This chapter covers the following topics:
Business Transformation and Digitization
IoT Fundamentals
Securing IoT
The Internet of Things, also known as IoT, has become the latest industry buzzword. So what exactly does it mean? At its simplest, IoT is a network of things (or devices) that traditionally are not a part of a computer network (printers, laptops, servers, or cell phones). With all these things connected to the network, data can be collected off these things and extrapolated in ways that were almost impossible to imagine before. This information can be used to change the ways people have done things in the past and improve the way we live, work, play, and learn.
Business Transformation and Digitization
Over the past years, specific companies have dominated their respective markets. The barrier to entry has been high to enter a market, thus making it difficult for new companies.
Entrepreneurs realized that starting a new business in these markets required a new business model to overcome these barriers. By incorporating digitization—the act of transforming information into a digital format—new business models can be developed and thus change the paradigm. Digitization allows new companies to provide new benefits to customers while allowing them to compete with large, well-established businesses.
For example, ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft have revolutionized and transformed the taxi industry with the use of smartphones. Customers request a ride from their phone, are picked up, and are then transported to their destination seamlessly. The process of hailing a taxicab or trying to find a taxicab company (which varies from city to city) is simplified. Drivers can choose to work a number of hours based on their availability, making it easy for them to maintain work-life balance—and making it more desirable employment than working for a cab company. Digitization offers all these benefits to customers and employees while providing an experience that is better, faster, and cheaper than taking a traditional taxi.
Other companies like Airbnb and VRBO have disrupted the hotel markets. In fact, most companies have realized that they need to embrace the digitization process and look at other business models so that they can maintain their existing customer base while acquiring new customers through different business use cases.
Digitization is occurring in all market verticals, including banking, healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, real estate, mining, and even government municipalities. In all these markets, organizations are collecting more data, analyzing the data in real time, and taking action based on the real-time analysis of that data.
IoT technologies are a component of a company’s digitization architecture. The following market segments are already deploying IoT technologies:
Manufacturing
Mining
Oil and gas
Utilities
Smart buildings
Health and medical
Retail
Hospitality
Transportation
Connected cities and emergency services