By 2025, the number of interconnected devices will reach around 1 trillion. IoT devices will shorten the gap between digital and physical world and welcome people into a fully automated world where devices will interact with each other, share the required data and perform things that any human has been doing in the present.
With the rise in IoT, the need for IoT device management will reach its peak. The base of every connected IoT device is data and the chances of data leak will rise as the number of IoT devices grow.
Before we dive into the need for IoT management and how to manage them effectively. Let’s first learn about IoT and it’s applications.
What is IoT?
The term IoT was coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999. IoT is a network of physical devices, home appliances, phones and other items that can communicate and share data with each other. For example, your fridge can automatically order eggs from Amazon when the stock is about to finish. With the help of IoT, the traditionally dumb devices can be put to use.
Applications of IoT
Where can you find the technology in action? Here are some of the major ways where IoT has already been put into use and they are set to become a part of our lives in the near future.
1- Home Automation
IoT will largely be used for home automation or domotics. We are about to live in a smart home where temperature, lighting, entertainment, and security will all be managed by IoT. Amazon Alexa is already making it big with its artificial intelligence capabilities.
For example, the lights of your drawing room will switch off as soon as you leave it, the temperature of your room will automatically be adjusted depending on the temperature outside, Alexa will start playing the Happy Birthday song when the clock hits 12 on your birthday, tracking the movements of babies, elders, and pets so that they remain safe and many more. The smart home powered by IoT will automatically manage itself.
2- Healthcare
After smart home, here comes smart healthcare. Smart IoT will be used to build emergency health notification systems where automated notifications will be sent to a group of people in case of emergency and for building remote health monitoring systems that can monitor patients from the home which will ultimately decrease the cost of medical services.
Moreover, there will be smart beds that can automatically adjust without the manual interaction of nurses and wearable heart monitors that can be worn as a cloth for 24×7 monitoring of the heart. Smart hospital bed from Hackster is a great example of such a bed already in action.
3- Transportation
IoT will help in smart traffic control, smart parking and smart vehicle control. For example, vehicles can interact with mobiles and can send special alerts if the cargo gets stolen or damaged so that the necessary action can be taken at the earliest.
Similarly, drivers can be alerted if they feel drowsy while driving. This will drastically reduce the risk of accidents. The opportunities that lie with vehicular communication is endless.
4- Agriculture
IoT and data go hand in hand. Data related to temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall, soil composition, pest infestation can all be used to automated farming and take immediate decisions before the damage can happen.
IoT will also be used to monitor air and water quality which is the biggest problem in urban cities. Moreover, IoT can assist in creating early warning systems that can alert people in case of an earthquake or a Tsunami.
Why IoT Device Management Is Necessary?
IoT device management is necessary because of the following reasons:
- Security: Hackers often target endpoint devices in order to gain access to the central control system. As IoT devices are interconnected to the main network, it will be easy for hackers to hack mobile phones as security is compromised in such devices. The need to strengthen the security of such an interconnected device will be necessary.
- Software Upgrades and Fixes: Every device requires software upgrades in order to function properly. Moreover, immediate fixes are required in case they arise a problem in the device else the security will be compromised. Platforms like Cloud Management Suite makes it easier to detect vulnerabilities and provides automatic software upgrades to manage all your devices whether inside or outside of your network.
- Provisioning and Authentication: Every device on the network should undergo the process of device authentication to securely establish the identity of the device. Following this process ensures that only secure devices are connected to the network thereby reducing the chances of hacking.
- Interoperability: The devices that are connected within the IT network will have different communication protocols as defined by the device manufacturers. Maintaining interoperability will be one of the biggest challenges that devices in the IoT network will face. Therefore, the need for a device management platform must support the working of all devices across heterogeneous devices.
- Scalability: Another challenge that an IoT network will face is the management of devices that are present in huge numbers. Moreover, there will be an increased number of routine device management operations that will be served at any given time so automation will be the key. IoT device management will ensure that all the devices connected across the network function smoothly.
- Data Feedback: With so many devices being connected across the network, the need for effective data feedback is of extreme importance. Better device lifecycle management is necessary to gather complete data related to the performance of each and every device connected on the network.
Conclusion
The future of IoT is really fascinating where billions of devices will be interconnected with each other in the same manner as today’s desktop, laptop, and mobile devices are connected via the internet. Easy interaction between devices will make our lives easier provided device security and IoT device management are taken care of seriously.
Group of businessmen looking at a tablet– stock image
