Discuss about the Internet of Things for Office Work and Investments.
In today’s fast pacing business world, organisations rely on technological advancements in providing effective products and services to their customers and generate a competitive advantage. The speed of innovation in the electronic field is parallel with the innovations on the internet and online based platforms. With the popularity of smartphones and high-speed internet access, the number of online-based services has increased substantially. People use their smartphones to connect to the internet for surfing the web and perform various other activities such as banking, office work, investments, entertainment and others. Many products and services have launched in the market which connects with people’s smartphones or other electronic devices for collecting data in order to provide customised services to users (Jadhav & Gidveer, 2012). The internet is widely used as a mode of communication in the modern world, and a large number of populations rely on internet services for professional and personal work.
However, in the past few years, the use of smart and connected electronic devices has grown along with the popularity of the internet of things (IoT). The IoT technology is referred to a network of physical vehicles, home appliances, devices or other interrelated computer devices which have unique identifiers and ability to transfer and share data over a network without any human assistance. Many enterprises are investing in the IoT technology because it provides a potential market to them which has substantial opportunities as the technology has the ability to change and positively influence people’s lives (Gubbi, Buyya, Marusic & Palaniswami, 2013). This report will focus on defining the internet of things technology and how the technology operates. This report will evaluate how IoT technology can change people’s lives in both positive and negative manner. Furthermore, examples of IoT application and network protocols which are designed specifically for IoT technology will be analysed in the report.
The IoT technology is referred to billions of physical devices which are connected through a network to collect and share data. It is referred to the idea of everyday objects which are connected to each other through the internet, and they collect and share the user data with each other (Lee & Lee, 2015). In simple words, an electronic device which is connected to the internet and/or to each other is referred to an IoT device. The examples of IoT devices include washing machines, lamps, wearable devices, coffee makers, refrigerators, television, security systems, headphones and many other devices. The IoT technology is becoming an increasing growing conversational topic between people and in the workplace. The technology has the ability to change how people live along with how they work.
The technology has been growing at a significant pace as more users such as businesses, customers and government institutes recognise the benefits of connected devices and how they are using it to improve their operations. According to a report posted by Business Insider, in 2015, there are over 10 billion IoT devices were connected through the internet and the number is expected to grow up to 34 billion by 2020 (Gillpress, 2016). The report further provided that the global market of IoT system will invests nearly $6 trillion in next five years. Furthermore, by 2025, the revenue for IoT system investments will more likely to generate revenue of $13 trillion (Gillpress, 2016). Organisations are eagerly gearing up for making significant investments in the IoT technology because they can leverage the IoT solutions to achieving essential metrics such as:
-reduction in the operating costs
-expansion of new markets
-increased productivity
-development of new products
The IoT devices have built-in sensors which are connected to the internet of things platform or network. This network integrates the data which is collected from different IoT devices and applies analytics to share the valuable information with an application which is built to collect such information and use it for addressing specific needs (Xia, Yang, Wang & Vinel, 2012). An effective IoT system can evaluate which information is useful for its operations and which can safely be ignored. This technology uses the information to detect patterns in the data, make recommendations, and detect potential issues which are might occurred.
The technology enables big data which consists of all the web-enabled devices that collect, share and process the information which are acquired by them from their surrounding environments by using communication hardware, embedded sensors and processors. The devices which are connected through an IoT platform are referred as “smart” or “connected” devices which can talk with each other and act based on the information collected from others (Madakam, Ramaswamy & Tripathi, 2015). This process is known as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication in which the devices perform their actions based on the information that they collect from other devices.
Connected devices generate large amounts of internet traffic which include loads of data that can be substantially useful for devices but organisations can also mine it for other purposes. However, the growth in new data raises both privacy and security concerns. The IoT technology is gaining popularity because it provides a level of real-time information which has never been possible before (Minerva, Biru & Rotondi, 2015). People can monitor their home and family members remotely though IoT networks in order to keep them safe. On the other hand, businesses can use the IoT devices for increasing their productivity by reducing material waste and unforeseen downtime. Electronic sensors situated throughout the city can help in reducing road congestion and warn people about infrastructure dangers. The popularity of IoT technology is expected to hit the mainstream by 2020 (Figure 1). Following are different ways in which IoT technology can change lives.
Over half of the world’s population lives in cities, and according to the study of the United Nations, the figure can reach 66 percent by mid-century (United Nations, 2014). Due to overpopulation in cities, issues such as climate change, rising sea levels, severe weather conditions, global warming and others have increased. However, implementation of IoT based systems can make urban life more attractive, for example, safe street lighting, energy efficient buildings, and fast, convenient transportation systems (Zanella, Bui, Castellani, Vangelista & Zorzi, 2014). For example, in Barcelona, the government has established a citywide Wi-Fi infrastructure which is linked with sensors, software and data analytics platform which enable various processes such as smart water technology, remote controlled irrigation parks, automated street lighting, on-demand waste pickups, smart parking meters and digital business routes (Adler, 2016). The implementation of IoT based infrastructure has reduced traffic jams in the city, pollution and use of light, water and energy.
In 2015, over 9 million people died due to dirty air and water because cities such as Beijing and Delhi are suffering from chronic pollution (Pierre, 2017). Other than highly populated cities, many other cities are facing serious issued due to dirty air and water. In London, over 9000 people died due to air pollution which increases the requirements of IoT based infrastructure for improving the quality of air and water in cities (Massey, 2017). In London, Drayson Technologies is testing new sensors which are distributed to fuel-cell cars and bicycle couriers; these sensors transmit data to a smartphone via Bluetooth which create a real-time map that shows air population throughout the city. Another example is Aclima which is an environmental sensing start-up situated in Oakland, California. The company has partnered with researchers from the University of Texas, EDF and Google to create a highly detailed block-by-block map of air pollution in the city (Aclima, 2017). The corporation uses a fleet of Google Street View vehicles which have specialised sensors to measure air pollution in the city which helps policymakers in identifying the key contributors of air pollution in the city and address such issues to reduce pollution.
The IoT technology has a significant impact on the healthcare industry because it helps doctors in gaining faster access to patients’ data by using technologies such as wearable and other sensors which are connected to the internet, and they collect and share data of the patient in real time such as pulse, heart rate and blood pressure (Kulkarni & Sathe, 2014). Although there are few concerns regarding the safety of collecting and transmitting data, still, wearable is most promising technology in the healthcare.
The IoT technology has a significant impact on the smart home industry with solutions ranging from security systems, smart thermostats, smart appliances and energy management products. These devices can be controlled by users from remote locations. Many devices such as water heaters have already become a major consumer appliance, and customers use them because they improve the economics and performance during peak usage periods (Piyare, 2013). Furthermore, companies such as Nest are launching new IoT based security devices which are connected to the internet and accessed by users from their smartphones. People can check the real-time feed from their home security cameras in their smartphones, or even smartwatches and the technology notifies them when they sense an intruder.
The IoT technology has broken many barriers in professional and user-generated content due to possibilities of high-quality data capturing and display capabilities. The process of social networking and media entertainment has become seamless continuum (Turner, Gantz, Reinsel & Minton, 2014). For example, if a person is watching a cooking show, the television can communicate with the smart refrigerator to enable timely access to needed ingredients.
Along with benefits, there are several issues relating to the IoT technology as well, and the main concerns are relating to privacy and security of data. One of the potential threats to the IoT technology is that it collects the personal data of users in order to operate properly which increases the risk of data breach. In order to work effectively, IoT devices connect and communicates with each other to provide customises solutions for users. These devices have unique identifications, and they are connected through a single network through which they collect and share data with other IoT devices (Roman, Zhou & Lopez, 2013). For example, the smartwatch can sense the temperature of a person and make adjustments to the temperature of the room. Although these are a number of advantages of connected devices however it also means that cyber criminals and hacking into a single device to collect data from others as well.
Every IoT devices are connected with each other, and they continuously share personal and sensitive data of people with each other. The cybercriminals can hack into the network in order to easily collect data from users as well. In order to increase their market share, organisations are continuously launching new IoT products to capture the market due to which they are not focusing of improving the security of their devices which makes the process of hacking easier for cybercriminals (Sicari, Razzardi, Grieco & Coen-Porisini, 2015). For example, the Mirai Botnet aka Dyn attack is considered as one of the worst example of hacking and vulnerability in the IoT history. The attack occurred in October 2016, and it is considered as one of the largest DDoS attacks on service provider Dyn by use of IoT botnet (Kumar, 2017). The attack resulted in bring down the services of many large corporations such as Netflix, the Guardian, CNN, Twitter, and Reddit. Another example is founding of major security flaw in the security cameras of NeoCoolCam through which they can easily be hacked from outsiders when they are on the network (Palmer, 2017).
Network protocols are referred to formal policies and standards which include various procedures, formats and rules that define communication between two or more devices which are connected through a single network. The network protocols govern the end-to-end procedures of a communication between two or more devices in order to ensure timely, secured and managing data. In case of IoT technology, it is used in a huge range of industries which include devices that are single constrained to fully embedded technology and cloud systems which are connected with each other in real time (Sheng, Yang, Yu, Vasilakos, Mccann & Leung, 2013). There are a number of network protocols used in the IoT technology for emerging communication protocols which enables the devices to talk with each other in more interconnected ways. Following is a breakdown of the network protocols in different layers which are used specifically for IoT technology:
Communication
Infrastructure
Data Protocols
These protocols ensure fast, secure and reliable communication between IoT devices based on different processes which resulted in promoting the application of the technology.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the role of IoT technology has increased substantially in the past few years for business and customers, and they use it improves the efficiency of operations making their lives easier. Studies have shown that the IoT technology has significant potential and it can be used by organisations and the general public. The technology connects electronic devices to a single network which enables them to collect and share data with other in order to perform various functions as per the requirements of the users. The technology has the ability to change people lives positively, however, there are few issues with the implementation of this technology as well. The technology can be used for creating smart cities, cleaning air and water, programmable homes, smart home appliances, smart healthcare and others which improve people’s lives positively. However, the technology also increases the risk of privacy and security breaches which could increase issued for people and businesses. Various examples of the application of IoT technology include smart appliances, security systems, smart city infrastructure, smart wearable, smart healthcare and others. The network protocols of IoT technology include Bluetooth, NFC, IPv6, DDS, 3G & 4G, Ethernet and others. The technology has the potential to change people lives, and effective implementation of the technology will reduce its challenges in the future and positively influence people’s lives.
References
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