The Internet of Everything

By: Ahmed Banafa, Distinguished Tenured Staff | Faculty | SME | E-Learning Expert | Four-time winner of instructor of the year award

The Internet of Everything (IoE)

“the Internet of Everything (IoE) is bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before-turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.”, (Cisco, 2013) .

In simple terms: IoE is the intelligent connection of people, process, data and things.

The Internet of Everything (IoE) describes a world where billions of objects have sensors to detect measure and assess their status; all connected over public or private networks using standard and proprietary protocols.

Pillars of The Internet of Everything (IoE)

People: Connecting people in more relevant, valuable ways Data: Converting data into intelligence to make better decisions Process: Delivering the right information to the right person (or machine) at the right time Things: Physical devices and objects connected to the Internet and each other for intelligent decision making; often called Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT)The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects accessed through the Internet. These objects contain embedded technology to interact with internal states or the external environment. In other words, when objects can sense and communicate, it changes how and where decisions are made, and who makes them. For example Nest thermostat. The Internet of Things (IoT) consists of networks of sensors and actuators attached to objects and communications devices, providing data that can be analyzed and used to initiate automated actions. The data also generates vital intelligence for planning, management, policy and decision-making.

 What is the difference between IoT and IoE? 

IoE with four pillars: people, process, data, and things builds on top of IoT with one pillar: things. In addition, IoE further advances the power of the Internet to improve business and industry outcomes, and ultimately make people’s lives better by adding to the progress of IoT. (Dave Evans, Chief Futurist Cisco Consulting Services)

“By 2020, component costs will have come down to the point that connectivity will become a standard feature, even for processors costing less than $1. This opens up the possibility of connecting just about anything, from the very simple to the very complex, to offer remote control, monitoring and sensing,” said Peter Middleton, research director at Gartner, in a 12 December, 2013 - research report.

The Internet of Everything will re-invent industries at three levels: business process, business model, and business moment.“At the first level, digital technology is improving our products, services and processes, our customer and constituent experiences, and the way we work in our organizations and within our partnerships,” said Hung Le Hong, research vice president and Gartner Fellow. “We do what we normally do, but digitalization allows us to do it better or develop better products within our industry.”

IOT will create tens of millions of new objects and sensors, all generating real-time data.“Data is money,” said Nick Jones, research vice-president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Businesses will need big data and storage technologies to collect, analyse and store the sheer volume of information.”

According to research firm Gartner Inc., IOT—which excludes personal computers, tablets and smartphones—will grow to 26 billion units installed in 2020, representing an almost 30-fold increase from 900 million in 2009. It added that IOT product and service suppliers will generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion, mostly in services, in 2020.

Gartner predicts that enterprises will make extensive use of IOT technology, and there will be a wide range of products sold into various markets. These will include advanced medical devices, factory automation sensors and applications in industrial robotics, sensor motes for increased agricultural yield, and automotive sensors and infrastructure integrity monitoring systems for diverse areas such as road and railway transportation, water distribution and electrical transmission.“The traditional IT (information technology) market is not going to grow at a faster rate any time soon, if ever. Increased growth will come from the non-traditional IT market,” said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice-president at Gartner and global head of research, in a 12 November report.

For example, the manufacturing sector will benefit from producing billions of devices and from more efficient tracking of materials and components leading to cost efficiencies. In healthcare, smart slippers and other wearable devices for elderly people contain sensors that detect falls and various medical conditions.If something is amiss, the device will alert a doctor via email or text message, possibly preventing a fall and a costly trip to the emergency room. Another example includes installing sensors in cars that provide a pay-as-you-drive insurance that links the insurance premium to the individual’s risk profile.

Emerging areas will witness rapid growth of connected things. This will lead to improved safety, security and loss prevention in the insurance industry, said the Gartner report. IOT, it added, will also facilitate new business models, such as usage-based insurance, calculated based on real-time driving data.

References

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/innov/IoE.htmlhttp://internetofeverything.cisco.com/http://www.cisco.com/web/solutions/trends/iot/overview.htmlhttp://time.com/#539/the-next-big-thing-for-tech-the-internet-of-everything/http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2621015http://www.livemint.com/Specials/34DC3bDLSCItBaTfRvMBQO/Internet-of-Everything-gains-momentum.htmlhttp://www.tibco.com/blog/2013/10/07/gartners-internet-of-everything/http://www.eweek.com/small-business/internet-of-everything-personal-worlds-creating-new-markets-gartner.html