From Information Superhighway to the Internet of Things, “Everything” is Evolving

We have all heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT applies to physical objects that we use, such as computers, cars, mobile phones and other everyday devices. A white paper from Cisco predicts that by 2020, the number of internet-connected devices will reach a staggering 50 billion globally. A newer trend being coined by Cisco is the “Internet of Everything” or IoE.

The IoE extends the definition of IoT and includes people, processes, data and things, which is pretty much everything. IoE includes a level of hyper-connectedness for anything and everything that connects to the internet, such as applications, data and Application Program Interfaces (API). First National Technology Solutions  (FNTS) already is helping businesses manage and integrate all connections that IoE currently includes.

Think of IoE as a busy intersection where people come from the north, processes come from the south, data comes from the east and things come from the west. It is essential that when all of this virtual traffic meets at the nucleus of this intersection, all traffic must operate and interact without crashing or coming to a halt. The light must stay green in all directions, and it can’t be overwhelmed by the volume of traffic to ensure all of it is kept safe. We have come a long way from the information superhighway!

Piecing this technology puzzle together with the infrastructure and partnerships to create efficient digital roadways for streets busier than ever before lends itself to a future with immense opportunities for businesses to form relationships with new industries and for people to make new connections with devices. For example, Nike’s connected sports clothing and gear is now playing in the healthcare market, and Google is a developing player in the automobile market with its autonomous driving vehicle technology. To make it all work, businesses will need to partner with a managed services provider like FNTS to collect and store the volume of big data needed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and business intelligent tools to analyze it. Enabled by the IoE, enterprises can develop enhanced ways to use data to make the right business decisions in the shortest amount of time possible.

Designing roadways for all of this traffic to seamlessly merge will help improve the way cities, industries and people operate. IoE is expected to be a driving force behind critical infrastructure for municipalities and entities as more people, processes, data and things join the IoE ecosystem.

For example, smart cities can use data collected from traffic patterns to allow signals to self-adjust during gridlock or an accident to create a better flow of traffic. Cars can use the imagery from their cameras in real time to help drivers avoid collisions. Developing machines that can see, learn and auto-adjust based off of data collected, is just another benefit of IoE.  

With IoT, machine learning and AI working together as part of IoE, there are opportunities for businesses to use these technologies to get the most out of the data they’re collecting, which can lead to customer loyalty and new business.