How IoT will disrupt the digital workplace

Published by: Simon Tyrrell

The internet has connected consumers from all over the globe and has been aimed more at the consumer base instead of the company base. When you think about it, individual consumers have a certain number of electronic devices they may have to share data over the internet, but companies utilize thousands and millions of tools and services that need to be monitored.

Companies require sensitive data regarding finances or company assets to be out of reach of the internet where it is easy to obtain, but within reach in an internal network. General Electric has termed this as “the industrial Internet of things”, and many experts feel that the biggest value of IoT will be in connecting the company internal affairs to the internet and not gadgets.

What is IoT?

Source: https://ams-ix.net/newsitems/87

With the introduction of smart devices, data processing needs to happen efficiently where the IoT will help. Devices need to collaborate with one another to function well and to transfer information, and with intelligence being introduced into the digital world, it makes sense to keep the world of the Internet of Things open for now.

One point in favor of the internet of things is that it is easier to control the information and streamline it better for various companies when the entire process can be controlled at all levels of connectivity. This argument has merit as we do not know where the technology world is leading us in the early stage of the IoT, and it is best to just go with the flow and see where the tide takes us.

We are seeing a big shift by companies from using the Internet of Things to what could be termed the “Intranet of Things”. Luke Mepham notes that the role of the intranet manager will change:

“The last 3 years we have seen an evolution in intranets, changing from simple internal communication publishing spaces into business-critical collaboration, social, transactional platforms. Your intranet manager is really the Director of Business Enablement.”

Carlo Nizam, Airbus’ head of value chain visibility and RFID, determined that systems such as those consumers to link their homes and automobiles to their mobile devices can also be utilized for businesses. He coined the term “Intranet of Things” to illustrate the benefits of making corporate assets and manufacturing sites accessible within a company, but maintaining privacy that would not otherwise be found on the internet.

Source: http://www.ge.com/docs/chapters/Industrial_Internet.pdf).

A paper by GE explains that we are moving from the Industrial Revolution to the Industrial Internet where machine based analytics and predictive operations will lead to greater productivity and efficiency. Carlo Nizam Explains that:

“Companies will connect their assets to an internal network, not the broader Internet, where everyone would be able to access them. Companies won’t want most of their data about their assets out on the Internet.”

Obviously, no company wants to have all their industrial assets easily accessed over public internet, but by linking these systems over privately-owned intranet systems the power of the Industrial Internet will be fused into the digital workplace.

http://www.livetiles.nyc/blog/how-iot-will-disrupt-the-digital-workplace/