Managing info of connected devices will be big business

THE explosion in the number of intelligent, connected devices is creating a network rich with information that provides a variety of valuable insights and business opportunities to different industries. This is creating a multi-billion dollar opportunity - by some estimates, an extra incremental revenue exceeding US$300 billion mostly in services by 2020.

By then, there will be 26 billion connected devices, in a network called the Internet of Things (IoT), up from 0.9 billion just five years ago, according to research agency Gartner.

IoT connects remote assets and provides a data stream between the asset and centralised management systems. These assets can then be integrated into new and existing organisational processes to provide information on status, location, functionality, and so on. Real-time information enables more accurate understanding of status, and it enhances utilisation and productivity through optimised usage and more accurate decision support.