Cisco is tracking 28 million devices on its IoT network and most of them are cars

If the cars of the future are all going to be connected to the internet, there's a pretty good chance they'll be talking to networks built by Cisco Systems.

Speaking onstage at the Code Conference on Wednesday with Recode's Kara Swisher, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said that its Internet of Things platform run by Jasper, a company it acquired earlier this year, is tracking 28 million active devices, and is adding about one million devices every month. "Most of them are cars," Robbins said. Jasper's automotive customers include GM, Ford, Nissan, Daimler and BMW.

Cisco spent $1.4 billion to acquire Jasper in February in its largest acquisition since Robbins took over as CEO. The former Sequoia-backed startup runs the largest commercial network for managing IoT devices.

And it's not just cars on Jasper. "It's robots, it's EKG machines" and other health care gear, and also robots used in manufacturing.

And while the IoT is often criticized for being more hype than useful, Robbins said that Cisco has zeroed in on one significant use: Fixing things before they break. Last year Cisco teamed up with FANUC, a Japanese company building industrial robots, to keep track of how often robots in factories need maintenance.

Preventive maintenance on the robots saves money by eliminating costly and unexpected downtime. "It's turned out to be the killer app" for IoT, he said. "The savings from preventive maintenance is enough to justify the investment."

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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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