“Statistically Speaking” – The Internet of Things

Statistically Speaking

The Internet of Things
By Amy Fortier
January 15, 2016

The Internet of Things (IoT) is somewhat of a misnomer.  The hype surrounding IoT is less about the “things” and more about the data harvested by those things.  IoT is already a key aspect of our day-to-day lives.  From shoppers’ club cards to Google Maps traffic data and rerouting, businesses mine data to make strategic decisions or put that data at the fingertips of their customers to help them make their day-to-day choices.

By the year 2020:

  • Between 30 and 50 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the Internet of Things.
  • 35 exabytes (one Exabyte equals 1 quintillion bytes) of information will be exchanged on mobile devices each month.
  • 90% of cars will be connected to the internet, approximately a quarter of a billion vehicles.
  • Over two-thirds of consumers plan on purchasing connective technology for their homes.
  • Smart thermostats will have 43% adoption.
  • 2 million articles of smart clothing will be shipped to consumers.
  • The convergence of machines, data, and analytics will be a $200+ billion global industry.
  • The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag industry will increase to $21.9 billion from $11.1 billion.

Challenges to IoT technology:

  • Infrastructure and Scalability – Robust wi-fi systems, networks, broadband, and infrastructure will be needed to handle the increase of data, and network space increased to manage and process that data.
  • Security – Security and privacy will be ongoing concerns as companies without computer security experience develop new connected devices.
  • Unique Identifiers – The current IP address system allows only 4.3 billion unique addresses so will need to be upgraded to the proposed IPv6 system with its much larger address space that allows 3.4 x 1038
  • Environmental – Obsolescence of old devices lends itself to increased waste of items containing electronics with heavy metals and rare-earth metals that are difficult to reuse or recycle.

Read more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things

http://www.zdnet.com/article/who-really-owns-your-internet-of-things-data/

http://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-opinion/2016/01/11/the-internet-of-things-is-not-about-the-things/

http://www.cmo.com/articles/2015/4/13/mind-blowing-stats-internet-of-things-iot.html