What is the Internet of Things?

 The Internet of Things, more briefly known as IoT, is a term commonly used in the technology industry but do you really know what it means?

The Internet of Things is an intelligent system of interlocked computing devices, mechanical and digital machines provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. 

The definition has continued to evolve over the years as more and more innovative technologies are being developed and adopted.

IoT has many useful applications, including wearable devices, one of the earliest applications of IoT. Apple Watches, FitBits and Garmin devices seem to be on nearly every wrist as the services are deployed more.

When thinking about IoT, the first application that most of us think about is smart home devices, devices that track your use of electricity to save you money and to help fight the battle against climate change.

IoT technology encourages communication between devices which allows devices to stay connected and work more efficiently. The innovative technology provides us with more information which can aid decision making, whether it being what supplies to buy or knowing what stock is running low.

In addition, the innovative technology allows for you to save time which can benefit you in many ways especially in this busy day and age, it can allow you to divert your attention to other, more important tasks.

However, it is not all positive. The Internet of Things is a complex system and we all know that with complexity comes with a higher likelihood of failure. In addition, with the higher volume of data being transmitted, data leaks could be more prone to occur. Data will need to be encrypted which could be a lengthy process, defeating the advantage of time saving earlier in the process.

Whilst there are some disadvantages to the technology, its benefits far outweigh them, what system does not have some downsides? Its time saving abilities for consumers can not be matched.