IoT – How connected will we be?

IoT – How connected will we be? Ok, let’s say you had a wee bit of a binge eating weekend, and to compensate, you’ve been using your wearable fitness app to track your steps and calories, along with your connected bathroom scale. When you go to open your smart fridge for an innocent midday snack, it locks you out, melts your dulce de leche Haagen-Dazs (hey – it was only a mini!), presents you with a low-fat yogurt, and simultaneously connects you to a friend who pops up on the in-door screen for support. Sound far off? It’s not.

So what’s all the buzz about the Internet of Things (IoT)? Well, it revolves around augmented machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, built on cloud computing and relying on massive networks of data-gathering sensors. IoT offers mobile, virtual, and instantaneous connections that are going to make everything in our lives – from toasters to highways – “smart.”

Projections say that by 2020, there will be anywhere from 25-35 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things globally, and that nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT over the next five years.

According to Business Insider’s latest global study – businesses will be the top adopter of IoT solutions, and they foresee three ways it will improve bottom line: 1 – lower operating costs; 2 – increased productivity; and 3 – the ability to expand new markets or develop new product offerings.

When we evaluate and try to grasp the ramifications of connecting an immeasurable array of data-gathering sensors, devices and machines together, what’s essential to comprehend is that information will be translated into action at a velocity that we’ve never seen before. We are ultimately closing in on a planet with beyond rapid reaction times, incredibly nimble responses to shifting conditions, and unparalleled jurisdiction over managing assets and resources.

It might seem simple, but my mouse tells me when it’s about to run out of batteries so that I’m not left hanging. Clearly, one of the biggest returns of smart technologies is the ability to identify, predict and prevent problems – anytime and anywhere. Case in point – with our bodies connected to wearables that offer monitoring data on heart rate, glucose, stress, etc., what kinds of maladies will we be able to head off at the pass? And imagine what this rich IoT information will allow the medical world to do – track viruses more accurately, develop smart pills, provide improved remote care, all while benchmarking against patients around the world?

The Internet of Things is a colossal transformational shift, and I haven’t even come close to listing all the ways it will impact us. It’s going to create disruption and opportunity in every conceivable field, and it’s entirely up to you whether you’re going to plug-in, leverage the connected party, be a disruptor… or, be one of the disrupted.

Michael

Michael Chase, CMO
St. Joseph Communications

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES – TAKEN FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, INCLUDING WIRED 2016 AND BI INTELLIGENCE 2016 REPORT