Everything You Need To Know About Internet Of Things

Surely many of you are familiar with the word Internet of Things in recent times. In this article, we will explain what it is and the importance it is reaching in the world of ICTs.

The term IoT (Internet of Things) refers to the connection of the most diverse objects of daily life with the Internet. This concept could include cases such as the connection of household appliances, lights, alarms, cars … so that we can manage them completely remotely, in the best case, or at least know if they are on, their location or if they work correctly. in the simplest cases.

Currently, so-called smart homes allow online heating, lights, open or close blinds. This may not seem too new, but imagine how in the not too distant future, our smart fridge will be able to read the dates of expiration of food, or even automatically order our favorite products from our trusted store as our stock decreases. We will forget about visiting the supermarket to buy milk, eggs, yogurts … and our refrigerator will do the orders for us, orders that, of course, will arrive on the desired day and time, and will be paid for online through our subscription or credit card.

There are a large number of machines that are already connected today: vending machines that send any error report to the maintenance service, or updated stock to the replacement manager. Traffic lights can be remotely managed by changing their frequency depending on the traffic at all times … with the Internet of Things technology.

There’s been a lot of talks lately about autonomous driving. In a few years, it will be feasible to buy a car that can drive itself, without any human action, that can pick us up from work at the desired time or that takes us on a trip while we watch a movie, work or just sleep. Behind autonomous driving there are a large number of devices and sensors, connected to the internet, that would also fall into the category of the Internet of Things IoT.

The huge increase in the number of connected devices is why the IP v4 addressing protocol is being replaced by IP v6, which supports many more addresses (devices connected simultaneously). We are talking about figures that many may surprise, but that is already scarce in the ”old” IPv4:

Total IPv4: 4,294,967,296 addresses
Total IPv6: 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses.
The new generation of mobile communications, which is currently under development (5G) and which will be available in the coming years, will greatly improve the possibilities of the IoT due to the fact that it has the following advantages over the existing 4G technology:
Up to 90% reduction in network energy consumption
Latency (time it takes to receive a data packet) of 1 millisecond: the data will be updated in real time and we will forget about transmission delays
Bandwidth up to 10 Gbps
Great improvement in coverage, approaching 100% of the territory where it is established and avoiding “dark” areas such as the interior of buildings
IoT and 5G will be a real revolution in our lives in the medium and long term. With these technologies our day to day will change substantially. We will live hyperconnected: cars, appliances, and even our clothes will carry sensors that will make life easier for us. Like any technological novelty, it will imply a change in the human mindset to avoid abuse, and a greater global awareness of computer security.

Internet of Things-Its impact on competitiveness

For some time now, rivers of ink have been pouring around the Internet of Things. And it is not for less: the figures show its enormous economic projection, it has begun to study its repercussion in the Industry, and it is already talking about how it will transform the competitiveness of companies. Some studies have been devoted to this last point, such as the one published by Harvard Business Review under the title ”How smart, connected products are transforming competition”.

In it, the keys that help to understand how the Internet of Things will affect competitiveness are pointed out, after other technological revolutions before, such as the automation of information processes in the 1960s, and the appearance of the Internet. in the 90s:

.The ”smart” and connected products will unite: monitoring, control, optimization and autonomy.
They will require new technological platforms
That facilitate connectivity between products;
That they provide a space, such as the cloud, where to create databases that feed on the information sent by the products;
That they have analysis tools to convert the data sent by the products into valuable information;
That incorporate access to products from applications, improving their operability;
That they are equipped with the appropriate security measures;
That are consulted before the creation, manufacture and launch of a product. They will change business strategy: the Internet of Things will shape how companies create value and differentiate themselves from each other.

From design and manufacturing, to how to market them.

For example, when conceived as networked objects, connected with other products, they will practically be offered in packages or systems, as some manufacturers already do. For all these reasons, companies will have to decide whether they want to position themselves as manufacturers and distributors of systems, or of individual elements capable of integrating into technological platforms. They will force them to question about: why do we want these products; whether they will run autonomously or from the cloud; whether they will have an open or closed operating system in the Internet of Things; if its technological development will be done internally or externally;

what data will they capture, how your access will be managed?

If its distribution will be direct or through the channel;
If they will require modifying the business model;
If data will be sold to third parties. New panorama of winners and losers To fall on the winning side, companies must:
Attract and retain the right talent Think again about how to face the development of your products
Add value through the functionalities of your products In Internet of Things

We hope that this article has been of your interest and we remind you that we are at your disposal for any query related to the world of computing.

Also read: 5G Is Approaching At A Speed Of 2 Gbps/s. How Will It Change Our World?