- An increasingly connected world will transform entire industries, including retail, mining, and agriculture — and Australian companies will not be unaffected.
- A new report from BI / Research looks at the application of IoT technology for several industries, ranging from retail and mining to agriculture and real estate, and how executives with deal with the challenge of investing in the IoT efficiently.
- To learn more, read The Connected World Report here.
The IoT refers to devices that are connected to the internet and embedded with electronics, sensors and software which allows them to collect and exchange data.
This ranges from cars to machines on a production line and monitors on remote industrial equipment to sensors on home appliances, and is defined by the Internet of Things Global Standards Initiative as:
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or “things” embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data.
While the true impact of the IoT is yet to be felt, it will come rapidly and reshape households and entire industries when it does.
The scale of what’s predicted is vast. A recent report by BI Intelligence estimated that more than 34 billion devices will be part of the IoT network globally by 2020.
Some of the benefits have yet to be realised and, doubtless, others have not even been dreamed of yet. However, our report gives some insights into the potential impact on a range of industries of the key emerging technologies, ranging from IoT to autonomous vehicles, in a smarter, more connected world.
Connected devices and the IoT can bring benefits in many areas:
- Health: remote monitoring, Innovations like electronic pills that track medication compliance, sleep monitors, personal electrocardiogram devices.
- Cities and infrastructure: smart parking, sensors to communicate traffic conditions to autonomous vehicles and reduce congestion. Smart buildings with more efficient energy use.
- Retail: customer tracking, personalised offers and virtual dressing rooms.
As Commonwealth Bank’s Andrew Despi notes:
Connecting our physical world with the digital… has the potential to be meaningful to the financial wellbeing of people and businesses. As the IoT grows and networks merge and evolve, we believe businesses will be more connected with their customers, their assets and each other. If IoT data can be shared securely it will create a multiplier effect and help break down industry borders.
While some of the technology behind and the use of the IoT is yet to be fully realised by global business, companies still see its potential to change the world.
To find out more, read the full report here.
