What's IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) are objects in our every-day lives that connect to the internet. Some examples include smart cars, watches, kitchen appliances, security systems, speaker systems, and so much more. In recent years, the Internet of Things has exploded, and consumers and industries alike have adjusted to this change in technology landscape.
By 2020, it is estimated that there will be 31 billion connected devices and according to a McKinsey report,
The total potential impact of IoT could be in the range of $3.9 trillion-11.1 trillion per year in 2025.
This provides huge opportunity for customers to improve their day-to-day lives through IoT by giving them easy access to information and data that they have never had before. Businesses as well must adjust to innovate offerings in key industries in order to stay relevant in a changing economy, and leverage data to continuously improve. Of its many applications, the Internet of Things has had a huge impact on 4 key industries, including: home security and energy, healthcare, urban planning, and transportation.
Home Security and Energy
Companies like Nest are leading the way in IoT for home security and energy by offering products such as smart thermostats, cameras, doorbells, and smoke alarms. These products allow customers to take complete control over their home monitoring and security from any location in the world, maximizing efficiency and improving security.
There will be 73 million smart homes in North America by 2021, equaling 55% of all homes.
Furthermore, the top reason why a home is broken into is ease of accessibility. As technology continues to advance and more customers adopt home security smart devices, it is likely that the number of burglaries will decrease over time due to the difficulty of access.
However, the Internet of Things does not necessarily guarantee home safety. In response to the increase of connected devices, hackers have become a huge threat to the home security market. As hackers assume the role of modern-day burglars, companies participating in this market take on additional risks that must be accounted for through multistep authorization and technology improvements.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry has also been disrupted by the Internet of Things. Recent advancements in technology have allowed caregivers to innovate their offerings to patients, ultimately improving their patients’ wellbeing and successful recovery.
Companies such as Microsoft have broken into this industry by offering products that sync up to a hospital’s already-existing Microsoft Office operating system. These products allow caregivers to monitor patient care and medical assets, maintain vital equipment, and track equipment usage. This is a unique opportunity for traditional computer and software companies such as Microsoft to participate in a new industry driven by IoT.
Data suggests that already over 30% of healthcare stakeholders use some form of connected devices through their practice, and this trend is only going to grow.
IoT offers a unique value proposition in this industry by giving value to the businesses and customers alike by lengthening the life of equipment and improving patient care. Individuals are also taking healthcare into their own hands by using products such as Fitbit and smart watches to monitor sports training and everyday wellbeing. This application has created an entirely new market for key companies such as Apple to compete in that otherwise would not exist without IoT.
Urban Planning
Dystopian ideas such as smart cities could also become a future reality thanks to the Internet of Things. Today, 1.3 million people move into cities every week, and as a result, the cities of the future will have to adjust to handle the increasing populations. Advanced information and communication technology can help support sustainable growth and make cities more efficient through road sensors and universal Wi-Fi, for example. This new industry puts cities in a unique position.
They will have to function more like a business and less like a government organization to create the mass-changes necessary for smart cities to become reality.
In my opinion, organizational partnerships with the world’s top tech companies may be the way forward. While smart city efforts are only at the very early stages, over time we can expect to see more interconnectivity within large cities around the world. This will improve the overall quality of life for city-dwellers and improve the efficiency of key decision makers in a city’s local government.
Transportation
Perhaps one of the most commonly thought-of examples of IoT, smart cars have become a huge topic in recent years. Uber’s self-driving cars are already here and autonomous trucks are taking multi-day journeys to deliver products across the United States. These innovations, while still in its early adoption stage, are set to completely alter the way we travel and deliver products. Additionally, companies like Amazon have taken to drones for delivery of products to their consumers.
It is clear that the transportation industry has completely changed in the past few years, and that as the innovations become more commonplace there will be less human intervention in many aspects of the transportation industry, including personal travel and product delivery.
These innovations are not just convenient for businesses and customers, but they also have environmental and safety impacts as well. As more self-driving cars take to the roads, potential impacts could include less drunk-driving accidents and more efficient fuel usage. However, these cars will perform best when all cars are self-driving, so we still have a long way to go.
Future Considerations
Our professional and personal lives have been completely changed due to the Internet of Things. Of the many impacts, IoT has made our homes safer, our lives longer, our cities smarter, and our transportation autonomous. In the future, we may never need to lock our doors again, live well into our 100s, always have Wi-Fi, and never have to touch a steering wheel again.
Over time, we as consumers and professionals will become increasingly dependent on these technologies and must develop skills in new areas such as machine learning and security engineering to take full advantage of IoT innovation to stay mentally challenged and relevant within businesses. Even though technology dependency can be seen as a potential negative aspect of the Internet of Things due to its likelihood to replace task-oriented labor, over time I believe it will be for the betterment of society as a whole and is a necessary next-step in the evolution of humankind.
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