What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
/ovutxzsh9ts: The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of interconnected computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals, and people with unique identifiers (UIDs) that can transfer data without human interaction.
The Internet of Things can include a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile with built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low, or any other natural or artificial object that can be assigned an IP address and transfer data over a network.
Companies across industries use IoT to improve efficiency, customer service, decision-making, and business value.
IoT operation: how?
Web-enabled smart devices use embedded systems, including CPUs, sensors, and communication hardware, to gather, send, and act on environmental data. IoT gateways or edge devices send sensor data to the cloud or analyze it locally. These devices sometimes share information and act on it. Although humans can set up, instruct, and access devices, they do most of the work themselves.
IoT applications determine these web-enabled devices’ connectivity, networking, and communication protocols./ovutxzsh9ts.
AI and machine learning can help IoT collect data more efficiently—ioT system data collection to action.
Why IoT?
The Internet of Things makes life brighter and gives people complete control. IoT is vital to business and home automation. IoT gives firms real-time insights into equipment performance, supply chain, and logistical operations.
IoT automates processes and cuts labor costs. It reduces waste and enhances service delivery, making manufacturing and delivery cheaper and providing consumer transaction transparency.
IoT is one of the most powerful technologies of everyday life, and it will continue to grow as more organizations grasp the potential of linked devices to stay competitive./ovutxzsh9ts.
IoT benefits for businesses?
- Organizations gain from IoT. Benefits vary by industry. IoT allows firms to:
- Monitor their business operations, improve CX, save time and money, boost staff productivity, integrate and adapt business models, make smarter business decisions, and increase revenue.
- IoT helps firms rethink their strategy and improve them.
- IoT is most common in manufacturing, transportation, and utility companies, but it has also found use cases in agriculture, infrastructure, and home automation companies, leading some to digital transformation.
- IoT makes farming easier for farmers. Rainfall, humidity, temperature, soil content, and other sensors can help automate farming.
- IoT also aids infrastructure monitoring. Sensors could monitor structural buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure. This saves money, time, improves workflow, and eliminates paper.
- Home automation companies can use IoT to control building mechanical and electrical systems. Intelligent cities help citizens decrease waste and energy use.
- IoT affects every industry, including healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing./ovutxzsh9ts.

IoT benefits and cons?
IoT benefits include:
Ability to access information from anywhere on any device; improved communication between connected electronic devices; transferring data packets over a connected network saving time and money; and automating tasks to improve a business’s services and reduce human intervention.
IoT disadvantages:
- Hackers have greater chances to steal valuable data as more devices connect and share data.
- Collecting and managing data from millions of IoT devices will be difficult for enterprises.
- A system bug may corrupt all linked devices.
- IoT devices from different manufacturers can’t communicate because there’s no universal standard.
IoT specifications./ovutxzsh9ts.
Emerging IoT standards include:
- IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN) is an open IETF standard. The 6LoWPAN standard lets low-power radios like 804.15.4, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and Z-Wave (for home automation) connect to the Internet.
- ZigBee is a low-power, low-data rate industrial wireless network. ZigBee uses IEEE 802.15.4. Dotdot, the ZigBee Alliance’s universal IoT language, lets bright things communicate securely on any network.
- Wireless sensor networks use Unix-like LiteOS. LiteOS supports smartphones, wearables, intelligent manufacturing, smart homes, and IoV. Innovative device development uses the OS.
- OneM2M may connect devices via software and hardware. OneM2M develops reusable standards for IoT applications across verticals.
- Data Distribution Service (DDS) is an OMG-developed IoT standard for real-time, scalable, high-performance M2M connectivity.
- AMQP is an open-source wired asynchronous messaging standard. AMQP allows organizations and applications to communicate securely. The protocol manages IoT devices and client-server messaging.
- Constrained Application Standard (CoAP) is an IETF standard for low-power, compute-constrained IoT devices.
- LoRaWAN, a WAN protocol, supports smart cities with millions of low-power devices.
IoT frameworks include:
- Amazon’s IoT cloud platform is AWS IoT. This framework lets smart devices securely connect to the AWS cloud and other devices.
- Arm Mbed IoT lets IoT app developers use Arm microcontrollers. The Arm Mbed IoT platform integrates Mbed tools and services to create a scalable, networked, and secure IoT environment.
- Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite is a platform that lets users interact with and receive data from their IoT devices, perform multidimensional analysis, transformation, and aggregation, and visualize those operations for business./ovutxzsh9ts.
- Google’s Brillo/Weave platform accelerates IoT app development. Brillo, an Android-based OS for embedded low-power devices, and Weave, an IoT-oriented communication protocol connecting devices to the cloud, comprise the platform.
- Ericsson’s open-source IoT platform, Calvin, lets devices communicate. Calvin contains an application development framework and a runtime environment.

Consumer and enterprise IoT apps
Consumer, enterprise, manufacturing, and industrial IoT applications exist. Automotive, telecom, and energy use IoT.
In the consumer market, intelligent houses with smart thermostats, smart appliances, and connected heating, lighting, and electronics can be controlled remotely by computers and smartphones.
IoT privacy and security
The Internet of Things comprises billions of devices and data points that must be safeguarded. IoT security and privacy are problems due to its increased attack surface.
Mirai, a botnet that hacked Dyn, was one of the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks 2016. Poorly secured IoT gadgets gave attackers network access.
Hackers can influence all IoT data by exploiting one vulnerability. Cybercriminals can use devices from manufacturers that don’t update them./ovutxzsh9ts.
Hackers value personal information like names, ages, addresses, phone numbers, and social media accounts, which linked gadgets regularly request.
IoT users worry about privacy and hackers. Consumer IoT device manufacturers could collect and sell users’ data.