Internet of Things or IoT is termed as the next big thing in the communication technology world. It is the changing the world as we know it.  IoT will connect over 30 billion devices in next few years and will generate revenues in multiple of trillions although businesses are not very sure what verticals would drive the initial growth and where to put their money in. Businesses are talking about what the future might look like and how our lives might be different as more and more things are becoming connected. But the future is no longer a vision – it is an exciting reality that’s taking shape today.

An IoT Developer can understand very well how the businesses which will master innovative IoT Trends have the opportunity to lead digital innovation in their business. But the companies should ensure that they have the required skills and partners to support key emerging IoT trends and technologies. As we have entered into 2019, below are some of the IoT trends that will dominate this year. These IoT trends will offer a bit of clarity into the areas that would drive growth in the fields of IoT in the next few years.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation

There will be around 14.2 billion connected things in 2019 which are expected to reach around 25 billion by 2021, producing immense volume of data. Data is the fuel that powers the IoT and the companies’ ability to derive meaning from it will define their long term success. AI will be applied to a wide range of IoT information, including images, video, speech, network traffic activity and the sensor data. Although the technology landscape of AI will remain complex but many IT companies will continue to invest heavily in AI which will result in the emergence of many new AI based services. In spite of this complexity, we will see good results when AI will be applied to many IoT situations. Therefore, the management should build an organization with the tools and skills to exploit best of AI in their IoT strategy.

5G-driven Innovations

Internet of Things will be greatly enhanced by the wider deployment of 5G networks around the globe. We have to see how it will enable new and innovative use cases in areas like autonomous vehicles and industrial IoT. Industries will see great advancements enabled by the growth of 5G networks and further enhanced by technologies like robotics and automation, virtual and augmented reality i.e. VR/AR and artificial intelligence and machine learning i.e. AI/ML. 5G will enhance the capabilities of edge and cognitive computing which will highly beneficial to some applications like self-driving cars, where computing has to be performed close to the device in order to reduce latency of decision making. There are so many industries which will take their businesses to the next level with 5G including manufacturing, public safety, emergency, transport, logistics and smart cities.

The Internet of Things is about Software Development and data

We agree that it is the software and data that will dominate the internet of Things. So many developers are now building an integrating software in different environments using the latest advances in data science and machine learning. Modern B2B products, such as complex ERP systems, already use statistics and data science models to facilitate sales of businesses. We all see lots of data everyday but the question is how this data can be used for maximum impact on business. Actually it is about accuracy, integrity, and actual amount of data that is collected and processed throughout the system, as well as real-time data analysis. With this data analysis, businesses accelerate their decisions and actions, bringing agility and flexibility to the process.

The Shift from Intelligent Edge to Intelligent Mesh

In IoT space, the shift from centralized and cloud to edge architecture is taking place. But this is also not the end as the set of layers associated with edge architecture will evolve to a more unstructured architecture comprising of a wide range of things and services connected in a dynamic mesh. These mesh architectures will enable more flexible, intelligent and responsive IoT systems – mostly at the cost of additional complexities. Hence businesses should prepare for mesh architectures’ impact on IT infrastructure, skills and sourcing.

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IoT Governance

The use of IoT in governance is one of the main trend this year. As IoT continues to expand, the need for a governance framework that ensures appropriate behavior in the creation, storage, use and deletion of information related to IoT projects will become increasingly important in coming years. Governance includes simple technical tasks such as device audits and firmware updates to more complex issues like the control of devices and the usage of the information they generate. Management should educate their organizations on governance issues and also should invest in staff and technologies to handle governance in much better and innovative ways.

Innovation in Sensor Technologies

Different kinds of sensors are an integral part of IoT development and implementation. Therefore, the sensor market will continue to evolve in 2019 and in coming years. New sensor will enable large number of situations and events to be detected, current sensors will become more affordable or will be packaged in new ways to support new applications, and new algorithms will emerge to find out more information from current sensor technologies. Management should ensure their teams are monitoring sensor innovations to find out those that might help new opportunities and business innovation.

Trusted Hardware and Operating System and More Security

Right now security is the most important area of technical concern for organizations which are deploying IoT systems. This is because organizations generally don’t have control over the source and nature of the software and hardware being used in IoT processes. In 2019 and in coming years, we expect to see the deployment of hardware and software combinations including the operating system which runs and connects the IoT devices together will create more trustworthy and secure IoT systems.

Conclusion

We have just discussed the latest trends in IoT that will drive innovations for businesses in 2019 and beyond. There is no doubt that more innovation in IoT will bring it in the center stage for most of the businesses and organizations whether government or private. The convergence of IoT with other latest innovations like in the field of AI, ML, 5G, Sensors, Security, Data Analytics, AR/VR and networking will bring the real benefits of IoT. Hence we expect that in 2019 and beyond, IoT will be more in focus for all of the organizations in all the sectors and the above trends in IoT will make it even more popular and beneficial.