Internet of Things in 2019

Internet of Things: the big buzzword of that year around 2015. Now we have heard little about it for a while. Will the Internet of Things (IoT) break through? And if so: how then?

Consumers could use IoT, for example, to find the keys, to secure the car or to keep an eye on the children. It can also be used for business purposes on the B2B market. The process efficiency can be increased because more automation is possible and work is also being done at city level, through the so-called 'smart city'. But is this enough?

Internet of Things continues to grow!

Although it seems to be quiet for a while around the Internet of Things: the market just keeps growing. We just don't think about it that much. According to IT Pro, there are already more than 3.6 billion devices connected to the internet this year, who help us with daily help.

More and more data is needed, while the global web is already quite busy. That is why a 5G network is needed and data from IoT devices must stay closer to the source. As a result, a change is taking place: data centers and edge computing must become one within this market.

More sales and higher customer loyalty

Of course we start with ourselves: the entrepreneur. The Internet of Things will mean more in 2019 for entrepreneurs in the retail. Thanks to IoT we can better define our target groups, we learn more about how customers think, we learn more about their shopping habits, needs and push customers to make more purchases and we work on a higher retention ratio.

How do we do this then? "With Internet of Things!" would be an easy answer: a concrete example is a store. In the shop we hang beacons on the walls and at the counter. As soon as the customer comes close to the counter, he / she gets a Bluetooth connection with the beacon. The customer receives a push notification that he or she can register for the newsletter. Or: we provide an overview of the latest offers.

In short: with Internet of Things we can do a lot in retail and attract more customers. Fair is fair: a store that keeps you informed of the latest offers is not a store where you want to come back as a customer?

Internet of Things is becoming increasingly important in healthcare.

Healthcare benefits

Internet of Things is not only useful for everyday tasks for consumers. It also helps us in healthcare. Imagine all sensors, RFID tags and smart beacons. The number of connected devices will double between 2017 and 2019.

Within healthcare, a simple sensor can already ensure that there is always enough stock of a product. Is there a risk of running out of paracetamol? Then the computer automatically orders.

Predictions show that in 2019 about 87 percent of healthcare institutions embraced IoT technology. The possibilities are endless here: whether it is about smart pills, home care, or the management of sensitive data. With the new laws on personal sensitive information, the latter has a high priority.

Safety awareness

We must become even more aware of our safety in the coming year. Just count how many devices you have at home or used for business that are connected to the internet. Do you also know how they are all protected? Probably not. All devices will be better protected around 2019.

Manufacturers such as Cisco, HPE and Dell are already working on a specific infrastructure to better protect end points. This way data loss is prevented, we get better insight into the status of a network, there is protection against threats and we have more control over user rights and it becomes possible to whitelist specific applications. In short: everyone becomes a little network administrator.

Smart cities: are they really breaking through?

We already know smart homes by now: network operators and the government are urging citizens to use smart meters, preferably with a corresponding smart thermostat and ditto measurement options. Yet there is not really talk of complete smart cities. Yet that is probably a matter of time.

Sidewalk Labs is working in Toronto a smart neighborhood. Smart sensors thus hang throughout the entire neighborhood, so that everything is recorded: from walking routes to the amount that is being carpooled, to how many people are in a building and what temperature a building has. The idea behind it is that the neighborhood is comfortable, safe, convenient and clean for the people who live there. It will take a while before the model is perfected, but after that it could become a role model for all residential areas (including the Netherlands!).

Google's self-driving car.

Smart cars: self-driving cars and hundreds of sensors

We already have more technology in our cars than we think about. On the dashboard you immediately see that your oil level is too low, or that your brakes have to be checked. This is even more convenient: an app instead of a dashboard. A push notification if something is wrong with the car engine. Everything is possible. In 2019 it will be reality and then we wonder how we could have done without it.

Distilling diagnostic information is not the only function of the Internet of Things in smart cars. It goes much further: we can use the car as a sort of driving Siri or Alexa. Just ask the car how busy it is on the road and whether it is easier to take a detour. All these functions are going to change the way we take the road.

Has the Internet of Things disappeared? Certainly not. We can still have great expectations for it in the coming year. We hear a little less about it in the news, but developments are in full swing. If 5G is introduced in 2022, we will hear much more about it.