Internet of Things: Keeping the ‘things’ relevant
This blog originally appeared on Sogeti’s technology trendlab called ViNT – Vision Inspiration Navigating Trends
When the Internet of Things arrives in massive volumes we have to review our definition of Big Data. The reason why to review this definition? A massive amount of people, animals, processes and things will be connected to the internet.
A very good question in this stadium is: “What kind of ‘things’ should be connected to make our life easier and our business processes more valuable? For example, Cisco is using the marketing buzzword, Internet of Everything. But when we look to this word in combination to relevance it is not covering the meaning of the phenomenon Internet of Things.
In my eyes, Internet of Things is about adding meaningful scenarios to our lives. Scenarios which will make our lives easier and more efficient. That is when we talk about individuals. When we talk about the industry, I think that every object that can add meaning and value to your company processes and strategy should be connected.
But now my point: “Not everything that can be connected, have to be connected.” To make lives easier, make processes more efficient and to reduce waste, it is not necessary to connect every ‘thing’ on the planet.
When we talk about Internet of Things (or however you would like to describe the phenomenon that people, things, objects and processes connect to each other and to the internet) we should think about adding meaningful scenarios to our lives and companies. When you, as an individual or as a company think about the Internet of Things and what you should connect, think about the following questions:
– “What insight do I really need to realize a future scenario that adds meaning to my company or business process?”
– “What kind of objects, people or other things should I connect to realize this information?”
– “How can these connected things add value that create competitive advantage?”