When initially the internet was introduced, didn’t it feel like magic to all of us? The possibilities and its uses were endless, and within no time, it overtook the market. Many excited consumers and market specialists believe that the Internet of Things (IoT) could be the next big breakthrough. Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and decision making, and data analytics have been given a new meaning and horizon. IoT is without any doubt going to affect every aspect of the lives of the consumer and the businesses, but still, it is at a nascent stage what IoT plans would need not only mature organizations that can provide professional services and suitable human resources but also the ability to tackle the challenges which this new technology would provide.
Many experts have also claimed that although this technology is bound to change all the consumers’ lives, the most immediate benefits will be reaped by the businesses and the corporates when tonnes of data and analytics would be at their disposal. Let’s see what the tarot cards say for the future of IoT.
- Ecosystems and devices: The foundation of IoT: An efficient platform that sends the data and offers device control and application development based on the analyzed information is bound to emerge in a couple of years. A process of standardization has become important for complex projects. For example, setting up a smart city would require solutions and systems from several vendors. The sharing of information becomes difficult as the number of vendors increases, as all these systems would follow different protocols.
The development of new ecosystems by different market players would rattle the cages of smart cars, devices, and smart cities. This will result in cut-throat competition between different ecosystems in the future. The more versatile and adaptable the ecosystem would be, the higher the chances of success rate.
In other words, if the devices are updatable with changing technology, they could be successful. With the analysis of the stored data, multiple products, services, and applications would be launched, which would increase competition and improve customer satisfaction.
- Development of Edge Analytics: Many companies boasted about the real-time analytics in their ecosystem and how helpful and fast the process could be. Sounds too good to be true, probably it is. It takes some seconds for the sensor to grasp information, classify it and send only relevant information and data to the cloud ecosystem. Further, the analysis of bulk data and sending the solutions could waste much time. In some industries, this latency could be accepted, but in many others like robotics controlled remotely, this latency level would be unacceptable. Here, edge analytics comes into the picture, proposing complex analytical capabilities in the sensors themselves. As these sensors would analyze the data itself, it surely will decrease the latency by leaps and bounds.
- For the masses: Digging deep into the discussion, you might feel that such complex technology would take a lot of money to configure and operate. But many SaaS solutions would be targeting medium-sized businesses by controlling such costs so that multiple enterprises can reap its benefits. It is imperative to note that IoT could provide customization to smaller businesses as it will provide factory data access.
- Customer satisfaction to the next level: The current trend has always focused on customer satisfaction and after-sale services. The marketing concept states that the customer-firm relationship starts even before manufacturing the product and stays even after the sales. Many innovations in IoT will help in taking these services to the next level. The product can be remotely monitored, but predicting future maintenance and developing better products would become easier.
- The threat to security: IoT devices make the thing susceptible to physical tampering and hacks and information attacks. Encrypting the information so that the data is not hacked or tampered with becomes most important. Some specific codes can also lead the device to be active, which ultimately drains the battery.
The opportunities for IoT are endless, but so are the challenges. IoT would need to continuously evolve to a more sophisticated design and system to stay in the mainstream.
