In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought most of our plans and the global economy to a standstill. However, one thing that has grown during this period and is expected to maintain momentum is the digital transformation of businesses. This is achieved with the support of advanced technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and big data. We expect the importance of IoT to grow further this year as businesses continue to innovate in the “new normal.”
Based on the latest IoT trends, here are the top eight predictions for IoT in 2021:
1. The Internet of Things will help shape smart cities
Smart cities are an area where Internet of Things technology is implemented and have begun to become a trend in recent years. Smart cities utilize IoT devices (such as connected lights, meters, etc.) to collect and analyze data, which is then used to improve public facilities and infrastructure.冠状病毒大流行凸显了城市及其公民保持安全的必要性。
物联网在智慧城市中有很多好处，尤其是在新常态下：
● Fever screening
● Remote health monitoring
● Pollution control
● Air quality check
● Social distancing
●Smart parking
● Water safety
2. Internet of Things transportation solutions
物联网在交通运输领域已经取得了巨大的成功。 According to relevant reports, the global IoT market in the transportation industry was US$172.96 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$270.95 billion by 2026.
In the field of transportation, IoT devices have been deployed in many aspects:
● Traffic management system
● Inventory management system
● Telematics system
● Geofencing
● Ticket sales
● Security and monitoring
This year we will see more advancements in transportation, such as smart parking, smart accident rescue, automatic toll collection, applications that control brakes and engines, and systems that provide personalized travel information.
3. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will be increasingly sought after
Over the last year, we’ve seen companies that have implemented Industrial IoT technologies witness and benefit from the simplification of factory operations. First, manufacturing, logistics and supply chain management are the main beneficiaries. It helps organizations in:
● Real-time tracking of inventory
● Allows tracking of production
● Check machines and predict problems before they occur
● Connect managers to factories to increase visibility
These benefits have helped accelerate the growth of Industrial IoT, with overall spending in the industry expected to grow to $123.9 billion by 2021.
Industrial IoT paves the way for advanced applications in smart factories. We’re innovating around it every day, and we don’t expect its growth to stop anytime soon.
4. More connected medical solutions
According to relevant agency predictions, by 2021, the global IoT market value in the healthcare field will reach US$136.8 billion. COVID-19 has significantly aided its market expansion in the healthcare industry. However, there are still some market challenges ahead, such as security.
Due to the coronavirus, people are forced to stay at home. This has created a need for advanced connected healthcare solutions that professionals can use to manage diseases and monitor the health status of patients in remote areas.
5. The retail sector will make huge investments in the Internet of Things
According to a related report, “The global Internet of Things (IoT) retail market is expected to grow from USD 14.5 billion in 2020 to USD 35.5 billion in 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.6% during the period. Driving the market Key factors for growth include the rapidly declining cost of IoT sensors and hardware, customer demand for a seamless shopping experience and the increasing adoption of smart payment solutions.”
Retail companies are turning to IoT companies to gain greater visibility into their supply chain operations, manage inventory in real time, and optimize merchandise selection to provide higher levels of customer service.
By 2021, we will see more retail models like unmanned supermarkets to provide contactless shopping options. Other developments in the retail sector include the introduction of new AI cameras, POS systems, and cloud integration.
6. The Internet of Things will enable better employee management
The pandemic has accelerated spending on a number of technologies including automation, artificial intelligence, 5G and blockchain. With the increasing adoption of IoT, companies will now be able to optimize their remote workforce management.
In 2021, more companies will adopt IoT devices to monitor employee attendance and their planned tasks. Data from these devices can also be used to monitor employee safety; this can be further integrated and accessed in the cloud.
Additionally, IoT will help organizations succeed in the new era of remote work:
● It will enable businesses to provide skills-based virtual training to their employees.
● Remote asset management.
● Smart devices will help security teams work remotely.
● 5G and IoT will help organizations control remote robots.
7. The Internet of Things will change customer service
This year, “customer service” will be a growing area leveraging IoT technology. Gaining complete visibility of customers through real-time data will introduce smarter problem solving in the customer service space. This will be done through robot-human based interaction.
IoT improves customer service by providing necessary information, in addition, it can automate customer support systems.
Here, IoT is mainly used in three ways:
● Gain insights to improve service delivery.
● Automatically detect customer issues and resolve them intelligently.
● Strengthen customer relationship management system.
8. Security will be the focus of the Internet of Things
As the number of IoT devices grows exponentially, security is a major threat. They are vulnerable to attacks due to outdated software, weak passwords, and open APIs.
IoT devices often need to process large amounts of data, including users’ sensitive information. Unsecured IoT devices make this data vulnerable to theft. The situation may be even more severe as unsafe medical IoT devices such as pacemakers and heart monitors may pose a threat to patients’ lives.
As IoT devices evolve, threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated. They are also vulnerable to cyber attacks such as spam, phishing, and DDoS.
In 2021 and beyond, it will be important for IoT vendors and device manufacturers to build solutions with high security features to gain the trust of customers and enterprises.
Samenvatten
The COVID-19 pandemic will continue in 2021, so businesses must rely on advanced technology solutions to achieve business continuity. And this is where IoT comes in.
Cloud providers are working hard to integrate IoT to find better solutions for customers. IoT providers are shifting their focus to developing security-enabled IoT solutions, and as a result, we expect to see an increase in trust in IoT solutions, which will pave the way for a new world of innovation.