The Internet of Things is more than a just buzzword. The term buzzword refers to something that is important, but it’s not necessarily going to continue to be important. Everybody’s talking about it one minute, and it’s gone the next. However, the Internet of Things is more than just a fleeting buzzword. It’s rapidly becoming an integral part of manufacturing.
The finish line for IoT is everything connected to everything. Not just two machines in a factory that adjust their actions in response to each other, but complete inter-connectivity. For example, you would have factory machinery altering production based on the data for demand supplied by store shelves.
There’s no doubt that the Internet of technology is the future; however, many people view IoT as some far off thing that we are working to reach and striving to achieve. The truth is, the Internet of Things is alive and well.
Verizon Communications recently released a report that examines the current state of the Internet of Things. The company says for something to be included as a part of IoT, it must be aware, autonomous, and actionable. This means that something must be able to sense information, independently deliver this information, and the delivered information has to be useful. IoT is about collecting data, and using that information to make improvements.
According to the report, there are 1.2 billion devices that are connected through IoT, and it’s expected that there will be nearly five times as many connections by 2020.
Manufacturing is already seeing a huge jump in IoT application. Between 2013 and 2014, manufacturing saw a 204% increase in machine to machine connections.
Verizon’s report also makes a very intriguing prediction about manufacturing. It says that twenty years from now, manufacturers will generate more revenue from services than from selling products. The idea is that IoT will make maintenance contracts more effective and more profitable for manufacturers.
While many of our machines and devices are currently connected and communicating, the Internet of Technology is still just a shadow of what it will become.