Realizing the full potential of the Internet of Things

Realizing the full potential of the
Internet of Things

2 Deloitte University Press | Realizing the full potential of the Internet of Things | @DU_Press #DeloitteReview Copyright © 2015 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.
The “Internet of Things” (IoT) is often described as a
collection of connected sensors, but it is actually a much
more complex concept.
It involves not only the connection and integration of
devices that monitor the physical, but also the
aggregation, relationship, and analysis of the
information those devices create.
In order to be successful with the IoT, firms need to
focus not only within their own products and services,
but outward to a complex ecosystem of partnerships
and collaborations

To better understand the IoT, let’s take for an illustrative example: the
wearable activity tracker and the emerging industry of tracking physical
and health activities. These devices are one of the most prominent offerings in
the IoT pantheon.
Their potential benefits are revolutionary in that they promise to accurately
monitor and analyze health and fitness activity on a continuous, real-time basis.

There are several layers of activity mixed up in
conversations about the Internet of Things.
The bottom layer of connected sensors dominates the discussion among
technologists. However, it is these upper layers of IoT activity that, if not done
well, can cause most IoT initiatives or products to struggle or ultimately fail.

Local sensing
The lowest layer of the IoT is the ability to sense some aspect of the physical
environment. An individual sensor typically measures a few components of a
narrow reality.
But the Internet of Things is not just—or even primarily—about the sensors.
steps taken
sleep quality
stairs climbed
distance traveled

Data integration
Health activity trackers increasingly supply data not just to you, but to your social
network, your physician, your hospital, and your health insurance company. Since
activity trackers collect different types of data on different functions using
different formats, the integration layer is a substantial challenge.
Developing the standards to aggregate data and control sensors remotely across
different types of sensors and devices.
smartphone
hospital
social media
physician

Analytics of things
It has been said that “data without meaning, without soul, will not move people
to change their behaviors over the long term.” Much of the benefit of the IoT lies
in our ability to leverage the useful data we collect with it.
Hit 10,000 steps today?
anomaly detection
optimization
comparative usage
prescriptionWhen in your sleep
cycle to wake up
Time to get off the couch!
Your calories
burned vs. others

Cognitive action
Just as the brain needs hands, feet, and speech to carry out its decisions, IoT
networks need mechanisms of cognitive action if it’s going to accomplish much.
Consider, for example, what it would take to develop a widespread program of
cognitive action in health and fitness. Imagine what that future state might look
like:
updated electronic
health records
patient
compliance
doctor
monitoring
new health insurance
pricing models
new reimbursement
models
improved security
and safeguards

As a society we are very good at
developing new sensor technologies.
But when it comes to integrating data
across diverse systems and sensors from
multiple organizations, we still have
room to improve.

What does this mean for your IOT application?
To find your place in the IoT, you first need to envision a broad end-state. This
vision should address business problems the IoT will solve for you and your
customers. The end-state vision should also address the implications of the IoT
for your company’s competitive position and ecosystem relationships.
Through the IoT, technological change may make it possible to do without wires,
but we can’t escape the necessity of creating connections via planned
organizational and inter-organizational changes.

Realizing the full potential of the IoT lies in collecting,
connecting, analyzing and acting on data.
Execution is everything.
Collecting
Connecting
Analyzing
Acting

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How the Internet of Things may reshape consumer and industrial environments
For more, download the Deloitte Review article
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Meet the authors
JOHN LUCKER
principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, Global
Advanced Analytics & Modeling market leader,
and a US leader of Deloitte Analytics.
TOM DAVENPORT
world-renowned thought leader and author,
the President’s Distinguished Professor of
Information Technology and Management at
Babson College, a Fellow of the MIT Center for
Digital Business, and an independent senior
advisor to Deloitte Analytics.

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Realizing the full potential of the Internet of Things

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