Sustainability through IoT and Big Data Analytics in Tertiary Industry: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis
The tertiary industry is increasingly influenced by digital technologies that support service efficiency, data-driven decision-making and sustainability-oriented transformation.This study reviews the way the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Analytics (BDA) contribute to sustainability in service sectors, including healthcare, education, tourism, hospitality, logistics, transport, finance and smart-city services.A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis were conducted using Scopus and Web of Science for records dated from 2015 through 28 February 2025.From 1,969 initial records, 551 were used for bibliometric and metadata analysis and 136 studies were included in qualitative synthesis.The publication trend, productive sources, authors, countries, subject areas, keywords and science-mapping pattern were studied by using Bibliometrix, Biblioshiny and VOSviewer.The findings show rapid growth after 2019 and strong concentration in computer science, engineering, smart healthcare, smart cities and digital sustainability research.The main contribution is an integrated service-sector synthesis showing that IoT functions as the sensing and connectivity layer, while BDA, AI, cloud-edge architectures, blockchain and predictive analytics convert service data into monitoring, optimization, decision support and automation.Sustainability outcomes appear across environmental, economic and social dimensions, including energy savings, emissions reduction, waste recovery, cost efficiency, healthcare access, inclusion and service quality.Finally, the review concludes that IoT and BDA, among other factors, have sustainable value if supported by governance, data quality, cybersecurity, interoperability, skills and organizational readiness.