IoT: What Is It and How Is It Used?

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Data is everywhere. It courses through the smartphone in your hand. It exists in the buying decisions you make on your laptop. It even pops up on your watch to tell you how many steps you've taken today. Data is ubiquitous, plentiful and incredibly important to modern consumerism. 

Data carries powerful insights with it, especially for enterprises. So it makes sense that businesses looking to connect with their customers want to leverage that data using the Internet of Things - or IoT. 

If you're the CTO, marketing executive or product executive of a company, you have probably considered using IoT. At the very least, you've heard of it - how it's ushering in an "Industry 4.0" of greater interconnectivity and automation. But how well do you understand the concept? 

To help you make an informed decision about using IoT, this article will provide an easy-to-understand definition of the concept, as well as a few real-world examples of how it's used. 

What Is IoT? 

Basically, IoT consists of any and all physical things that can be networked to communicate with each other. By arming everyday objects or industrial equipment with a computer processor and wi-fi connectivity, these devices can be programmed to talk with one another, improving daily convenience, customer experience, industrial efficiency and productivity. 

IoT has evolved over time to include several technologies, like machine learning, real-time analytics and sensors, and it will continue to develop in the future. 

How Businesses Have Used IoT 

IoT has had a profound impact on people's personal lives, as evidenced by the popularization of smart speakers, smart thermostats, smart coffee pots, etc. in the household. However, it has arguably had a far larger impact on the business world. 

With the scores of data they gather from various IoT devices, enterprises can gain greater insights into the interconnected ways in which their business runs. Businesses have used IoT to improve the customer experience, reduce operational expenditures, reduce waste, increase efficiency and boost productivity. 

Several enterprises are currently using IoT, but here are two illustrative examples. 

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group recently deployed custom software from InterKnowlogy to improve their guests' experience, creating one of the world's first "smart hotel rooms." They created software that connected all the useful devices in a guests' room using IoT integration. If a guest wants to call a taxi, order dinner, start the shower, change the language on all the devices or ask for a wake-up call, they can do so with a few taps. 

On the manufacturing side, Ford recently announced that their factory in Spain is looking into motion tracking bodysuits for workers. According to their press release, they want to use the technology the same way it's used with athletes - to improve comfort, optimize performance and maximize efficiency. Using IoT technology in the suits, assembly equipment and manufactured items, they hope to gain usable insights into how their products are made. And how they can be made better. 

Are you looking to use IoT technology in your business? Find an experienced enterprise development software company to help give shape to your vision.