Internet of Things (IoT) continues its brisk and steady rise as our planet and everything in it becomes connected. A recent Global Internet of Things (IoT) Market Report confirms this meteoric growth. The report valued the global IoT market at $847.0 Billion in 2016 and growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 21%.
Top Companies Recruiting Internet of Things
Many prominent companies are recruiting IoT talent and technology. These companies include Google Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corporation, Fujitsu Ltd., HP Inc., Dell Inc., Arm Limited, Intel Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG and Infosys Limited. Each of these companies have ratcheted up recruitment at lightning speed!
Futuristic Internet of Things Technology Coming Soon!
Disruptive new IoT trends are likely to emerge over the next few years. These trends will pave the way for a complete overhaul in the way we view and interact with our world. Areas include more human-device interaction, artificial intelligence (AI) playing a more central role, new terminology, more voice recognition, IoT in public spaces and more movement towards Edge computing.
More Human-Device Interaction
Sensor data is a core component of IoTās success, but most sensors in use today monitor only machinery or tech infrastructure. In the coming years, employees can expect to interact more with IoT technology as it, in turn, monitors them.
Performance management software has long played a role in the modern workplace. IoT can enable more comprehensive data gathering and better analysis of employee performance. This inevitably will drive an increase in discussion about which types of employee monitoring are optimal and ethical. Questions to be answered include:
ā¢ Is the added stress that comes with increased monitoring worth the analytics provided?
ā¢ Do employees perform better when not dealing with the anxiety of automated monitoring?
ā¢ What factors can IoT technology even measure reliably?
Automated employee monitoring certainly has appeal for management. However, it is unclear what advantages and disadvantages the technology provides.
Artificial Intelligence Plays a Central Role
Perhaps the greatest impact the IoT has had on tech is how it changed our view of computing. Instead of thinking in terms of centralized servers, we are now coming up with terms that better describe the distributed nature of modern infrastructure. Making the most of data, and even understanding on a basic level how modern infrastructure functions, requires computer assistance through artificial intelligence.
The major cloud vendors, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, are increasingly looking to compete based on their AI capabilities. Various startups hope to increase their market share through AI algorithms able to leverage machine learning and deep learning. This will allow businesses to extract more value out of their ever-growing volumes of data.
Proper planning is essential. Before settling on cloud and IoT technology, companies need to determine what role AI will play.
New Terminology
One of the chief complaints about the IoT is its confusing nature. It is becoming clear that the term āInternet of Thingsā isnāt descriptive enough for most uses. Companies looking to truly disrupt will increasingly look to define the terminology in a way that better explains how specific implementations are being used.
More Voice
Voice recognition has been an ascendant technology for years now, and improvements in accuracy have been astounding. Consumers are becoming more accustomed to interacting with some form of digital assistance and other voice recognition technologies.
Even more importantly, these tools are likely to become more widely used in corporate settings as well. Processing voice data only requires an Internet connection and a microphone. Therefore more obscure IoT devices are likely to offer voice embedded as a future feature.
IoT in Public Spaces
Many organizations have long been planning IoT adoption projects. The potential benefits for cities, however, make IoT technology especially compelling. Cities of all sizes are exploring how IoT can lead to better efficiency and safety. This infrastructure is increasingly being rolled out around the world.
Bringing connectivity, intelligence and automation to roads and public transportation has proven to significantly improve efficiency and experience. Thus transportation will likely lead this change in infrastructure.
5G (advanced wireless systems) will be one factor expected to play a role in smart city development. This technology makes lightning fast transfer of streaming analytics more realistic.
5G rollouts will spur a race to build applications that tap into the numerous market opportunities it creates.
More Movement to the Edge
Edge computing has been on the rise in recent years. However, the growing scope of IoT technology will make this increase even more pronounced.
Two factors are leading this change: Powerful edge devices in various form factors are becoming more affordable and centralized infrastructure is becoming more stressed.
Edge computing also makes on-device AI a realistic proposition. It allows companies to leverage real time data sets in real time instead of having to sift through terabytes of data in a centralized cloud.
Over the coming years and even decades, itās likely that tech will shift to a balance between the cloud and more distributed, edge-powered devices.
Adds To Current Engineering And Technical Recruiting Shortages
Technical and engineering recruitment continues to be a problem for recruiting managers. This was confirmed during my February 28th interview on CBS Radio affiliate WBBM News Radio 780 with hosts Rob Hart and Kris Kridel.
Please click hear to hear entire media appearance.
This has led to many scientific, engineering, information technology (IT), research and development (R&D) and manufacturing job openings staying open for many months. As a result, staffing organizations have had to develop creative ways to attract IoT talent for these jobs. This is how our firm can help you!
Call me today at 312-944-4000 to discuss how we can assist with your engineering, technical, R&D, IT and scientific efforts in the highly competitive field of Internet of Things. Or click here for my full contact information.
