October 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
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Executive Platform

Three Ways IoT is Impacting the #InternetOfEverything

As a key enabling technology to the Internet of Everything (IoE), the Internet of Things (IoT), is connecting new places and objects. Manufacturing room floors, energy grids and wearable devices are just a few examples of the millions of objects coming online at an unprecedented pace.

These “things” are creating vast and increasing amounts of data and sharing it over the Internet – largely via machine-to-machine connections. It is one of many important technology transitions taking place today that is making the Internet of Everything a reality.

The result is “driving market attention to the business opportunities afforded by connecting physical objects to the Internet,” according to a recent MachNation whitepaper. In fact, MachNation expects IoT to be over more than a $4 trillion industry by 2024!

So, how can today’s proliferation of connected devices and sensors bring organizations closer to capturing a share of the $19 trillion in IoE value at stake over the next decade?

Recently, I had the chance to participate in a new Future of IT podcast episode with Steve Hilton, co-founder and Managing Director at MachNation. We discussed how today’s IoT solutions are impacting the evolution of the Internet of Everything and ultimately, business outcomes. You can listen to the entire podcast recording via iTunes.

Here’s a closer look at three ways the Internet of Things is impacting the Internet of Everything and what it means for your organization:

#1: The Internet of Things is part of the Internet of Everything.

It’s crucial to understand that the Internet of Everything is the coming together of the Internet of Things, mobility, cloud, big data and analytics, and social.

The Internet of Everything gives people, businesses, communities, and countries the resources they need to collect and access data and turn it into valuable insight.

For example, there is an application that I’ve been using for my GPS watch that includes sensors you wear on your body. In real-time, I can upload the data collected to the cloud and I can review where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing.

Interestingly, this particular solution that I use allows me to review other people’s data through the cloud. I can create a heat map where my neighbors most commonly exercise and more.

If I were a business, I could use this data to identify where to give out samples of sports drinks or offer trial gym memberships.

This application is enabled through the sensors – the Things – along with mobility, cloud and social technology. It’s because of the combination of these technologies that we are able to create the Internet of Everything.

#2. As the Internet of Things becomes a part of the “natural evolution” of the Internet of Everything, so can your organization.

According to MachNation, the Internet of Everything is a “natural evolution impacting business strategies, human interaction with technology and technology adoption.”

IoT-specific solutions are often limited to one or two capabilities, such as those that only collect and report information. Over time, we will see IoT solutions evolve from simply tracking to actuating. Insights from this influx of data will inform business strategies, how we interact with technology and adopt new tech solutions.

Consider this scenario: A global package shipping company has significant amounts of data because they are trying to increase efficiency with their fleet operations. All of a sudden, they realize they have insight into the state of the world economy. They know how much packages are insured for, where they are from, where they are going, and can use this data to analyze the state of the economy. In this case, the insight about the movement of commerce may be more valuable than being paid to ship the packages!

In the Internet of Everything era, it’s very possible that an IoT solution can evolve to enable considerable IoE-led business transformation.

#3. As IoT solutions evolve, security concerns need to be addressed along the way.

We’ve seen the news reports: Cars, medical devices, and even baby monitors have all been recent targets for Internet of Things “research and development” by hackers. As data becomes smarter and more accessible, security, policy and compliance considerations must be developed alongside evolving IoE capabilities.

Organizations that do the right thing with data by providing additional value to customers and protecting their information will be the organizations that will succeed and stay competitive in the long-term.

In sum, organizations must become continually aware that if they don’t disrupt themselves to enable the Internet of Everything to move forward, they will become disrupted. Organizations can unleash the power of IoT and IoE to re-invent themselves to become more competitive, agile and profitable.

For more about the Internet of Things and the Internet of Everything, I invite you to listen to the Future of IT podcast I participated in with MachNation’s Steve Hilton. The podcast can be downloaded via iTunes.

Be sure to join the conversation, #FutureOfIT and #InternetOfEverything.

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