There was a time when we used to imagine how self-driving cars and home automation systems would look. However, over time the advancements in the IT domain have converted our fascinating assumptions and stories into reality.
In order to transform our imagination into reality, emerging technologies, such as AI/ML, IoT, and cloud, have played an essential role. These technology domains are like a buzzword across the global industries. Most of them, including AI and cloud, has become the mainstream technologies for IT operations, but IoT is yet to become one.
What we know about IoT technology is that it is some sort of technology connecting electronic devices communicating over internet connectivity. But you know what fascinates us the most, is that why it is known as the Internet of Things? Let’s find out.
What is IoT (Internet of Things)?
In simple terms, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system where several physical (circuit-based electronics) devices are interconnected and communicate via Internet connectivity. They also gather and share data among connected devices, applications, or systems to further perform analytical operations. The data is shared among them in such a way, feeling like they are actually communicating to us and other connected things.
Apart from being a commercial system, the IoT platform is being used in many props, from smart wearables to industrial sensors, biotelemetry, and many others.
As per the research of Statistica – a leading research firm, the adoption of IoT technology or devices is expected to reach 13.8 billion units by the end of 2021 and 30.9 billion units by 2025.
The History of The Internet of Things:
The first forecasting about IoT was done by Nikola Tesla in 1926, where he said that: “When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance.”
Further, the first project of connecting sensors and intelligence to the basic things was first ideated in the decade of 1980-the 1990s. Also, the journey from internet-connected vending machines to self-operable cars was very slow due to some technology and required skills barriers. Initially, the chips were big and bulky in size, creating barriers to establishing effective communication between objects.
Today, processors have become very cheap, compact, powerful, and cost-effective to connect billions of devices together.
The Invention of the RFID tags – They are more like low-power chips establishing wireless communication and have solved some connectivity-related issues by increasing internet broadband’s uptime alongside cellular and wireless networking.
The Invention of IPv6 – It is among another connected internet of things providing sufficient IP addresses for connecting IoT devices of the whole world. It plays an essential role in scaling IoT networks.
In the beginning, IoT was a buzzword among businesses and manufacturing industries where its application used to identify as M2M (Machine-to-Machine), but now it is being mounted in our homes, offices, and many places with smart devices.
This way, IoT technology is transforming our way of living, and we all can agree with it today.
Benefits of Having IoT Technology In Place:
Better Data Monitoring:
The IoT technology primarily helps us in monitoring. It also helps us detect the precise quantity and quality of supplies, check the air quality at home, and many others. It also provides data that is difficult or even almost impossible to collect flawlessly. For example, it can detect the quantity of printer ink present in the printer and let us know that it’s time to buy a new ink cartridge to avoid future hurry and trips to the store. The advancement of IoT has been done to the extent that it can also check the expiration of the product.
Easy Access:
Nowadays, technologies have become so advanced that real-time information sharing can be done smoothly from anywhere across the world with just a smart device and internet connectivity. IoT devices integrated with emerging technologies like AI/ML and cloud can make it possible to share data from one location to another in real-time.
Cost-Effectiveness:
The more organizations adopt IoT devices to enhance their productivity and profitability, the more this technology will be tailored to help businesses achieve success. IoT devices are increasingly impacting from cybersecurity to workforce efficiency alongside companies’ bottom line. If IoT devices are built using highly integrated sensors, they definitely support business applications to run at their peak level at reduced maintenance costs.
Efficiency and Productivity:
The efficiency in terms of the IoT can be referred to as automating repetitive or time-consuming tasks that ultimately cut down the overall time and effort investment. For example, an IoT-based automated program for converting PDF into other formats and sending it to the respected recipients directly. This process eliminates obstacles to PDF editing and archiving alongside better communication and documentation speeds.
Summing Up:
IoT can be considered the next-gen technology that automates all of our mundane workloads, gathers data in real-time, performs analytical processes on those data, and provides actionable insights to their improvement areas at reduced costs. IoT technology also plays an essential role in creating new business opportunities for organizations through innovations to traditional IT operational models. Also, they offer a better customer experience, which also acts as a revenue generation model for businesses.
