The Internet Of Things And How It Affects You

What is the internet of things?
The internet of things (IoT) is a network of multiple devices that communicate with each other (no, I’m not talking robot to robot like in the movies) without human involvement. It is a growing network of everyday objects, that can share information to complete tasks while we are busy doing other things. The device to device communication mostly involves the collection of data and the processing of the data so that the devices can ‘talk’ to themselves, make decisions and act accordingly.
The internet cannot function on its own, it’s useless without a human component, an online game is useless without a player, a blog is useless without a blogger, on the other hand, the concept of the internet of things is for devices to function without human intervention.
For the internet of things to function, it requires three components
1) The things/assets/devices
2) A way for the devices involved to be connected, a way for them to communicate
3) A way for the devices to process the data and make decisions accordingly.
If done and utilized properly, devices can communicate with each other and enhance activities between them based on the data collected through the network.
Imagine a system where your trash can, can compact trash as needed and alert the appropriate city workers when it is full, or trucks that haul goods safely and quickly across the country, communicating with the various traffic system and therefore avoiding traffic delays, or a home security system that goes a step further and takes proactive actions such as, cooling down the home or opening the windows depending on the weather condition, or your closeness to the house.
The internet of thing is born when data streaming in and out of organizations, from electrical and mechanical sensors, smart meters, scanners, mobile communications live social media and more are networked to communicate with each other without human intervention.
Some examples of how it would affect our personal lives.
Imagine a scenario where;
• You walk out the door, but forgot your keys inside the house, your smart door starts to beep and delays locking the door for 5sec enough time for you to rush back and get them if needed.
• Your sleep is interrupted at night because you have to wake up and do some work, you go back to sleep, your bed which has an in-built sleep cycle monitor sends a message to your alarm to give you extra time to sleep, your alarm checks your google calendar to be sure there is nothing scheduled that morning and lets you sleep an extra hour.
• You go shopping and pass the cereal aisle and your trolley starts to vibrate and a message displays on your trolley handle asking if you want to buy cereal. Your fridge noticed there was no more cereal and sends your phone a message, your phone knowing you are at a supermarket sends a message to your trolley. So you get the cereal and walk right out the smart door which scans your goods and deducts it from your credit card, and then you get an email with your receipt.
• You have a heart condition and your doctor insists that an unobtrusive, internal heart monitor be implanted into your arm, it’s powered by your body’s thermal energy. It monitors your heart rhythm and detects the smallest arrhythmias. Any alarming change and it sends your phone a message.
How will IoT affect you and your business?
Whether you believe it or not, the internet of things is already upon us, what with technologies such as the cloud, apple watch etc, therefore the ability of you and your company to utilize it is very essential to say the least and would determine how effectively you can reach the next generation of consumers in the long run.
Some things you have to put in place in anticipation for when the IoT is fully on us in order to move with the trend are;
• Replace old tech: Replace old tech, equipment, machinery with new gears that can be fully integrated with all other components of your business.
• Become network ubiquitous: Everything that plugs into an electrical outlet should be designed to connect to the internet, from phones, printers, manufacturing machines, security systems etc. Anytime you encounter a new tech that includes network connectivity, invest in it.
• Develop a cloud network: This fits right in with IoT. Drawing up a cloud based business plan will enable your company satisfy the demands of employees, clients and consumers who expect total visibility and connectivity.
• Educate existing employees; Spend time educating existing employees on the IoT shift and how it will affect their individual role in the firm, and also recruit new employees who already have a knowledge of the shift.
• Tackle security issues: Experts say network security will become one of the most important aspects of business in the future. Investing in high quality data security will help your business.
Some disadvantage or issues that might come up with the IoT are;
• Data security is extremely important. Device to device communication is awesome until some over zealot evil genius decides to spoof part of that connection and remotely hijack a device for malicious purposes like putting a gridlock of traffic everywhere.
• Device malfunction, we all know how software and hardware can both is buggy and sometimes those bugs are major ones. With regards to IoT those can create major, probably life threatening problems, especially for the future generation that may grow to depend almost entirely on it.