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Key takeaways
Key takeaways- The ‘Internet of Things’ (loT) refers to the idea that driven by the billions of electronic device users, a new layer of digital connectivity on top of existing infrastructure, objects and things will evolve, driving new means and ways of interacting with the world around us
- The ‘Internet of Things’ is being touted as the most disruptive technology since the World Wide Web – resulting in up to 100 billion internet-connected objects by 2020
- There are great expectations for the IoT to be able to solve challenges, drive innovations and enhance productivity with the enterprise environment
Flowing on from our first article exploring the rise of BYOD culture and how it will influence enterprise IT in 2013, comes the proliferation of the intently related concept of the Internet of Things (IoT). There are claims that the Internet of Things (IoT) will be the most the most disruptive technology to sweep the globe since the World Wide Web, with estimates ranging between 50 to 500 billion in terms of the devices and products that will be internet-connected by 2020.
While definitions of the concept vary greatly, the IoT refers to the idea that in due course, billions of electronic devices will eventually be connected to the internet. Driven by millions of people, this deluge of internet-connected devices, or the IoT, will inevitably open up new methods of communication and connectivity, that will help organisations better achieve business, information and social-related functions.
The unprecedented growth of the IoT, is being driven largely by an intersecting of the following four factors:
- The plunging costs of internet connectivity
- An increase in bandwidth available to mobile devices
- The global penetration of smartphone and tablet adoption
- The various elements which are being embedded in modern devices such as sensors, image recognition and near field communication (NFC) technologies
While IoT is by no means a new concept, it is predicted that in 2013 it will reach a tipping point, with an eruption of new consumer and enterprise users. A study by Forrester Research and Zebra Technologies, Building Value from Visibilty revealed that 53% of companies were planning to implement IoT-related technologies over the next 24 months.
The impact of the IoT
The appeal for instant gratification-hungry consumers is that the IoT presents the power to control everything and anything in their homes, offices and while on the go. Whether adjusting temperature and lighting, monitoring security, making coffee, cleaning, managing home entertainment systems, operating home appliances, checking medical health records, watching personal activity levels or conducting a myriad of other daily chores and tasks – these are now easily manageable through digital channels.
While companies are still in the very early stages of implementing these solutions, there are great expectations for the IoT to be able to solve business challenges, drive innovation and enhance productivity. General examples include the tracking and managing of physical assets including updates on location and condition of products, managing customer relationships and improving the customer experience, as well as facilitating efficient business operations and enhancing supply chain prominence.
Exploring an IoT future
In addition, specific industries will continue to see major development improvements as a result of the IoT. In the near future, we can expect sensors to provide information on the origin of food and produce, including how fresh it is; devices that will allow doctors to collect information from patients remotely and be alerted whenever there is a problem; as well as instruments that will be able to detect any unnecessary energy usage and make adjustments accordingly.
It is important to note however, that a few technological issues must be resolved before the extent of the IoT vision becomes a reality. New types of sensors, new ways of connecting devices, and new strategies for embedded computing must first be rolled out in order to bring the full potential for IoT into fruition.
The full vision of the IoT also represents a widespread prerequisite to discover better ways to acquire data and information, including getting it to the right people in the right forms. In this new world, cloud computing and Big Data solutions will be more important than ever, indicative of what priorities enterprise organisations need to have for the year ahead.
In the next of our four-part series, we will venture into the emerging world of hybrid cloud computing to uncover how this will impact enterprise IT functions.
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