Should You Employ the Internet of Things in Your Business?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been around for a few years, and companies have been integrating one-stop systems to have a collection of IoT devices together to make life more convenient.

You can see examples of this by looking at smart-homes where simple processes have become automated like that of temperature control, vacuuming, and security. Every year that passes technology improves the processes that can be automated.

This is true for businesses as well, and the trend is finally catching up. Workplaces are incorporating these smart techniques to regulate temperature, control lighting, and even do jobs like data collection to allow businesses to focus on more important complex tasks.

However, even though IoT is making headway a lot of businesses are slow to get on board. So why the delay? There are actually quite a few reasons that businesses haven’t integrated the IoT technology, and today we will be going over these valid reasons.

Cost Related Factors & Security Issues

One of the biggest factors when it comes to IoT integration in the business environment revolves around the cost. Many IoT devices have expensive price tags attached to them, and the reason for this is they aren’t being mass produced. Smaller distribution points drive up the cost.

Another problem with these products are they aren’t tried and tested in terms of their worthiness. A product that isn’t guaranteed may make business owners think twice about buying such a product.

When it comes to IoT there have been a lot of concerns when it comes to security. Just recently, hackers broke into a casino by going through the cleaning system of their fish tank as it was an IoT device, which connected to their network. The hackers bypassed the system right into the casino’s mainframe allowing them to steal valuable data.

The U.S. Congress has considered establishing laws for IoT devices as there have been numerous breaches in the past that continue to make business owners think twice before they use IoT devices. If these key security measures were put in place, then perhaps we could see a rise in IoT activity in businesses.

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The Need for Speed

The process for the IoT devices allows them to communicate to a secured network through Wi-Fi devices on a router. However, there is a limit to the amount of devices that can be used, as a business office can handle around 200 devices on that one router. This may be fine for businesses who use the internet for email and searches, but factor in large tasks and the speed is greatly reduced affecting bandwidth.

Current business models might not see the advantage of incorporating IoT device processes. Businesses would need to upgrade their internet service providers, and even though this is a competitive market, you will still end up paying more for this upgrade in service. Businesses will have to examine the cost to ratio rewards in order to make a collective decision about whether or not to adapt IoT into their business.

Final Thoughts

There have been many developments when it comes to IoT; however, you could still say that it hasn’t been developed enough to fit into the corporate picture. With high-priced integrations and security breaches the IoT devices might still need a few years to work out the bugs. Once these problems are dealt with accordingly then businesses will have some major upgrades to look forward to.

Author: Philip Piletic is a freelancer, writer and traveler who loves to share his experience about business, marketing and tech.