What Can We Expect from the Internet of Things (IoT) – Big Promises or Big Brother?

What recent technology trend promises to bring about radical change in the tech world so sweeping and dramatic that even Blackberry stands to benefit? That would be the Internet of Things (IoT)—an emerging market that some are touting as a global game-changer for modern industry.

Quite simply, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the connection of things like equipment, monitoring devices, commercial vehicles, or personal items—like watches—to the internet. There are a myriad of applications possible when ordinary objects, across vast distances, are connected and accessible via the internet. Most importantly, companies and organizations are able to aggregate large amounts of data and analyze it quickly and easily to help guide business decisions and find opportunities for improved efficiencies. Companies like Cisco Systems, a networking equipment giant, speculate that IoT represents a $19-trillion (U.S.) global market and project that by 2020 there will be 50 billion devices connected to the internet. IDC Canada predicts that spending on IoT in Canada will increase from $2.8-billion in 2013, to $6.5-billion by 2018. Companies that have already embraced IoT see the potential for greater efficiencies that will ultimately result in better allocation of resources, like workers, and a more profitable bottom line.

For example, GEOTrac Systems Inc. installs tracking equipment that allows companies to monitor use of fleet vehicles to determine location, vehicle speed rates, and “journey management,” which helps plan routes that account for things like truck height restrictions and areas with varying chemical transport rules. It also allows companies working in remote areas to map out routes through uncharted terrain that wouldn’t otherwise be found on Google Maps or any public map.

IoT also stands to be incredibly useful in terms of applications for energy efficiency and conservation. So far, popular applications of this type include sensors that monitor conditions and shut off lights and HVAC systems to conserve electricity when not needed and allow water utilities to monitor for rainfall or water saturation levels in order to customize sprinkler systems in parks and school fields.

Another interesting example comes from Niwa, a Kickstarter campaign-funded company that promises “the world’s first smartphone-controlled growing system.” According to Niwa founder and chief executive, Javier Morillas, the sleek mini-greenhouse device “has the ‘brain’ of an experienced farmer, with the ‘guts’ of an ultrahigh-tech gadget that can turn decades of growing expertise into an automated game plan that anyone can use.” Using a combination of fans, grow lights (currently using CFL bulbs, but the team is working on an LED prototype), sprinklers and sensors, the Niwa connects with a smartphone app that configures a specialized maintenance program based on the kinds of plants you are growing. As the user inputs data tracking the plants’ progress, the app intuitively adjusts settings as needed to maximize growth. Pre-order prices range from $280-360 depending on the model. They are currently being manufactured and expected to ship this summer. It’s just one example of IoT that might have even earned George Orwell’s stamp of approval! If you were thinking the Big Brother implications of IoT were making it a little scary, you’re not alone.

Naturally concerns have arisen regarding the safety of having intimate aspects of our daily lives monitored, as well as keeping vast data secure. This is where Blackberry is hoping to reemerge as a global leader by making use of its solid reputation in data security as it pitches its platform for connected vehicles, as well as shipping and asset tracking. It is important to remember that the huge opportunity this technology represents can leave us equally vulnerable—we want to harness the very best opportunities the technology can offer, while protecting ourselves from exploitive, harmful activity.

Without question, a major component of successfully implementing IoT will be ensuring security, data encryption and privacy measures are adequate. It might just be what Blackberry needs to rise like a phoenix out of the ashes of its former self. It would be nice to see the Waterloo, Ontario-based company make a comeback and be a part of the success story that sees IoT used to make our lives easier and more enriched.