The Internet of Things technology continues changing various industries — from healthcare to logistics. IoT develops fast, so it can be a struggle to follow all the modifications and adjustments.
That’s why we’ve collected the latest IoT trends by analyzing the market demands. First of all, it’s required to highlight the huge growth of IoT technology — the industry is expected to be worth over $1 trillion by 2024.
Companies benefit from gathering information, it allows building more business processes. That’s why IoT keeps trends like 5G technology and security while bringing new ones like Metaverse.
In this post, you can find basic information about IoT technology, its advantages, and disadvantages, along with the top Internet of Things trends to look forward to in 2023.
The Basics: IoT in Business, Benefits, and Drawbacks
The primary uses of the Internet of Things are connecting physical devices and objects through the Internet to exchange data and communicate with each other.
These days, IoT devices have spread around the market in different industries — from healthcare to logistics — and become a part of people’s everyday life. Among the most popular devices are:
- industrial sensors (e.g., temperature sensors);
- medical devices (e.g., pacemakers, insulin pumps).
- smart home appliances (e.g., thermostats, lighting systems, security cameras);
- wearables (e.g., fitness trackers, smartwatches);
The number of current IoT devices (7 billion) is quite impressive, but what’s more interesting — the figure is expected to grow by over 3x to 25.44 billion total IoT devices by 2030.
Of course, IoT has a significant impact on businesses. The future trends in IoT focus on making smart decisions and automating routine, time-consuming tasks.
Why Use IoT in 2023: Benefits to Consider
- Make decisions faster. It’s easy to access the collected data from different devices when it’s stored in the cloud. For example, employees can manage information on the go through their phones. Additionally, IoT systems can predict customers’ actions and even make autonomous decisions based on predefined rules and algorithms.
- Increase efficiency. IoT devices can manage a lot of everyday tasks that take employees’ time. As a result, your colleagues can focus on crucial aspects of their work.
- Improve customers’ experience. Since IoT collects information on customers’ behavior and predicts their needs, companies can optimize various areas like goods demand prediction and customer recommendations. Of course, it increases the customers’ satisfaction rate.
Despite all the benefits, IoT also has some weak points every business should think about.
IoT in Business: Drawbacks to Take into Account
- Security issues. Data protection becomes a key challenge since IoT devices that transmit sensitive information are quite vulnerable. One of the Internet of Things trends is security — companies spend a lot on protection mechanisms like encryption and access control.
- Scalability. The IoT system requires scaling, but it tends to be a problem due to monolithic architecture and unsuitable platforms. Businesses need to think about the future to invest in possible business growth beforehand.
- Interoperability. The IoT market is growing. There are many different systems and devices that use various communication protocols. It can be a struggle to set up new devices. That’s one more issue for the companies to invest in. They have to spend movies on creating and integrating standards that enable seamless communication between devices.
Top 7 Internet of Things Trends to Look Forward to in 2023
Let’s move on with IoT future trends.
1. Blockchain
One of the primary Internet of Things trends is the integration of Blockchain technology. It helps ensure data security and protection while providing a seamless connection between network modes.
The combination of the Internet of Things and Blockchain bring a positive impact on systems in banking, agriculture, logistics, and other industries.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence has become a game-changer these days. The technology became mature enough to be used in combinations for various solutions, bringing enormous potential.
For example, AI and IoT allow solving complex problems and finding the most suitable solutions. How does it work? Artificial Intelligence analyzes all the information collected by IoT devices and offers companies data-driven decisions.
AI can work with a significant amount of information in a short time. As a result, we will see AIoT solutions on the market that will improve business processes along with customer experience.
3. 5G Connectivity
This IoT trend stands with us from previous years. But, in 2023, we expect cellular networks to bloom.
IoT gets unlimited capabilities since the information transmits fast and securely. Additionally, a lot of devices can be supported simultaneously. These days, 5G technology is considered a foundation to use the full potential of the Internet of Things.
4. Data Processing
We’ve already mentioned the power of automatic data processing. These days, companies integrate IoT to manage information in real time. Despite Machine Learning (ML) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) processing, there are a lot of opportunities to speed up real-time data processing.
For example, IoT devices (temperature and humidity sensors, GPS trackers, etc.) have collected information about goods in the companies’ stores, warehouses, and transports. The system can create a report on this information. If necessary, it’s possible to check the inventory level or shipment status in a few clicks.
The ioT future trend is devices that work without human interaction. For instance, if the environmental conditions in warehouses change, the system processes this alteration and decides how to fix it. The employees get only a simple notification on their smart devices.
5. Voice-Based IoT Devices
According to Think with Google, 27% of the global online population uses voice search on their mobile device. AI-powered virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Echo by Amazon, and Siri by Apple have changed the industry.
It’s common to have a virtual assistant on a smartphone or smartwatch. And with years more and more devices with voice support will be used in various industries every day. They allow people to give commands, change settings, and receive statistics on their smart devices.
One more IoT future trend to consider is voice biometry. This technology is also based on voice recognition. For example, the financial institution can build a digital profile of a client’s voice by analyzing a set of specific characteristics such as pitch, intensity, tone, dominant frequencies, dynamics, etc.
6. Internet of Medical Things
The healthcare industry, including wearable devices and medical equipment, has increased a lot due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of innovative solutions were created (e.g. telemedicine) and this IoT trend continues growing in 2023.
A lot of hospitals have already invested in the Internet of Things technology. For example, Saratoga Hospital uses an IoT system to monitor patients and reduce time-consuming and routine processes.
Why is the Internet of Medical Things so prospective?
The primary goal of IoMT is to monitor patients’ conditions and notify doctors in case of any change or emergency, depending on the requirements. Additionally, due to constant monitoring, doctors get full information about a patient’s health and can ensure the accuracy of diagnoses.
7. Security
Last but not least is security. This IoT future trend maintains its position since data protection becomes even more important over the years. People rely on IoT and smart devices that transfer their vulnerable information. However, as the number of IoT devices grows, the number of potential cyber attacks also increases.
Companies spend a lot of money on security, integrating solutions like encryption and authentication and providing constant security updates.
So, the question arises — how to provide the highest security level to the customers? First of all, companies need to pick stable and reliable communication protocols. For example, MQTT brokers support encryption and authentication to secure communication between clients. What is an MQTT broker? Simply said, it’s a central hub where all the connected devices communicate.
MQTT brokers offer to implement user authentication with username+password or digital client certificates. To provide an even higher security level, brokers can restrict access based on different parameters including IP address, username, topic, QoS, etc.
To sum up, the Internet of Things technology brings a bunch of innovations and opportunities to the market. That’s why all the trends in IoT focus on speeding up business processes and improving customer experience.
The combination of IoT and other powerful solutions like Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain provides even more potential in the coming years. It will continue transforming everyday life in various fields — from healthcare to home supplies.
About the Author
Laurenz Dallinger is an accomplished technology enthusiast, has a strong interest in digital transformation, with a particular focus on IoT. His commitment to advancing the field of device communication is evident in his work as a speaker and exhibitor at events like the Ars Electronica museum. As a valued member of the Cedalo team, the company behind the top MQTT broker, Laurenz is passionate about sharing his knowledge and ideas with developers seeking new and efficient ways of communicating with devices.
