Everywhere you look, The Internet of Things has become a leading technology in connecting every known device to the online world. While many people thought it a joke to connect things like refrigerators and other common household appliances to the Internet, it’s now very real and in practice.
Even so, you may still feel a bit perplexed about the “Things” in Internet of Things. As someone who’s perhaps moving into the technology field, it’s essential you start learning about what IoT does since you may have to use it yourself.
You can start your learning by looking at the different connected devices out there and how people interact with them. Plus, examining how IoT can provide access to useful data is worth exploring as well.
Once you start to experience or work with IoT, you’ll see how it’s changing the way we do everything.
How Many Things Will We See Connected?
Many statistics keep floating around about how many things we’ll see connected to the Internet over the next few years. Official reports give slightly lower numbers than what some estimated a couple of years ago. At one time, for example, IBM said we’d see one trillion devices connected by now.
Obviously, it’s a little less, yet still substantial. Gartner is one saying we’re currently at 6.4 billion connected devices, despite other figures going slightly higher through 2017.
The point is, a lot of things connect online, yet it’s worth noting the future “things” being connected are still up in the air. So much more is still being designed and developed as we write this piece. In other words, we may see some things we never expected become connected before the next decade begins.
Even so, let’s look at what you can connect now and what impact this makes on a business like yours.
Smart TV’s
According to most statistics, Smart TV’s are the most popular connected devices in the world, though far from the most useful. Since on-demand entertainment is already a mainstay, it’s interesting to see most people still prefer to watch this content on a real TV.
Nevertheless, you’ll find many who do the same on connected mobile devices. They also watch this content through connected devices like Apple TV or gaming consoles.
While this is a basic part of The Internet of Things, what about practical devices helping to make businesses run more efficiently?
Smart Thermostats
You’ve probably aware of Nest that started the smart thermostat trend. A lot more exists beyond Next, and it’s worth thinking about investing in one of these for more energy efficiency in your business.
One called the ecobee3 is a Wi-Fi thermostat working smarter than others on the market. It has sensors picking up temperatures from other rooms for a more intelligent response to heating and cooling.
Smart Lighting
To show how far-ranging IoT is for businesses in helping save money, smart lighting is already becoming mainstream. A smart lighting system from Philips controlled from a mobile app is a good example of what’s possible.
A starting kit like this enables LED bulbs, all of which last for more than a decade. The point is in being able to control your lights after you leave the office rather than manual shutdown.
Using IoT for Data
Outside of many more devices and appliances being labeled “smart” and connected, it’s data where IoT can become the most useful.
Big data is a big part of IoT, and it’ll be in the zettabytes by the next decade. Predictive analytics have already become a practical IoT friend to many businesses. By relying on this data, you’ll know how to predict ROI outcomes and stay more competitive in your tech field.
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