You are likely benefiting from the Internet of Things (IoT) today, whether or not you’re familiar with the term. If your phone automatically connects to your car radio, or if you have a smart watch counting your steps, congratulations! You have adopted one small piece of a very large IoT pie, even if you haven’t adopted the name yet.
The Internet of Things (IoT) may sound like a business buzzword. In reality, it’s a technological revolution that will impact everything we do—a gigantic wave of new possibility poised to alter the face of technology.
First, some background: IoT is the interconnectivity between things using wireless communication technology (each with their own unique identifiers) to connect objects, locations, animals, or people to the internet, thus allowing for the direct transmission of and seamless sharing of data.
In essence, it refers to everyday devices that are able to automatically exchange information over a network. IoT will also impact on our everyday lives by changing how we monitor traffic, weather, pollution, and the environment, and how we collect relevant data.
So what if two of the biggest technology trends — Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) — actually converged or intersected? Actually, they are spanning everything from kitchen appliances to smart buildings. Not by coincidence, technology giants and start-ups are seeking to help CIOs and CFOs make sense of the convergence.
If you examine Gartner’s Top 10 Technology Trends for 2015, the Internet of Things (IoT) will create opportunities to manage, monetize, operate and extend IP systems. Within that same trend report, Gartner mentions that advanced, pervasive and invisible analytics will emerge.
Gartner states: “Analytics will take center stage as the volume of data generated by embedded systems increases and vast pools of structured and unstructured data within and outside the enterprise are analyzed.”
Some 4.9 billion connected “things” will be in use in 2015, up 30% from 2014, and will reach 25 billion by 2020, according to recent research from Gartner Inc. The Internet of Things (IoT) has become a powerful force for business transformation, the firm says, and its disruptive impact will be felt across all industries and all areas of society.
For a prime example, consider where Tellient is heading. In a recent podcast conversation, Tellient co-founder Tristan Barnum explained how Big Data applications allows businesses to analyze information gathered from a new generation of endpoints.
Barnum’s example points to a new generation of kitchen appliances. What if a manufacturer were able to remotely track customers’ favorite appliance settings; the most used (and unused) features; and more? The result, Barnum believes, will lead to better product designs, fewer defects and other improvements each time the manufacturer releases a new generation of appliances.
The Internet of Things will expand beyond small, remote devices, sensors and beacons to blanket much larger IP deployments including physical buildings. Market research firm Frost & Sullivan sees “Big Data as an enabler for Smart Buildings” — suggesting that three big trends will drive the development of smart buildings: 1 – Urbanization 2 – Connectivity and convergence of smart technologies; and 3 – Connectivity between smart devices.
The result: Watch for new partnerships between data analytics companies and building technology providers.
In another prime example, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) Research Director John Myers describes how analytics running on sensor and machine data from smart devices delivers quantifiable cost savings and revenue. More CFOs are taking notice of people like Eugene Kaspersky, founder and chief executive of Kaspersky Lab, the world’s largest private cybersecurity company. Speaking recently about Advanced Threat Protection (APT) and IoT Kaspersky said, “We expect to see growth in the number of and sophistication of new criminal attacks, including on large companies, particularly on banks and other financial institutions. We are seeing growth in attacks on industrial systems coming from traditional, offline organized crime – from the mafia, essentially.
The Internet of Things is the Internet of Threats for us. We expect attacks on smart TVs, watches, smart glasses. As the number of connected smart devices expands fast, more and more of them will be targeted to obtain criminal profit”.
Source: Cyber Security Intelligence
