The digitization of the physical world, or what the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) dubbed the “Internet of Things”, means that everyday objects such as a fridge, a door or a light bulb connect individually to the internet, identify one another and are able to provide real-time data.
It is estimated that by 2020, with the development of new technologies, 37 billion objects will be connected to the network. We would thus move from an internet whose content is generated mainly by humans to one where much of that content would be generated by the devices or objects themselves.
But what practical benefits do we get from this technological evolution?
Since 2008, the famous coffee chain Starbucks has rolled out this technology in its stores and now has more than 500 coffee machines connected to the internet, as well as fridges and other devices.
This technology allows them to record customer preferences, update recipes digitally or remotely monitor the performance of any of their coffee machines.
The data this technology can generate points to a practically ideal scenario for marketing. With individual information on how each customer uses a product, sales can be increased considerably, simply by running personalized ads or actions aimed at very precise targets.
But marketing is not the only field that will benefit from this technological advance. Can you imagine if your fridge could identify which products have gone bad or which ones you will need in the coming days based on your household’s consumption? Better yet, imagine your fridge were connected to your favorite online stores and, with a single click, placed the order to have it delivered to your door. So much convenience with so little effort.
Since we are imagining, not dreaming, what would you think if your car told you about tire wear, the condition of the brakes or parts at risk of failing, and then the car itself contacted your favorite garage, or the one offering the best prices, to book an appointment? The garage would know exactly which parts to replace, what maintenance to carry out and even how long the repair would take. On top of that, you would have your vehicle’s complete history regardless of which garage or garages you had used before. Sounds useful?
As the “Internet of Things” evolves and we can access timely information on the condition of certain objects or things, we will be able to manage a whole range of additional services automatically. And not only that: with the data accumulated from all these products, we will generate Big Data sets that let us analyze trends and patterns to gain a deeper level of insight than we have today.
However much technology evolves, I will still visit my cheerful baker at the neighborhood bakery. Unlike the fridge, she always greets me with a smile.
