The world has never seen something like this, not even science fiction movies did not exactly predict this. We have seen a drop in the ocean of what's about to happen, approaching us at a lightning speed. Internet of Things (IoT) is emerging as the groundbreaking industry expected to be $19 trillion, in 2020 more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the internet, and IoT will be in full swing by 2025, but the race has begun.
Therefore, the question remains what's the Internet of Things? IoT is the connection of devices and appliances to the internet, where they can interact with each other without humans in the equation; this is where artificial intelligence comes in. These smart appliances will be enabled to be controlled remotely by your smartphone too.
Possibilities are endless; your smartphone may know about your health more than your doctor does, your fridge may know about your diet than you know. Traffic system will get to a point where it will control itself to better monitor traffic, send the information to your car to navigate the city more easily; collect the data of what's happening on the road of accidents and traffic congestions, then send it over to the transport department.
Google and Facebook among many organizations are advocating for free internet, to further get the next 3 billion people online. However these two mentioned companies are serving self-interest because once you get online, they will commercialize your visit to the visual world.
On the other hand there is a war between operating systems namely iOS, Android and Windows who will determine what kind of a deal the end user gets. Apple in March 2014 formed "In The Car" (iOSitC) for the automotive industry, and recruited brands like Jaguar, BMW, Chevrolet and Ferrari; while Google in January 2014 formed Open Automotive Alliance, and signed General Motors, Honda and Audi for their Android system.
Internet of Things poise a tremendous cyber security risk, where real crime will move online; besides financial risk which is presently taking place, but this time around, people can hack into the system of your house to overcook your food, turn on the heater, change your TV channel or disable you home security.
Everybody glorifies the upside of internet, talking extremely less about the downside, particularly the importance of cyber security. When internet was created, hackers also saw an opportunity to introduce virus, also resulting into another niche of anti-virus was created; in the IoT era, anti-virus won't be enough to stop what's coming.
What does Internet of Things mean for businesses? In manufacturing, IoT will cause the fourth industrial revolution when machines will be operating themselves, eliminating the need of massive employees.
Generally, companies will have precise data collected from various sources about consumer behavior, resulting in direct marketing strategies only targeting people who need what they offer. When a patient is diagnosed with cold, the phone can send the information to a doctor and a pharmacy, then ads relating to the medication you need, will pop up, the nearest doctor's office will give a call to arrange an appointment with the doctor.
Today companies are shooting in the dark hoping out of thirteen people their ad reach, at least four will respond, and one will transact; with IoT, success probability will be increased by knowing who, where they are and when they need your product or service.
Literally, each and every company should adopt a digital strategy, others just need to change their entire business model, or they will go under; because their competitors are evolving too, but worse, there is a company in a garage started by one or two guys who are going to take them out of business or get a piece of their market share.