What Is The Internet Of Things (IoT)? (2024)

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is the name given to a network of devices that can connect to the internet and exchange data, both with other IoT-enabled devices and centralized cloud servers.

Types of IoT devices available on the market include all devices and digital appliances that can connect to the internet and exchange data, such as virtual home assistants, smartwatches, wearables, drones, lights, baby monitors and home appliances.

Some of the most well-known consumer examples of IoT devices include Amazon Alexa, Google Home, the Apple Watch and Ring. According to Statista, there are 17.08 billion connected IoT devices as of 2024.

Many IoT devices use physical sensors to collect data on their local environment, and can be interacted with remotely by users. For example, IoT-enabled light systems can measure the brightness and intensity of local lighting, and increase or decrease this value based on user input.

IoT devices will forward locally collected data to an IoT gateway, a central hub that will forward this data to a cloud server where it can be processed via a SaaS app. For instance, a logistics provider might use a data analytics app to measure how many orders were fulfilled on time.

The IoT is important because it unlocks new capabilities in both consumer and enterprise environments.

In home environments, consumers can use IoT-enabled smart devices to change their home lighting, adjust the temperature, interact with kitchen appliances, turn on the radio, see who’s at the front door, open the garage and check their heart health via a smartwatch remotely.

In business environments, there are three main reasons for their importance. These are as follows:

1. Collecting New Data

First and foremost, IoT devices provide organizations with the ability to collect and process data from devices at the edge of a network. This data can be used to generate new insights into a company’s operations, which can be used to enhance its decision making by highlighting ways that these processes could be optimized or improved.

For example, IoT devices can be used to monitor stock in real time, giving a business an opportunity to see when goods need to be restocked. Likewise, an organization can monitor physical equipment to see when it requires maintenance.

2. Automating Tasks

Using IoT-enabled devices also provides new opportunities to automate manual tasks, or at the very least, to interact with infrastructure remotely. Automating tedious manual processes enables human workers to complete their responsibilities faster.

If an organization is using IoT devices to track the stock of physical goods, then human employees don’t need to check stock manually, because they can check a centralized cloud solution to view this information.

3. Cutting Costs

Finally, these benefits in efficiency can help to reduce costs for the business as a whole. Collecting and processing data in real time gives organizations the feedback and insights they need to continuously improve their efficiency. This means that a company has ample opportunity to become more cost-effective over time.

There are some significant pros and cons to consider when adopting IoT technology, which include:

Pros

• Collecting data from multiple devices to process and develop insights
• Unlocking/enabling new processes remotely
• Continuously optimizing operational efficiency
• Improved decision making
• Remotely monitoring and managing assets and resources
• Better predicting and forecasting trends and maintenance
• Creating new revenue streams via product-as-a-service models
• Improving employee safety (e.g., monitoring conditions in manufacturing environments)

Cons

• IoT devices require a stable connection to the internet
• Devices from different manufacturers might not integrate
• Maintaining and managing IoT devices can be challenging
• IoT devices need to be protected against threat actors
• Employees will need to be trained on how to use them

There are a number of technologies that hold up IoT devices. At a high level, this includes:

• Sensors: IoT devices use sensors and actuators to detect changes in the local environment. Sensors can detect changes in heat, humidity, light or pressure, whereas actuators can detect physical changes in the environment.
• Communication technologies: A range of communication technologies including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are used to enable IoT devices to communicate with each other so they can share data with other devices and the cloud.
• Cloud computing: The cloud is the central point of an IoT network where the data generated by IoT devices can be processed and analyzed by the end user.
• Big data analytics: Big data analytics is a key technology used to help users process and make sense of the data collected by IoT devices. This helps them to identify patterns and extract insights more easily.
• Artificial intelligence: Many devices including Alexa and Google Home use AI technologies such as natural language processing (NLP) to respond to user inputs and natural language queries on IoT devices locally.

There are a wide range of IoT applications across different industries. These include:

Health care

One of the most promising areas where IoT devices are used is within healthcare. With IoT devices, doctors and medical providers can monitor patient conditions remotely.

For instance, a doctor can give a patient a wearable that measures their heart rate or blood pressure to help identify health conditions and improve treatment options. They can also help to alert doctors when a patient’s condition has deteriorated and prompt emergency care.

IoT devices can also be used in hospitals to assist with inventory management, helping to monitor the location and availability of medication and equipment that’s used to help treat patients.

Manufacturing

Another key use case for IoT devices is in the manufacturing industry, where they can be used to monitor the performance of machines, track the location of assets in real time, identify equipment failure, conduct predictive maintenance, monitor inventory and provide insights on how to improve overall efficiency.

For example, if IoT is used to monitor equipment status, sensors on the local device can measure local conditions and assess whether the machine is operating at peak performance. If it’s not working as intended, the device can issue an alert so that the manufacturer can conduct maintenance, remove it from operation or replace it.

Retail

Finally, in retail environments, IoT devices such as RFID sensors and smart tags can be used to track and manage store inventory in real time. This enables vendors to optimize their stock more effectively and make sure that they always have the inventory available necessary to meet customer demand.

Retailers can also use IoT devices to gather information on customer activity, to unlock insights into what type of products they’ve purchased in the past, and what they’re most likely to purchase in the future.

IoT devices have the power to transform how consumers and enterprises interact with their local environment. Simply by connecting everyday devices to the internet, users have access to a range of insights, data and interactions that they wouldn’t have had access to in a more traditional IT environment.

Having real-time visibility and control over devices helps to improve consumers’ lives while making organizations function more efficiently. Ultimately, this visibility opens the door to significant opportunities for growth and continuous improvement.