Internet of Things (IoT)

Understanding the Concept of Internet of Things (IoT) and its Impact

10:47 15 March 2017

The term Internet of Things (IoT) can be intimidating for some people but its basic concept is pretty simple – it refers to any device, such as computers and smartphones, that connect to the internet.

 

With a growing number of devices having the ability to connect to the internet (examples are home appliances, wearable devices and components of machine), IoT can have major impact in the workplace and beyond.

 

An analyst from firm Gartner says that by 2020, there will be over 26 billion internet-connected devices creating over 100 billion connections involving relationships between people-people, people-things and things-things.

 

On a broader scale, IoT can help us become more efficient and more productive. It can also help us find ways on how to reduce waste. There are many examples on how these can be achieved such as:

 

·       If the traffic is heavy, your car might notify other party that you will be late so they can make necessary adjustments and not get their time wasted

 

·       Your alarm clock wakes you up at 6am and automatically notifies your coffee to start brewing coffee for you

 

·       Your office equipment notifies people in charge that the supplies are running low and automatically place an order to avoid potential disruptions

 

 

Although IoT offers many benefits, it can also pose serious challenges. One of which is security. It opens up residential homes and big companies from all over the world to more security threats. Other big issues include data sharing, privacy and finding solutions to store all the data produce by all their devices.