Internet of Things: Technology and Value Added

摘要

It has been next to impossible in the past months not to come across the term "Internet of Things" (IoT) one way or another. Especially the past year has seen a tremendous surge of interest in the Internet of Things. Consortia have been formed to define frameworks and standards for the IoT. Companies have started to introduce numerous IoT-based products and services. And a number of IoT-related acquisitions have been making the headlines, including, e.g., the prominent takeover of Nest by Google for $3.2 billion and the subsequent acquisitions of Dropcam by Nest and of SmartThings by Samsung. Politicians as well as practitioners increasingly acknowledge the Internet of Things as a real business opportunity, and estimates currently suggest that the IoT could grow into a market worth $7.1 trillion by 2020 (IDC 2014).