come into their own in helping alleviate the symptoms of an overburdened healthcare market."

For more, read the rest of Juniper's post