Even if you’ve never heard of the Internet of Things, or IoT, it likely plays a big part in your everyday life. Do you wear a Fitbit? Do you use Alexa to manage your shopping and to-do lists? Is your home monitored from afar with a smart camera? If so, the Internet of Things ecosystem is probably fairly ingrained in your life.
Even if you’re fairly familiar with IoT, the different terms and labels can be confusing. We’ll break that down below, based on a helpful article from Business Insider. We’ll also look a little more closely at the IoT ecosystem and how that is projected to grow in the coming years.
What is the Internet of Things?
Simply, it is the connection of devices to the Internet. The IoT devices that we use everyday are defined as standalone, Internet-connected devices that can be monitored or controlled remotely. Common examples of IoT devices include fitness trackers, digital assistants, smart thermostats and medical devices. The number of available IoT devices has skyrocketed in recent years, and will probably continue to increase in the foreseeable future.
The IoT Ecosystem
The Internet of Things ecosystem is the sort of central hub of IoT – the components that allow businesses and consumers to connect to their IoT devices. This includes networks, gateways, data storage, security, dashboards and more.
IoT Layers
There are three layers that allow devices to connect through the ecosystem:
- Physical layer: IoT device hardware
- Network layer: Transmits data collected by physical layer to different devices
- Application layer: Interfaces and protocols by which devices identify and communicate
The Future of the IoT Ecosystem
Business Insider predicts that 24 billion IoT devices will be connected to the internet by 2020, with businesses as the top adopter of IoT solutions. Governments will be the second-largest adopters. Consumers will adopt less quickly, but they will still invest a large amount of money into the IoT ecosystem. In sum, an estimated $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions between 2015 and 2020.
Ready to incorporate the Internet of Things ecosystem into your business?
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header image c/o computerweekly.com