The Internet of Things Now and Soon
Verizon has recently posted an infographic on What is the Internet of Things. The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined in Wikipedia as "a network of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items—embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data".The market potential for innovations here is enormous in a variety of industries: transportation, agriculture, utilities, and of course consumer.
For example, within the transportation industry alone, they are anticipating 152 million connected cars on the road by 2020. The IoT creates benefits both for end users and companies. It can make the world more convenient, improving day-to-day life with better services, healthcare, vehicles, reduced water use etc.
In addition, big data with descriptive and predictive analytics will create a wealth of information such as patters of consumer use, forecasting trends and even safer self-driving cars.
For business, the opportunities are boundless. For start-ups and developers, there is the chance to build apps on a common platform with APIs or to team up with enterprises and policy-makers to improve cities, homes, agriculture. And for investors, this is a space to investigate now.