The “internet of things” (IoT) is the most over-hyped technology in development today, according to tech analysts Gartner.

The firm puts the technology, which promises a world in which every electronic device has a sim card and its own presence on the net, at five to 10 years from actual productivity. Right now, it says, the concept is instead it is at the “peak of inflated expectations”.

Gartner highlights a lack of standardisation in the area, as well as the changing nature of the technology itself, as part of the reason why widespread adoption is further than its promotors think.

“Standardisation (data standards, wireless protocols, technologies) is still a challenge to more-rapid adoption of the IoT,” writes Gartner’s Hung LeHong.

“A wide number of consortiums, standards bodies, associations and government/region policies around the globe are tackling the standards issues. Ironically, with so many entities each working on their own interests, we expect the lack of standards to remain a problem over the next three to five years.”

Gartner’s ‘hype cycle’. Photograph: Gartner Photograph: Gartner

The assessment is part of Gartner’s annual “hype cycle”, which classifies emergent technologies in one of five categories based on how high expectations for them are.

Initially, a new technology enters the public’s awareness with low expectations, which slowly rise as the potential becomes clear. Quantum computing, holographic displays and human augmentation are all at that period of the cycle, although the firm puts all three of them at well over 10 years from general use.

Eventually, expectations hit a peak, where the technology is predicted to solve almost every problem known to humanity. As well as the internet of things, autonomous vehicles, consumer 3D printing and wearable computing are all innovations that Gartner thinks are over-hyped at the moment.

Then comes what Gartner calls the “trough of disillusionment”: the period when the realisation hits on that the technology is never going to perform as well as its proponents hoped. Examples include gamification, augmented reality, and near-field communication.

Importantly, however, the tech doesn’t disappear from use, and continues to be refined throughout the trough of disillusionment. As the innovation finds its niche, it enters the “slope of enlightenment”, where the public realises the actual potential of the product, as with enterprise 3D printing and gesture control.

Finally, the new technology hits the “plateau of productivity”. It has become good enough to carry out its functions, and the period of hype is far enough in the past that people are willing to give it a second chance. For Gartner, speech recognition has hit that plateau, and is now ready for real world use.

“Speech recognition has gained the momentum it needs to move more rapidly toward mainstream adoption as vendors recognize its value in enriching touch and in-air gesture interaction,” says Adib Carl Ghubril, who estimates that the market for the technology could still increase twofold to fivefold.