The “Internet Of Things” is the existence of uniquely identifiable devices interconnected via the Internet. The interconnection of these devices is expected to introduce automation in nearly all fields.
There is a lot of hype about IoT, and we are at the point of wondering what it will mean for us as individuals, employees, and businesses.
IoT will change our lives.
One of the suggestions is that your toothbrush might have a chip in it and via Bluetooth will communicate with your mobile device to tell you stuff like how long it has been since you started using it or in the case of the kids’ tooth brushes, have they been used recently. Is that too invasive? We will be faced with all sorts of questions about what we do and don’t want connected to the IoT.
Wearable technology is already beginning to monitor health vitals and offer connected watches that monitor or report on our movements. It won’t be long before your fridge knows what is inside it and your rubbish bin knows what you threw out and the shopping list on your connected fridge door asks you to confirm the online order for replacing everything you have consumed this week for delivery tomorrow.
IoT will have very practical uses across our infrastructure. Street lights and traffic lights will have sensors, so those in charge of maintenance know where to replace a burned-out bulb. Pipes will be able to detect where a leak is occurring so that water wastage is reduced (today 30% of our water supply is currently lost to leaks). The infrastructure cost savings by this sort of technology in smart-pipes will equate to billions of dollars and save many valleys from being flooded by new dams.
There are plenty more examples of this sort of sensor information making big differences, and when this is tied to big data and data analytics the world will change quickly and significantly. The impact on businesses that must reduce wastage to remain competitive will be huge.
IoT will affect your business, so be prepared.
Some of the technology is here today and much of it is in development now. Large companies have embarked on ambitious big data projects, and many smaller organizations have started collecting and collating what data they can. This is leading to a growing need for data storage systems and analytics tools today.
If your business is not paying attention to the current changes in IoT technology and looking at what it means to your industry, whether you are in retail sales, manufacturing, primary industry or consulting services, there are changes coming to technology in the IoT that will change the way your industry thinks and works. You don’t want to be the only farmer who still waters the whole crop because you don’t have sensors telling you which third of the crop is dry.
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