The Internet of Things (IoT): If you haven\u2019t heard about it yet, you\u2019re not paying attention. The IoT represents the use of technology and how we use it to connect to the cloud network (the internet) in order to better understand our environment, and all that entails including people and things.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a heavy concept and a lot of what you read these days ties the IoT to smart technology: Smart homes, smart cars, smart robots. It\u2019s all interactive and the resulting technology is tied to human thought. In this regard, the IoT is very seductive and very intriguing.<\/p>\n
But the discussion of the IoT is much less prosaic if we think in more realistic terms. In an ongoing video series, Gary Barnett, Chief Analyst for Ovum’s Software team, talks about how the Internet of Things will fundamentally affect and evolve everyday global processes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Below is a brief of Barnett’s primary points as to how the IoT can do a world of good (in case watching a 9:12 video isn’t your jam):<\/p>\n
The untapped future of the IoT has to do with TeleHealth. In other words, making healthcare accessible to the world\u2019s population. That may go against the grain of the billions of dollars of revenue that healthcare generates, but the fact of the matter, explains Barnett, is that if we can deliver healthcare to the masses without having them come into the office, we begin to streamline the entire process of staying well.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s something as simple as monitoring one\u2019s blood pressure or blood sugar levels. Maybe it\u2019s something a little more in depth like an actual exam. One thing is certain, the IoT\u2019s impact on health is already happening but he surface hasn\u2019t even begun to be scratched.<\/p>\n
We get caught up in the big-ticket items of the Internet of Things and smart technology. We can potentially talk to our cars, our refrigerators, our garage doors. But Barnett explains, and rightfully so, that a whopping 99 percent of IoT devices are invisible to us because the technology exists within the industry infrastructure. <\/p>\n
IoT technology is just now being introduced in supply chain management. Sensors that monitor and provide data regarding a product’s delivery: Was it broken? Scratched? Sensory data can provide the where <\/i>and how<\/i> to that question. By doing so, process management can make huge strides in efficiency.<\/p>\n3. Agriculture<\/h2>\n
The third point of Barnett\u2019s triad involves agriculture. The data management that the IoT provides could potentially alter the processes for growing crops or managing livestock. Is every inch of a 100 acre farm being over or under fertilized? Watered? Or what about food supply management? It is no secret that nearly 3 percent of crops produced get wasted in one way or another. How many more mouths could be fed if that didn\u2019t happen?<\/p>\n
The exciting thing about how the Internet of Things can improve our lives isn\u2019t<\/em> about telling your refrigerator to order milk. It\u2019s about tapping into the cloud\u2019s potential to reach lives and make those lives better.<\/p>\n