Our world has gone under some tremendous changes in the last two or three decades. These changes have been so huge that many experts are dubbing this pass few decades entire as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. Most experts hold the view that this fourth industrial revolution has just begun and there is a lot more left for all of us to see. The way the business world operates and how we all respond to it further is going to be affected in a major way. However, in this article, we are not here to talk about the changes or what can possibly happen during this fourth industrial revolution but what we will talk about today is the methods through which IoT will drive this fourth industrial revolution.
What is this Fourth Industrial Revolution?
The term ‘the fourth industrial revolution’ has been tossed around a lot in recent years. We are ourselves like to call it the industrial revolution 4.0. During this revolution, we will see new technologies emerging and connecting the devices which are used in the society and business world. For example, some of those new technologies are machine learning, artificial intelligence, IoT, biotechnology, quantum computing, and nanotechnology. This revolution won’t just solve some of the major problems in businesses but would also show us the way of dealing with some of the biggest crisis in the history of humanity like the food scarcity, power consumption, and the healthcare department.
What Role will IoT play in the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Michael Kanellos is an IoT expert and according to him, IoT is a just a collision of two technologies which are IT and OT. These technologies previously separated, now exist together in many companies and departments all across the globe. When it comes to this particular technology, then there are many experts who hold the opinion that the prime utilization will be the network level optimization. Various higher level functions in the manufacturing process can also be efficiently handled with the help of this technology.
This technology can also be used to optimize the current manufacturing by factoring in various important points like the needs of customers, output for the customers, resources available for logistics, overall manufacturing cost to the profit ration, and other important considerations. This technology will allow businesses to go beyond just getting the most out of their assets but will allow them the opportunity to get the best possible economic yield throughout their entire endeavor. It is also important to keep in mind that one cannot ignore economics in the fourth industrial revolution. Economics will play a vital role throughout the entire fourth industrial revolution.
Apart from all the ways in which IoT can have an impact on the fourth industrial revolution, there are also many ways in which IoT is currently having impact. And some of those ways are mentioned below.
1. The biggest way IoT is having an impact is by creating multiple opportunities for organizations to collect data and analyze it accurately through different techniques and strategies.
2. With the help of IoT, companies can reduce maintenance costs — for example by determining if a machine will soon require repairs simply by measuring the millions of vibrations that the equipment produces in a day. If any measurement is the slightest bit off, it could mean the machine could break down. By fixing it in advance, it can save a company from the high costs of an equipment malfunction on the production line..
3. Predictive analysis is being used by organizations to bring down the overall maintenance cost.
4. IoT is majorly known for bringing in data from all points. This data can be used by the organization to make decisions which better the company. Even in an unfamiliar situation, IoT can help an organization to analyze that data and go with the option which has the most chances of turns into a huge success.
The Conclusion:
There are also many future trends for IoT. However, what is important to remember that technology has a very wide scope to improve and get better. This obviously means bigger and better opportunities for the entire industry.
