The Internet of Things, or IoT, is not a new term or subject matter.  In fact, according to Datafloq, the term was coined in 1999, but the prediction of a connected world through handheld devices has been around since 1926.  While IoT has been discussed for years now, the way it is used is constantly changing and evolving.

IoT is commonly defined as, “a proposed development of the Internet, in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.” In September, we wrote about how the Internet of Things is the key to DoD commerce success. Turns out, it is beginning to impact pretty much every business industry.

In 2017, experts are predicting some big changes for businesses and the Internet of Things.

IoT’s not near, it’s here.

Gone are the days of discussing IoT as “the future”.  Many industries will be completely disrupted as companies around the world begin to use IoT technology in the every-day running of their business. 2016 was the year that a lot of groundwork was laid, but 2017 will be the year it all comes to fruition.  Read more here.

Smart business is the focus.

Over the last few years, IoT has been heavily focused on consumer products. From Amazon’s Alexa to self-driving cars, consumers are slowly but surely beginning to welcome the Internet of Things into their lives. But this year, there will be a large push for more businesses to use the technology. Sukamal Banerjee, executive vice president and global head, IoT Works and HCL Technologies says, “As per our 2016 global IoT survey, 38% of organizations have already started their IoT journey, and 57% are currently planning to, thus, making 2017 an inflection year for Industrial IoT adoption.” Read more here.

Business is getting personal.

With IoT devices, businesses will have greater access to data, ranging from consumer behavior to manufacturing inventory changes. Companies will take advantage of greater access to data by making decisions- such as product recommendations, effective advertising and sales decisions- based off their findings. This data will also prove to be convenient as studies show that executives want their companies to focus more on data, and less on intuition.  Read more here.

Inventory management continues to evolve.

The ability to view, track, and monitor inventory will continue to improve through integration with IoT.  RFID tags will be able to hold and communicate even more information about an object, such as temperature, weather, traffic, damage to the object, etc. This will reduce the number of lost items, better identify inefficiencies and help companies make more informed decisions.  Read more here.

Efficiency is King.

The Internet of Things will continue to allow employees to produce more and larger projects in less time.  They will be able to focus their efforts on the important aspects of the business, rather than inefficiencies and manual work. Not only will they complete projects faster, but they will be able to do so more accurately.  Read more here.

2017 will be a big year for the Internet of Things, and businesses in every industry will start to see changes.  We are excited to continue serving our clients with this growing technology.