Can we consider the year 2018 as “The Year of IoT”? Well, it may look like an exaggeration, but we have over 20 billion connected devices in this passing year 2017, and the upcoming year looks all set to make a new record regarding the number of devices worldwide. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of the steady growth period for the revolutionary IoT technology as well because, in today’s internet-driven world, we need to address all the hurdles including potential data breaches, security issues, etc. associated with growing IoT adoption.
Even if the year 2018 becomes a year of consolidation, it will be an exciting year from IoT concept viewpoint. We are passing through the transformation stage where we are supposed to follow the following ten IoT trends:
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Territory Expansion:
Now, this is the most obvious prediction. Apart from manufacturing and consumer goods, we will witness a huge increase in the number of IoT devices in the sectors like retail, healthcare, and supply chain. The healthcare service providers want to integrate the concept to connect with patients through wearables. Whereas, the supply chain sector wants to utilize the technology for tracking products from factory to floor. Forrester Research has rightly predicted that the IoT will act as a backbone for customer value with consistent growth
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More Fragmentation:
As IoT gradually streamlines in the corporate sector, more fragmentation is likely for the connected devices. As a result, we may face the compatibility issues and requirements to follow the device standards and certification before integrating IoT in the industry.
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Security Concerns:
There is no denial of the fact that the complexity and prevalence of the IoT devices’ network will lead us to more security concerns as the sector has minimal regulation. In the coming year, one of the main goals will remain as finding a solution to secure the valuable data.
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Mobile platforms will be mainstreamed:
We have witnessed a paradigm shift from mobile-first to mobile-only. As the mobile platform will play a dominant role in managing IoT devices, this approach will stronger than ever. However, the coming year is expected to see many transitions in the mobile platforms.
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Change in marketing tactics:
Let’s be prepared for entirely different and unique marketing technique. Connected devices will act as a marketing tool for your business. You can alert your customers through more personalized marketing efforts using the IoT devices. It is, therefore, necessary for you to work more on the changing marketing tactics to stay ahead of the curve and get the most from the IoT technology.
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Begining of data-driven age:
Big data will remain on the center stage as we keep on gathering zillions of data every day. As a result, the traditional data centers will become obsolete soon and companies need to shift on more robust data storage to manage the challenging environment.
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AI is arriving:
Thriving IoT will give rise to advanced analytics and strengthen the footprints of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the enterprises globally. AI and machine learning will become a necessity because the data collected by IoT would simply be too large to manage by humans. Companies like SAS, SAP, and Teradata offer advanced analytics, and we can expect the entry of some new entrants in this field.
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Increase in spending:
Business Insider predicts that spending on IoT solutions will cross $6 trillion by 2021, and VCs (Venture Capitalists) will spend a huge money on the IoT concept over the period. Even if the year 2018 will not remain a landmark year for IoT, we can certainly expect that it will establish and grow IoT across various industry sectors.
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New connectivity options:
Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LP-WAN) are new connectivity options to bring innovation in the field of IoT. It allows am increase in the network coverage over a wide area at relatively low cost and facilitates connectivity in the places where there is minimal network access.
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IoT-based processes:
These days, most of the major enterprises have either integrated or are in process to integrate IoT in their core processes. We can expect that IoT will come in the center of business IT functions within five years.
These are some of the noteworthy IoT trends to watch in the year 2018 and beyond. As the global enterprises have started counting on IoT for increasing productivity, flexibility, and customer-friendliness.
IoT technology has to maintain a subtle balance between security issues and productivity at the workplace. Customized IoT solutions can assist the enterprise clients to leverage the business benefits of this revolutionary technology.