Defining IoT: What is It and Why Do We Need It? | Umair Yasin Chicago | Entrepreneurship

The Internet of Things — commonly called IoT — is named as one of the developments that will have the most significant effect on transforming life as we know it.

In terms of technology, it’s right up there with artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing, big data analytics, and Everything as a Service (EaaS). Many people already have a general idea of IoT, but let’s define it more clearly.

IoT is when all kinds of devices are connected to the internet so that their functionality can be significantly enhanced. This includes any imaginable device you can think of — the lights in your home, your home’s thermostat, door locks, a coffee maker, your car, solar panels, your TV/entertainment center, a robotic carpet sweeper, and so much more.

What is the advantage of connecting all this stuff to the internet? The answer to that is more wide-ranging and multifaceted than you might imagine.

The most obvious advantage is that it gives us control over all our objects remotely. We can be located anywhere and access all of our “things” using a smartphone or a computer.

For example, if you’re at work and want to program the oven to start cooking dinner to be ready in the time it takes you to commute back home. You can turn the lights on or off in your home while on vacation in Europe, Africa, China, or anywhere.

That’s just for starters, however. Another capability offered by IoT is that it allows each device to collect and store data. The analysis of data is beneficial in multiple ways. While there is probably little value in a toaster collecting data, the actual practicality of data capability becomes evident in a business and industrial setting.

In business, IoT allows managers to streamline many production-related functions, resulting in hugely significant increased efficiencies. This, in turn, can save millions of dollars. It can enable them to serve customers better, drastically reduce manufacturing errors, increase energy efficiency, and much more.

IoT also allows all devices to “talk to each other.” Thus, all functionalities of the many devices to run our lives can be coordinated. This results in high degrees of efficiency that are transformative in their effect.

Originally published at https://umairyasinchicago.com on January 11, 2022.