“The internet of everything is going to change the world’ said Phil Smith, chief executive of Cisco UK and Ireland in June this year in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. But what does that really mean?
“The IoT (Internet of things) is beginning to take shape around us. The key infrastructure – the hardware and software applications are already available or in development. The IoT is starting to change the way we live, work, shop and transact,” said Anton Le Saux of O2 Telefónica UK.
By 2020, nearly 26 billion physical devices will be transmitting data to each other via the internet. Over 9 billion devices are already connected to the internet – with 9.5 trillion bytes of data created every 24 hours.
‘Things’ will have a kind of intelligence – responding to our needs, servicing themselves and sharing information with other technologies. Businesses will be able to harvest colossal volumes of data from the machines about our interactions with them – hence the term ‘big data’.
The world is also changing to tackle the security challenges that all of this presents. Privacy-enhancing technology is being improved to protect sensitive data. Governments are updating regulations to protect personal information. And other members of the ‘ecosystem’ are taking action to keep us protected.
The opportunities
There are various ways in which businesses can benefit from the IoT.
It will make it easier for businesses to have visibility from one end of the supply chain to the other. The IoT will help companies create new value streams and processes that accelerate time to market and enable a rapid response to customer needs. Organisations will be able to capture more data about their processes and products to improve operational efficiency and increase customer loyalty.
Lastly, access to information from autonomous ‘things’ will enable organisations to make on-the-fly decisions on pricing, logistics, sales and support. The revolution is already well underway. It’s just a question of when businesses will join it.
By Anton Le Saux, Head of Connectivity and Partner Sales at O2 Telefónica UK & Ireland
