Connecting the Unconnected

"The Internet of Things is the next technology transition where devices will allow us to sense and control the physical world by making objects smarter and connecting them through an intelligent network", Lindsay Hiebert, Senior Marketing Manager, Internet of Things, Cisco Systems

The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects accessed through the Internet.  These objects contain embedded technology to interact with internal states or the external environment.  This technology allows objects within such places as manufacturing floors, energy grids, healthcare facilities, and transportation systems to be controlled from virtually anywhere in the world.   This connectivity also means more data can be gathered from more places, with more ways to increase efficiency and improve safety and security.   The Internet of Things and the Internet of Everything (people, process, data and things) is about connecting the unconnected.

A World of Opportunity

While we tend to think of the Internet being everywhere, a staggering 99.8% of the world is still unconnected.  And, in fact, there is more than$14.4 Trillion in value at stake that will drive new opportunities to connect the unconnected and create value for customers.  How? By improving operational efficiency, enabling business process transformation, and improving customer experiences for businesses.

Cisco has more than 700 IoT products and solutions that are available to today for public safety, utilities, manufacturing, plants, transportation, cities, mining and other industrial markets and verticals. Cisco networking IoT products and solutions are IP67 rated and support embedded systems, machine to machine communications, distributed computing, and the ability to deliver new applications that can run on Cisco IP Cameras or integrate together a portfolio of IoT solutions. They represent unlimited opportunity to connect the unconnected into the Internet of Things and to add to your bottom line.

Cisco's Leadership Role in IoT

As always, the network plays a critical role in connecting and facilitating new technologies.  This is especially true for IoT solutions.  It must provide a secure network infrastructure that can support billions of context-aware devices, people, processes, and data.  Cisco recently announced an open IOx framework to support partner applications further extending eco-system partner application capabilities and enable fog computing.  As a result, Cisco helps connect the unconnected with an open standard, integrated architecture, from the cloud to the end device.

To learn more, please visit Cisco's The Internet of Things