The Internet Of Things

You might only have heard this expression recently (indeed you might never had heard of it) but, apparently this is a concept that has been around for some time.The term was coined around the turn of the millennium and refers to the potential interconnectivity of basically all electronic devices and capacity to record, monitor and transmit information between them to achieve all manner of wonderful (and maybe not-so-wonderful) outcomes.

There is a fair degree of polarization of views on both the likelihood and the desirability of this development. Those in favour reckon it could save literally trillions of dollars in the future and provide all sorts of benefits in healthcare, law enforcement, civic amenities, local government, environmental areas etc. The skeptics say it is just too big an idea, there is no infrastructure or codified standards and anyway how good a plan is it to put that much faith in, and dependence on, machines and share that much personal data with who-knows who? For example, if machines end up running everything what happens if there is a cyber-attack?

This all sounds very futuristic and, to be truthful, it probably is some way off. But a lot of the ideas and principles are already available and being used and there are products and systems on the market that precursor the concept and offer a glimpse of what might be possible and achievable in the future. Governments are getting interested and involved (the UK government recently earmarked £45m to help the development of related products) and savvy companies in the hi-tech area are gearing themselves to take advantage of the current technology and cover any advances and innovations as they occur.

The market will, doubtless, offer commercial opportunities and with them, the potential for considerable financial gain for those brave and astute enough to invest in the right companies. How to discover and identify which these might be will not be so easy but Google’s recent acquisition of Nest might be a good indicator to use.

This collection looks at the ‘Internet of things’ critically and objectively; what it is, what it means, who will control it and what the benefits and obstacles might be. It also looks at some of the businesses that might be important players in its development and could deliver a lot of the technologies and products that make the concept a reality. So, if you’re looking for a fridge that orders your groceries this might be a good place to start…