IT Emerging Technology Trends by Jaime Zarate
Internet of things (IOT) is an emerging technology topic that has most IT professionals either excited or perplexed. As with most technologies descending from a major hype cycle, IOT is now being critically evaluated for its realistic business impact potential. And potential is where IOT’s magic as the “next industrial revolutionary trigger” begins. IOT potential continues to create excitement. However, it’s the practical and secure implementation of commercial and consumer applications that is creating perplexity. This can quickly turn into concern when we incorporate the recent attacks on US businesses and websites launched from IOT devices from within those affected companies into the mix.
What exactly is the “Internet of Things”? By now, most of us IT professionals understand the nature of the internet. But for most internet has evolved to an abstract concept. Visible web, deep web and dark web are just a few of the iterations we hear about. However, in its most fundamental sense, we humans access and interact with information and each other across a global network of connected servers. The incorporation of the internet with “machine to machine” interfacing is the foundation of the Internet of Things. IOT now incorporates computing, appliances, sensors, and actuators joined in dialogs and making decisions without human interaction. This magical arrangement between things is not just connectivity. Things are learning and then are transferring that knowledge to other things. Moreover, the amount of data being collected is almost unimaginable.
How does the modern enterprise truly capitalize on the vast capabilities of IOT? The answer lies in the understanding of business, not technology. In this era of modernization, companies are competing to deliver the ultimate customer experience with the most efficient frameworks of process and workflows. It is in the intersection of creating those new frameworks and what new technologies can support them and their fluid natures for change that we find IOT as a key enabler. Enabling workflow and process automation, where the business process is automatically executing, evaluating and finally self-perfecting is the realistic impact IOT can provide the ever modernizing enterprise.