How the Internet of Things (IoT) Will Forever Change the World Around Us
Just like its predecessor, the Internet of Things (IoT) will be one of humanity’s most revolutionary advancements. In simple terms, the internet of things is a combination of physical internet-compatible objects and devices of a wide variety formed into a single data exchanging network with a certain objective in mind. If a human were to be present in such a network, it would likely be considered the weakest link. It’s not just about computers and smartphones here. IoT is about connecting everything around you, and the technology can scale like no other. While the IoT trend has been gaining serious ground the past couple of years, the first instance of this technology can actually be traced back to 1982, when a modified soda machine could send out reports on the status of the machine’s inventory.
According to the Statista Research Department, there were an estimated 22 billion connected IoT devices by the end of 2018. As time progresses, so does the level of sophistication in consumer electronics’ software and hardware. As a result, an increased share of electronic devices is produced annually with full support for internet connectivity. Forecasts from experts state that by 2025, 38 billion IoT devices will be circulating the globe, and by 2030 — over 50 billion, creating a never before seen network of interconnected smart devices. While predictions for the global market size of IoT business solutions seem to vary by large margins, most experts agree that the figure will go above the 1,5$ trillion mark by 2025.
IoT Solutions for Enterprises
The innovative process behind IoT’s capabilities and the opportunities that it brings to the table can be presented by four core principles.
1. Create IoT friendly devices. Build a smart IoT ready device from the ground up or add sensors and chips to existing ones.
2. Control your devices. Deploy IoT solutions that monitor, track and manage your devices in real-time.
3. Analyze the incoming data. Collect data from your devices and apply advanced analytics to gain valuable information from the network and attain new insights into the business’s processes and inner workings.
4. Act based on acquired information. Make important business decisions by utilizing the insights you have gained from all the invaluable data gathering and leverage that information to generate more income and open yourself up to more business opportunities.
Practically all industries can use this technology in their favor. Let’s take a look at how a variety of companies could implement IoT into their businesses.
Automakers and production factories — monitor the condition of the production line and optimize equipment utilization. Completely removing humans from the production line is possible for maximum efficiency and error reduction.
Logistics and transportation companies — optimize transportation and supply lines, implement fleet management and monitoring systems in order to minimize potential vehicle failures. IoT sensors can help track and locate goods and manage them properly.
Retailers and warehouses — optimize company logistics, maximize production line efficiency. Warehouse space can be used more efficiently, the environment better controlled, and products located in the blink of an eye.
Shops and restaurants — analyze clients’ behavioral tendencies and preferences, adjust the indoor or outdoor environment in terms of lighting or temperature for better comfort. Restaurants employing robots to automate certain processes like cooking, waiting, or cleaning can be far better optimized.
Agriculture — monitor the conditions of the animal husbandry and the state of the crops growing on fields. Better control over the internal processes leads to fewer risks, reductions in cost management and waste.
Insurance companies — improve customer service, implement new methodologies for assessing prices, limiting risks. Improved data collection capabilities will allow companies to insure up and coming industries like cannabis, drones, and cryptocurrencies.
Pharmaceutical companies, food industry — improve food safety and ease of following regulations, increased operational efficiency and consumer loyalty. Big pharma can monitor key production processes, variables in the supply chain, and improve patient care.
Oil and gas companies — monitor worker life signs in inaccessible work zones to respond faster in case of emergencies, observe pipeline flow rates and tank levels in real-time, and vibration trackers for equipment that requires maintenance or is on the verge of failure.
Use of IoT in Business
The internet of things can be implemented in both small and large scale businesses. As an example of a major manufacturing company making use of IoT, let’s take a look at Volkswagen. As of 2015, Volkswagen was the top-selling automaker in the world, employing more than half a million employees at the time. How exactly does a company worth 100$ billion improve on its business? This is where the term industrial internet of things comes into play.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connects machines, cloud computing, analytics, and company employees to improve the efficiency of core industrial processes. With IIoT, industrial companies can digitize most manufacturing processes, modify existing business models, and improve overall productivity and efficiency while substantially reducing costs. In many ways, it is an evolution of the distributed control system (DCS), allowing for a significantly higher degree of automation and optimization via cloud computing. Resource-intensive companies like Volkswagen have shown deep interest in developing and implementing IoT projects. This includes predictive maintenance, quality control analytics, monitoring resource states, and process optimization. The whole project is named “Volkswagen Industrial Cloud”, and will consist of a total of 122 manufacturing plants, 30,000 facilities, and 1,500 suppliers and partners in Volkswagen’s global chain of supply. IoT networks of such scale will require the company to implement big data business solutions of never before seen scale.
Typically, an industrial facility houses thousands of sensors that constantly generate data. With IIoT, manufacturers can combine technical data from a single production line or a network of facilities, such as industrial plants, assembly plants, and refineries, to proactively increase productivity by identifying and preventing potential disruptions, production gaps, and quality issues. Combining these networked facilities can also improve material flow control and help detect, identify, and address bottlenecks in early production stages, optimizing the plant and equipment for better overall performance. Basically, Volkswagen uses IoT to improve the efficiency and uptime of its factories, providing greater manufacturing flexibility and improved vehicle quality. This level of optimization allows for reduced costs of operations and the exclusion of human error, saving the company billions of dollars in the long run.
“From a conceptual standpoint, IoT is that ability to create digital awareness of the physical world we live in. It’s a digital pulse made up of data that we can aggregate to improve the world around us.”
John Rossman, Author of Think Like Amazon
Why IoT Will Matter to Everyone
Ordinary people and businesses alike will both benefit from the innovations of this new technology. Some devices and businesses have already shown immense popularity and high levels of integration.
For consumers, the most popular IoT devices so far have proven to be:
● wearable devices like watches and bracelets
● smart homes
● smart clothes
● smart TV’s
● smart devices for animals like tracking collars
For businesses:
● smart cars and drones
● smart cities
● smart workplaces
● smart power grids
● smart factories
● precision agriculture
● location-based marketing
● smart warehouses
IoT is one of the most rapidly implemented technologies across all industries. We can even go as far as saying that it is the most important development of the 21st century so far. In a world dominated by digital technology, IoT is bringing the next evolution. Businesses and ordinary consumers will both experience huge benefits from this technology. Not only does IoT minimize human effort and provide for a better client experience to both sides, but it also promotes efficient resource utilization, helping Earth in the long run, guarantees higher quality products, improved security measures, and quicker decision making, with the potential to save lives.
Conclusion
We are witnessing a revolution in the complex relationship between humans and machines. The rate at which the technology is advancing and finding implementation in daily lives is unparalleled. Companies using IoT technology are gaining an edge over any competition that fails to adapt to the ever-changing business landscape. IoT applications in business are only limited to the imagination of the mind. Anything that can be automated will be automated, it is only a matter of time, and who gets there first.
