April 19, 2021

IoT Definition for “Newbies”

The Internet of Things, often referred to as “IoT”, is a combination of two structural components: Information technology (IT) and Operational Technology.

IoT consists of devices that are enabled to communicate Machine to Machine (M2M) using embedded sensors, processors, and hardware to transmit data through an internet connection. The devices are programmed to send and receive data for collection and analysis remotely without human intervention.

The Internet of Things is observably the most rapidly growing segment in the technology industry based on multiple contributing factors. First, there has been significant advancements in internet speed connection, coverage, and affordability. Secondly, there is an abundance of available wireless technologies. Lastly, with new battery technologies, there is an influx in the number of affordable sensors and actuators. This progress has prompted manufacturers to develop internet-based business opportunities by creating innovative devices that are intraoperative versus previous standalone versions.

A few of the business industries that would benefit considerably from Enterprise IoT solutions include:

Although the business operations of these industries may differ, Enterprise IoT solutions provide common advantages with high level automated processes, such as the following:

Management of multiple vital remote assets (things)
Remote data collection from devices (communication channels), data storage and access (cloud data centers)
Mass volume data processing (Big Data analysis)
Real-time or predictive maintenance of the assets (business intelligence, AI)
Provision of the uninterrupted business flow (enterprise level integration)

Due to the rapid increase in Big Data analytics, such as machine learning, machine vision and image recognition, and AI technologies, automation extends beyond routine operations to data-driven decision making.