IMAGINE if your car knew where the nearest free parking space was, if litter bins sent a message when they needed emptying or street lamps changed brightness depending on the weather.
As a group of North East business people discovered during a recent talk by mobile communications expert and co-founder of plan.com Keith Curran, these ideas are no longer fantasy but all examples of what can be achieved when devices communicate with each other.
Organised by The Mussel Club and Sunderland-based IT and telecoms provider CCS, the talk gave an overview of what the Internet of Things (IoT) means for business and the impact it will have in the future.
As Keith explained, the increase of ‘smart’ devices and the collecting and analysing of data will allow business across all sectors to work more efficiently in future to make quicker and more qualified decisions.
He said: “By 2020, more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the internet, able to create and collect data that will help them to come up with solutions to the challenges they face. In the next two years the world will generate more data than since the beginning of time and the possibilities this creates are very exciting.
“Our aim is to open people’s eyes to those possibilities and get them thinking about how IoT could be effectively used by their own businesses.”
During his talk Keith gave examples of IoT projects plan.com have been involved with including using the technology to allow motorway lighting to react to changes in weather conditions thus reducing spend on lighting if not needed and within fleet management to monitor driving for insurance purposes.
The event was sponsored by North East IT and telecoms provider CCS, which is a partner of plan.com, delivering its technology solutions to customers across the region.
Chris Lee, managing director of CCS, said: “Our role is all about helping customers find solutions to their specific business challenges. We believe the possibilities opened up by IoT technology are incredibly exciting which is why we invited Keith to speak about what IoT can offer.
“Our message to business in the North East would be to take a look at your operations and think about how IoT technology could potentially be incorporated. Everything is possible and solutions can be found.”
The talk was held at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle and was organised by business networking group The Mussel Club. Managing director Jeni Banks said: “We try and organise events that are relevant and address the needs of the North East business community and the Internet of Things is something that we all know will play a massive role in the future of business.
“Like all new technological developments, it’s better to be on board right from the start so we were not surprised to have such a great turnout for Keith’s talk – it’s a subject people are very interested in.”
For more information on how CCS can help your business find a suitable IoT solution, please visit www.CCSMobile.co.uk