The phase of digital disruption is represented by the Internet of Things (IoT), with the use of connected sensors, trackers, and devices to remotely monitor, collect, and analyze data in real-time.

With more “things” getting connected, companies are deriving invaluable insights to optimize operations, prevent downtime, boost efficiency, and tailor offerings.

A projected annual economic impact exceeding $11 trillion by 2025 highlights the transformative potential of IoT, but it also underscores the need for scrutiny due to data risks. 

Why is IoT innovation so important and provides a customer promise?

IoT innovation remotely orchestrates intricate systems, allowing organizations to allocate human capital to higher-order tasks. 

For example, Amazon utilizes over 15,000 warehouse robots that scan, transport, and stack product bins more efficiently than manual labor. Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational company, is the world’s second-largest metals and mining corporation. The company also leverages sensor data in mining equipment to forecast maintenance needs and minimize costly outages.

Precision helps companies save on labor, inventory, and infrastructure costs.

Walt Disney World’s MagicBand wrist devices track guest movements, allowing for personalized trip planning and prompting favorite character meet-ups. Smart product upgrades are also employed by firms to foster loyalty. Nespresso, for instance, developed Wi-Fi-connected coffee machines to detect when pod supplies run low and enable one-touch re-ordering.

The Vertuo system, known for intelligent barcode recognition, ensures precise brewing for the perfect coffee crema. The integration of Wi-Fi and software in these machines enables seamless connectivity through the incorporation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for enhanced functionality. The technological advancement aligns with Nespresso’s commitment to delivering a streamlined and user-friendly coffee experience.

 So, what do you think about it? Even though a lot of ugly discussions and debates are circulating around the world about the use of data, somehow companies are finding the best way to make use of the benefits of the latest innovation and provide a more customized, or, should I say, more personalized, way of delivering the products and letting it be a magical experience.

As we talk about the complexities, concerns, and challenges, IoT adoption lags projections due to barriers such as infrastructure costs, technical complexity, and skills gaps. Extracting action from torrents of real-time data also proves challenging. According to consulting firm Bain, there will be a shortage of over 1 million IoT analytics experts by 2027.

It’s quite strange that the data shows a massive gap between demand and supply. Privacy risks are one of the major areas for which consumers have issued warnings due to pervasive tracking and surveillance.

Often, the approach of personalized interactions has not been welcomed wholeheartedly; some of them found it to be creepy rather than helpful. The firms must balance convenience with transparency by clearly communicating how data is utilized. 

As estimated by the reports, an estimated 125 billion IoT devices will be deployed globally by 2030, and hackers will have innumerable network access points to exploit.

How can we not talk about the infamous incident that happened in 2016? Botnet attacks, exemplified by the Mirai malware, targeted diverse devices such as DVRs and smart bulbs, exploding IoT vulnerabilities to orchestrate large-scale Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

Millions of compromised IoT devices were harnessed to overwhelm websites with traffic, causing disruptions and crashes.

The scenario is quite real, complicated, and challenging, as the world is investing hugely in IoT devices for their unlimited benefits. Nobody knows how far the concerns are tackled strongly and firmly with appropriate measures, especially in the major customer-oriented sectors dealing with privacy issues.

Transparency, consensus, and choice are some of the preliminary and basic ground rules or measures that can be evoked at any moment. The real issue is setting the constraints in a way that can assure the safety of both the users and the providers.

Architect security measures such as access controls, encryption, and penetration testing are some of the strong procedures to stop the exploitation.

In my opinion, if we look at the overall picture, it’s quite a battle among the programmers and the hackers to really prove who is really smarter. If you read a lot of spy stories or cybersecurity crime-related issues, even the defenders are hacking the system to catch the bad guys.

It somehow strange that how high earnings are for the programmers, or, I should say, one of the highest salary packages are for the developers, but then also hackers have been able to defeat them whenever they want.

Why don’t we just ask the hackers to design a program that cannot be hacked at all? Well, just kidding, but the security and the safety concerns are the real concern that need to dealt with stringent rules to handle the high pace growth of the IoT industry.

 IoT’s are the real game changer with real-time analytics. The only issue is to resolve security and safety concerns. A selective deployment versus reactionary overreach can be a possible resolution.

Sources:- IoT Analytics, Supply Chain 24/7, The Power of preventive maintenance, Forbes, zdnet, seagate, Juniper Research , Nanoprecise, picterra, General Electric digital, spglobal, theverge, wirecutter, bytebeam, iot analytics, iottechnews, globalsign