What is a "thing"?
Let's see what is the “thing” in IoT. It can be a person with an implant in the heart, an animal with a chip, a car with many sensors, or any other object that can be assigned an IP address and which can transmit data over a network.
Today, IoT is actively used in various commercial industries to work more efficiently. This technology allows you to more deeply analyze the client for better interaction with him, build new business processes, and ultimately increases the overall value of the business.
How does IoT work?
The IoT infrastructure consists of devices that support connection to the World Wide or Local Web, which use built-in peripherals (sensors, processors, etc.) to collect, process and exchange data. IoT devices exchange data by connecting to an IoT gateway or other border device from which data is either sent to the "cloud" or subjected to local analysis. Sometimes, when interacting with each other, IoT devices can perform certain actions based on the information received. Almost all ecosystem devices perform most of the work without human intervention, although sometimes human intervention cannot be avoided, for example, if you need to configure the device, enter instructions in them, etc.
Why is IoT important?
Take the Smart Home example. A house equipped with this technology saves time, which is so expensive these days. In other words, “Smart Home” is the automation of everyday routine using various sensors, devices and other components that allow you to control the routine process from the smartphone’s mobile application.
IoT affects all industries, including healthcare, finance, retail and manufacturing. Smart cities help city dwellers reduce waste and energy consumption, and connected sensors are even used in agriculture to help monitor crop yields and cattle and predict growth patterns.
Read on the topic:
IOT Internet of Things: Soil Moisture Sensor Helps Farmers Save Water on Irrigation
Thus, IoT is one of the most important technologies of everyday life, and it will continue to develop rapidly, as more and more companies are aware of the potential of connected devices to maintain their competitiveness.
Advantages and disadvantages of IoT technology
For example, a business:
Benefits:
- Control of business processes;
- Improving the quality of customer service;
- Time saving;
- Increasing labor productivity;
- More easy is the integration of new business models;
- ... and as a consequence of the previous paragraphs - an increase in income.
Disadvantages:
- The likelihood of information theft as the number of devices and data in the IoT ecosystem grows;
- Difficulty in fast scaling (a moot point, but there are facts on the example of large enterprises);
- One error in the system can lead to its complete failure;
- Lack of international compatibility standards, which can make communication between devices from different manufacturers difficult.
