Many people are asking, what does the Internet of Things mean?
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the interconnectivity of everyday objects which offer data and information based on the devices’ functions. Take your smartphone for example – it receives inputs from both the user and the outside world. When you surf the web, you are inputting information to your phone (the search terms), and the phone is relying that information to the Google servers. Your phone is also receiving inputs from telephone towers, GPS signals from satellites, and voice data.Following the launch of Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa, IoT began to take full force. We now have lights that are connected to the internet, allowing the user to switch them on and off remotely as well as monitor energy consumption. When we are not home, we can set our thermostats to a lower setting in order to save energy. There are even faucets that monitor water quality and consumption. All of this information is being sent to your smartphone via the internet. It won’t be long until everything we interact with will be interconnected.
How can businesses implement and take advantage of the IoT? Predictive Maintenance allows complex equipment and machinery to broadcast signals of their status. When a part begins to wear down, an alert is sent to the engineer who can then perform maintenance on the machine. This saves the company money because they don’t need to hire specialists to constantly monitor the quality of the machines. Instead, a specialist only needs to come out when a problem is reported.Smart Contract Execution occurs when a contract is executed on the Blockchain where various nodes feed information about the status of the execution. The IoT is composed of the nodes in the system. When a consensus is reached that a certain task has been accomplished, such as a payment or delivery of goods, the smart contract moves to the next phase.Sustainability Goals can be effectively measured with the IoT. A baseline can be set based off of current water, energy and material consumption. The company’s progress can be automatically measured periodically. Managers will then be able to improve on effective sustainability strategies and get rid of ineffective protocols.Businesses who successfully integrate the IoT into their operations will continue to thrive while businesses who neglect to do so will inevitably fall behind.
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