The Internet of Things is the 21st century’s light bulb and aids in the advancement of the human race. This new invention is rapidly growing and is propelling our world into the future. The Internet of Things or IoT is defined as connecting everything in a specific area to the internet and providing seamless communication through all the objects and people. Further Application of the Internet of Things, into the small business industry, would aid in fixing several problems. Applying The Internet of Things to the small business industry can streamline communication and increase efficiency drastically. Connecting more and more devices, objects, and appliances to The Internet of Things continues to increase efficiency in homes and the workplace. In the 21st century, the Internet of Things is one of the most important and growing inventions in today's world. This new and growing invention can significantly aid small businesses in their effort to track their assets. All of these problems can be fixed by applying The Internet of Things in various ways.
It is important to know exactly what The Internet of Things is, what it can be applied to, and what it can help with. The definition of The Internet of Things is flexible, and that is why it can be applied to several different areas and tasks. The website titled The Oracle provides a thorough description of what The Internet of Things fully entails. Tiberg, from The Oracle, states the following, “The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects ‘things’ that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet. These devices range from ordinary household objects to sophisticated industrial tools". This new and growing invention can be applied to small business industries and streamline communication.
The problem with small businesses is that they do not have a large workforce. This can lead to one person having to perform several different tasks with several different devices simultaneously. A lot of time can be wasted when switching from appliance to appliance or from one database to another. Applying The Internet of Things to this problem can almost completely eliminate it. The devices being used can be streamlined, and it would be significantly easier to pick up where you left off on the other device. Gaspar, from The Particle Blog, states that, “Companies are using connected sensors to help monitor equipment usage, site logistics, and worker safety, making regulatory compliance a simpler task”. Gaspar also states that, “In manufacturing applications, remote monitoring connections are typically linked to programmable logic controllers. This gives managers remote access to reports and other logged data, along with the ability to send commands directly to machines or deliver instructions to a facility’s human operators”. The Internet of Things can be applied to small business industries and streamline communication between people and devices to save time and money. Another one of this new and growing invention’s ability is to assist in problem-solving where communication is absent.
The Internet of Things connects a lot of easily connectable devices. Devices that have the ability to connect will increase efficiency and communication. The problem is that sometimes devices are hard to connect to The Internet of Things. Having communication streamlined in some areas and next to no communication in others creates a problem. In areas of a small business where there are small amounts of communication, it can be increased, but when communication is absent, it can create it for those areas. There are many different ways to bring The Internet of Things to where there is no communication in the small business industry. Added technology has become less expensive as The Internet of Things grows. The Oracle says there are five different ways to add The Internet of Things to devices to create communication. Tiberg, B. states the following,
Access to low-cost, low-power sensor technology. Affordable and reliable sensors are making IoT technology possible for more manufacturers. Connectivity. A host of network protocols for the internet has made it easy to connect sensors to the cloud and other “things” for efficient data transfer. Cloud computing platforms. The increase in the availability of cloud platforms enables both businesses and consumers to access the infrastructure they need to scale up without actually having to manage it all. Machine learning and analytics. With advances in machine learning and analytics, along with access to varied and vast amounts of data stored in the cloud, businesses can gather insights faster and more easily. The emergence of these allied technologies continues to push the boundaries of IoT and the data produced by IoT also feeds these technologies. Conversational artificial intelligence (AI). Advances in neural networks have brought natural-language processing (NLP) to IoT devices (such as digital personal assistants Alexa, Cortana, and Siri) and made them appealing, affordable, and viable for home use.
All five of these aspects are making it easier and increasingly more affordable to implement the Internet of Things. Areas in small businesses where communication is scarce can be updated and streamlined as The Internet of Things is implemented in these areas. Improving communication can be very beneficial, but so can asset tracking.
Small businesses have fewer assets than large corporate businesses, but they still need to keep track of the assets they do have. Having the ability to know exactly where assets are as a company is extremely beneficial. Managers will not have to guess where their assets are when they need them. Tiberg states that, “Tracking enables businesses to quickly determine asset location. Ring-fencing allows them to make sure that high-value assets are protected from theft and removal”. Tracking assets can prevent theft and save time when redistributing assets. Marks, from Asset Infinity, states that, “IoT enabled asset management uses sensors. This empowers organizations to know their assets' information, eliminating the need for human effort. It actively keeps track of all assets through IoT sensors attached to each asset”. Asset management decreases the need for human involvement and saves time for employers and employees. Employers in small businesses can pay employees to do other work instead of looking for and locating the business's assets. Marks also states the following,
When an asset is purchased, it is obviously intended to generate revenue from the asset. Asset managers know the importance of keeping an asset in the running condition. When an asset tracking plan is executed, it is important to keep a clear picture of assets so that compatible plans can be made. With IoT-enabled asset management, the organization has the capability to see if the asset performance is in line with the expectations or not. In case it is not working efficiently, preventive and predictive maintenance needs to be implemented for the purpose of asset optimization. IoT sensors keep track of asset performance. With such information, the organization can make the appropriate decision in order to save expenses and extend the life of an asset.
Asset tracking can aid in the assurance that an asset is generating revenue. Asset tracking can also notify the business when an asset needs maintenance.
Applications of the Internet of Things into small businesses can aid in solving multiple problems. Small business industries can streamline communication and increase efficiency drastically with the implementation of The Internet of Things. The Internet of Things continues to grow as more sensors and devices used to communicate between assets are implemented. In the 21st century, the Internet of Things is one of the most important and growing inventions in today's world. The Internet of Things can significantly aid small businesses in their effort to track their assets. Tracking assets can prevent theft and promote maintenance. The further implementation of The Internet of Things can exponentially aid small businesses.
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