An Internet Revolution – The Internet of Things in 2015

We love the phrase ‘the internet of things’ as the possibilities of IoT applications are endless. This year, we believe this phrase will become even more discussed in our everyday lives and inserted into conferences and round table discussions across the country. If you are reading this blog post, you are likely an early tech adopter and already using these applications daily.

For the rest of us who are unfamiliar or new to the phrase, the term ‘internet of things’ is defined as ‘a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.’

For everyone that received a smart light blub or possibly a connected thermostat or maybe even the Egg Minder for Christmas, this technology is just the beginning of home automation and a really good example of a category that is set to explode with growth.

Although the Egg Minder might be too much tech for some, these are just a couple examples of consumer-facing products that are quickly becoming available and affordable in the home automation category. Other popular categories like wearable technology, fitness devices and connected vehicles are starting to gain mass adoption. Top analysts are predicting upwards of $20 trillion being added to global GDP in the next 20 years thanks to the Internet Revolution.

There seems to be endless room for growth in this industry, but why are we hearing about this in 2015?

• Real Time Analytics – Fitbit and GPS devices have tracked our location for years and provide some level of real time reporting, but this is the year we start to digest more data from various devices and applications. Web developers are connecting important and relevant data right to our devices, we no longer have to search for this data when companies are providing apps with their products and delivering data right to our devices.
• Smartphone Availability – Smartphones now surpass feature phones sales and are also being given away with new lines of service. 77% of adults ages 18-34 own a smartphone and spend 14.5 hours each week texting, talking and accessing their smartphones.
• Technology Costs – Not too long ago there were lines of people outside of the Apple store waiting for the iPhone5, today they are giving away the phone for $0.99 with a new line of service. As technology advances, prices drop on yesterday’s technology and these high tech products become more widely affordable.
• Wi-Fi, Everywhere – There’s a good chance you are connected to WiFi more often than not. Free Wi-Fi is generally the top perk of hotels as well as most coffee shops, car dealerships and other places of interest. Scottsdale and Tempe are working with Google to provide Google Fiber broadband services, which will allow for some amazing connectivity speeds and accessibility.
• Faster Connectivity – 4G speeds are fetching data faster than ever and there are only a few points in the day that we might not be connected (elevator, tunnels, concrete buildings, shower). With faster connectivity, the amount of data consumed with quickly add up as many of us can easily use 1GB per month just from our cell phones.

We are living in exciting times, and thanks to the advancements in technology and the internet, our lives are about to get a lot more exciting. Are there any IoT applications you are most excited about?