INTERNET OF THINGS: THE NEXT BIG THING

IoT is an idea in which entities can talk or transfer data over a network without requiring any human
interaction. A thing in internet of things can be person with heart monitor implant, a car with sensor to
prevent accidents, an animal with bio chip transponder or any entity that can be assigned an IP-address
and has the ability to transfer data over a network. Some of the most promising uses can be seen in the
arena of healthcare, infrastructure, and public-sector services.
It has the potential to create an economic impact of $2.7 Trillion to $6.7 Trillion annually by 2015. There is
a broad consensus among technology vendors, analysts and other stakeholders that IoT will have a
significant impact on the technology landscape and society in the coming years. At present connected
devices are outnumbering humans by 3 to
2. According to technology research firm
Gartner, IoT devices installed base
(excluding PCs, tablets and smartphones),
will grow to 26 billion units in 2020, up from
just 0.9 billion in 2009.

Diffusion of IoT

The factors affecting the diffusion and impact of IoT adoption are discussed below.

COUNTRY ADOPTION:
A global study by Forrester Consulting indicates that strategic IT decision makers inside key industries
believe that the IoT is transformational. The survey reveals India has a particularly high rate of adoption,
with more than 88 percent expected to have implemented IOT solutions with another expected to deploy
within a year. High rate of development in India have enabled this strong adoption rate. In short, Indian
firms believe that IoT will transform the way their businesses around the globe are managed, while
empowering them with the needed intelligence about their internal operations to optimize improve
business processes and better serve customers. Government of India is also planning to create a $15
billion IoT market in the country by next five years. However, IoT is yet to create any major buzz in India.
Even the mainstream media has not started talking about IoT in any major way, and awareness is limited
to a selected group.

CONSUMER ADOPTION:
There are some skeptics that warn that IoT is today overhyped, and that it will take a few more years for
the real use cases and benefits of IoT to become visible. Some of this skepticism is driven by the fact that
we are yet to see real applications of IoT at and end consumer level. Apart from a few fitness related
wearable devices, automobile telematics (which in many ways is less visible to consumers), and smart
home systems, all others are restricted to prototypes and academic discussions. We are yet to see other
major consumer IoT adoption stories.
INDUSTRY ADOPTION (B2B MARKET):

Research from the McKinsey Global Institute suggests that the IoT helps in increasing operational
efficiencies and greater market reach which create substantial value in many industries.
IoT could create as much as $11.1 trillion a year globally in economic value in nine different types of
physical settings, such as those in manufacturing, agriculture, and even healthcare environments; work
sites across mining, oil and gas, and construction; and, finally, offices.
An estimated 38 percent of IoTs overall worldwide value will likely be generated in developing
economies. In fact, developing economies (India and China) could leapfrog the IOT revolution because
there are fewer legacy technologies to displace.
There are primarily three sets of opportunities for IoT in B2B market: expanding pools of value in global
B2B markets, new levers of operational excellence, and possibilities for innovative business models. In
parallel, there are three sets of challenges: organizational misalignment, technological interoperability and
analytics hurdles, and heightened cyber-security risks.
ENABLERS:
The Indian government is definitely seeing the importance of this trend and the Department of Electronics
and Information Technology (DEITY) has recently released the first policy draft on Internet of Things (IoT)
as a part of the broader Digital India vision shared by the Modi government. Budget of Rs 1 lakh crore
has been approved to implement all the future plans under this vision. As per this policy document, the
government envisions to create a market worth $15 billion (Rs 90,000 crore) by 2020 in next six years.
With such massive government support, India will start witnessing analytics implementations which will
make use of data generated from standalone machines, applications, sensors, individuals etc. Indian
firms in response to rising pressure will incorporate more intelligent functionality into devices, to enhance
relationships, empower processes, optimize costs and mitigate risks in their business processes.
In addition to government sector, commercial IoT has very good prospects in India.
The challenges for consumer IoT adoption become less of an issue when it comes to commercial space.
Some of the areas where commercial IoT adoption can grow in India are:

Other rapidly
growing sectors

Industrial
automation

Coming up
Smart cities
and utility
services

Rapid growth in
logistics sector
INHIBITORS:

The IoT market is however not without its hurdles, as there are several factors that could prevent it from
achieving rapid mass adoption.

Security and information privacy

Lack of standardization and data sharing framework
Providing sustainable and cost effective power supply to miilions
of devices

Due to various challenges, consumer IoT adoption would be slow in India. Apart from these challenges,
IoT in India, especially in the consumer space, would need to reckon with few other hurdles:

Internet connectivity
Cost of IoT enabled systems and devices
First mover problem
Overall infrastructure challenges
Lack of India specific model

Despite this, there have been some interesting developments in the Indian IoT consumer space like a
group of students in Surat have developed a mechanism that prevents a bike from starting if it senses that
the rider doesn't have a helmet on or is inebriated.
FUTURE POSSIBILITIES:
In India, IoT can be the key to ensure superior consumer engagement and enhanced quality of life,
whether it is in retail, utilities, and healthcare or in the government sector. It can help drive up the revenue
through targeted marketing and better customer service. IoT can also play a significant role in
manufacturing and supply chain industries by driving costs down, improving safety of operations and
quality of output. It can help eliminate human error to a large extent and provide for better execution of
supply chains.
REFERENCES:
1.
2.
3.
4.

https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-smart-connected-products-are-transforming-competition
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_internet_of_things_sizing_up_the_oppo
rtunity
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-canunderstand/
An executives guide to the Internet of Things by Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui, and James Manyika.

Submitted by
Saurav Kumar (UM15354)

Sushree Swetapadma Patra (UM15365)

Subhadeep Ray (UM15362)
Hitesh Asnani (UM15329)
Chetan Swain (UM15325)