INTERNET OF THINGSIMAGINE. INNOVATE. INTERACT. INSPIRE.

By Rahul Lakhaney

– John ChambersChairman & CEO, CISCO USA

“If you don’t innovate fast, disrupt your industry,

disrupt yourself, you’ll be left behind”

WHAT IS IOT.

Simply put, this is the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch

to the Internet (and/or to each other).

This includes everything from cellphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you

can think of.

• We already have televisions, cars, homes, industrial equipment and other things connected to the Internet.

• They can automate systems for us, allow us to communicate easier, and collect data for us.

• So whether we’ve known it or not, the Internet of Things is already here.

The way we are accessingthe Internet is continually changing and what we perceive as the role of the

Internet in our lives is shifting.

We started on PCs and moved to smartphones, tablets and social media.

Now our physical actions and social activity can trigger our home’s physical objects and vice versa.

This is the Internet of Things, or the Internet of Everything and it’s set to become the world’s largest device market.

By 2017 the IoT market will be bigger than the PC, tablet and

phone market combined.

There are a lot of use cases for IoT like healthcare, transport, industrial hardware etc.

But the most attractive use case is a smart home.

There already are a few products in the market for smart homes.

What brands are the

current leaders in Internet of Things?

You are in good company! These are big companies making big moves in the space.

How do these companies incorporate IoT in smart homes

LED Lightbulbs

Connected ovens

Coffee makers

Dog feeders

Garage Doors

Outlets Switches

Smoke alarms

Thermostats

Piggy banks

Cars

Watches

Fitness trackers

Beds

These devices aren’t new but the Internet is changing the way we use them on a daily basis and the functions that they can perform.

Individuals are purchasing these new bulbs, cars, and watches every day and brands can tap into that developing market.

Smart light bulbs are not only about on/off functions but also altering the environment you choose to be in and interact with.

Whether it is a bulb changing to the music playing in the room or a light blinking when your oven is preheated, smart bulbs have

many applications.

SMART LIGHT BULBS

EDYN is a device that tracks the health of farm to maximise your crop growth. In drought stricken parts of India, this device can assist individuals in maintaining

the health/growth of their crops while being more conscious of the current environment. It also has

application in home gardening.

EDYN

The nest replaces the traditional thermostats allowing you to change the room temperature, adjust your heating schedule and

view your energy use remotely from mobile, tablet or laptop.

Additionally, it allows your environment to interact with online services and be triggered based on online activity such as tweets,

cars approaching home, and the status of your sleep cycle.

NEST THERMOSTAT

Beyond schedules, a smart coffee machine will interact with your watch or smart mattress to know when you are waking up so it

can brew coffee at the perfect time.

How about a trigger that brews a cup when it detects you’re

sleepy?

SMART COFFEE MACHINE

IS THAT ALL?

Besides smart homes, IoT has a lot more to offer

The IoT will be invaluable in bringing social media and healthcare closer together. Patients will be able to connect easily to

professionals using social media tools and health data will become more easily accessible.

Wearables will become more diverse, as fabrics become “smart” and connectivity becomes the norm.

HEALTHCARE

Products that take care of themselves so you don’t have to such as the Poppy pour-over coffee maker automatically tracks supply of beans and orders more through Amazon

when you are getting low.

Integrations of devices with services facilitate brand loyalty and lock users into a convenience ecosystem.

E-COMMERCE

As the world becomes increasingly connected to the IoT in the next five years, ever increasing amounts of data will be generated. This gives

brands unique insights into their customers behaviours. Marketers will be able to predict the development of new trends and target their social

campaigns towards them.

Watching habit data will become more democratised as individuals stream

from various sources: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Crackle, Periscope, etc.

CONSUMER ANALYTICS & PREDICTIVE MARKETING

I HOPE YOU GET THE PICTURE…

While American technology companies are making lots of IoT progress, Asia currently has

the most connections.

That’s because China’s government has committed to spend $603 billion by 2020 for

machine-to-machine connections.

So what’s the worth of all of these connected things?

It is much more than you think.

But not everyone has the same predictions.

Cisco believes the market size will be $19 trillion by 2025.

The potential market size is so big because the IoT is about increasing efficiency, as well as creating new profits. And those efficiencies will touch nearly every part of our lives: healthcare, transportation, utilities, etc.

General Electric says that a 1% increase in efficiencies from the Industrial Internet (part of

the IoT) will have huge savings.

There’s still a lot of room for varying Internet of Things predictions.

But even if we look at the low estimates, the Internet of Things will still have a huge impact

on our lives.

And we’ve only just begun.

As consumers connect their homes and lives like never before, brands will need to find ways to step up and provide value in new contexts,

without overstepping their bounds or overstaying their welcome.

HOW SECURE IS IoT?

Well it isn’t, just like any other technology it comes with some barriers and concerns.

If your whole house becomes IoT enabled, could hackers infiltrate and control your home? Security issues are going to be a huge challenge, especially when smart locks are

involved.

SECURITY

At the moment there are a half dozen wireless standards for connected devices but interoperability is critical

moving forward. Hubs and certain device manufacturers are solving this and 2015 is a huge year for inter-device

compatibility.

INTEROPERABILITY

Who owns the data from your devices and how could companies and other people use it?

●  Wearable data and location tracking

●  Energy usage habits and home location awareness

DATA OWNERSHIP

–Ben WenEntrepreneur, Investor, Hacker, CMO

“Anything with a battery will have network connection.”

THE FUTURE

Today, the Internet of Things is expanding across the globe. Interestingly, the growth is most palpable in Asia, which accounts for 40% of global machine-to-machine connections, followed by Europe (28%), North America

(18%), Latin America (8%), Africa (4%) and Oceania (1%).

THE ‘SUPERNOVA’ GROWTH OF IOT

As more traditional and lower-skilled jobs are replaced and new jobs created, workers will have to find new types of work, and they will also need to learn to work differently.

To make the IoT economy trustworthy and reliable, workers will have to be comfortable with adjusting to

change, be resilient against new risks and able to recognise and make the most of new opportunities.

IMPACT ON THE JOBS MARKET

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Mastering new ways of working will be key to a person’s employability.