Internet of Things was probably one of the obscure technologies at some point, when people were apprehensive about it, as they didn't know much about it. But that time has long gone. IoT has now become the technology of the masses. Everyone is ready to adopt IoT solutions, to employ the best IoT developers, and own IoT devices.
In the view of such popularity, it's only fair that we should be looking at what trends IoT would be following in the coming time:
Inter-connected Devices on a Rise
We are right now in the middle of a great revolution that goes by the name of The Internet of Things development. And this revolution has already resulted in us being surrounded by a huge number of smart devices today.
So obviously, this New Year and years coming after this one, are all going to be looking at an increase in such devices. Plus, with developers working on making these devices connect better than ever before, we could be looking at something as simple as toothbrushes getting smarter.
Everything around us is to become more interconnected, get better at exchanging and analyzing data and is to eventually help people make better decisions.
IoT and Mobile Phones: The Age-Old Relationship
Talking about technology, the biggest one is probably the one that we carry everywhere with us. Our mobile phones, Such is the power of mobile phones on our daily lives, that people are increasingly trying to connect them with everything around them - so they don't have to worry about carrying some other device as some sort of remote control.
Mobile phone, irrespective of which brand it belongs to today, has become a brand in itself. The smart IoT devices would, therefore, be expected to make the smart decision of connecting well with their owners' mobile phones.
The streamlined communication, the all-time visibility of the device - these factors will definitely help in boosting customer engagement in the coming time.
Data Security Risk and Information Breaches
With everything being interconnected, smart devices are bound to also create some security issues for us. 9 out of 10 IoT developers have had the same concern regarding this technology, and their fears are not without a ground.
Whether it's our television, or it's the baby monitor - everything that we thought was completely harmless could now easily be used as a medium of cyber attack. The safety and exchange of all our important information are not going to remain limited to our Smartphone anymore.
Every piece of data that we, in one way or the other, keep generating on a daily basis, will be at the risk of getting wither misused, misinterpreted, or just plain stolen. And there'll be little you could do about it. 2018, therefore, is looking at an increased risk of information breach due to IoT.
Creative Use of Blockchain for IoT
We've all heard about Blockchain, and it would be safe to say that we are all in awe of the way it works. Offering a decentralized control option, it makes use of highly advanced cryptographic algorithms to develop a secure system.
Doesn't it sound like an optimum solution to tackle the privacy and security threat that IoT devices are or might be facing in the now or the future? Using Blockchain to ensure the privacy of any and all IoT data exchanges, would further ensure that if by chance a single device does get corrupted, no other device will bear the brunt.
The decentralized security system will make it difficult to compromise all devices in the chain; the whole system will, therefore, be better secured.
Growing Investments
The impact of IoT on the world around us is so palpable, that no one can now look away from it. Business owners are looking for the interconnectivity offered by IoT and adopting it in their own models.
Many are even designing their whole business models based on IoT. If you too are looking at the prospect of IoT applications for your business, you're doing just the right thing.
Bsquare did a study, and it found that 86% companies are adopting IoT solutions, while 95%, in addition, believe IoT could be a sound solution. This has further led to a global IoT spending that would near $1.4 trillion by 2021, assays IDC report. So, 208 could be looking at investments rising as high as... well, there's no saying how high it could go.
So, where's IoT Taking Us?
It's taking us through technological crevices to technological heights, which we never knew existed - which seemed unimaginable until some time before. The potential for this technology has always been immense.
Throughout this time, since it came into inception, Internet of Things has had a huge impact on how we communicate with the devices around us, how we build and digitize our businesses, and how we exchange and even monetize data.
IoT has made us ride this amazing multi-trillion dollar ride while changing our concept of connectivity, privacy, and business in general. Talking of security, it sure has been giving us all a bit of a hard time; but every day, developers are working hard at building ultra sophisticated protocols to maintain our privacy in an IoT-influenced world.