Internet of Things

E-SKILLS

Zoubeda El Ayadi
ARTEVELDE UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES |
Table of Contents
Why do we need IoT? ................................................................................................................. 2
Who is going to benefit from it? ................................................................................................ 3
What shouldn’t be connected and why? ................................................................................... 3
What is the biggest risk associated with the Internet of Things? .............................................. 3
What will happen in terms of jobs losses and skills as IoT makes devices and robots more
intelligent?.................................................................................................................................. 4
Reflection ................................................................................................................................... 4
References .................................................................................................................................. 5

Zoubeda El Ayadi – 2IBM03

 Internet of Things – IoT
IoT or ‘Internet of Things’ is a term that refers to the many physical devices (phones,
computers, laptops etc..) and software systems that are connected via the internet. All these
devices and software share data with each other. This can be information about people (name,
age, location, phone numbers, interests), pictures, videos, articles, social media etc. In this
report we will tackle 5 questions related to IoT and we will see what the advantages and
disadvantages are.

"Simply, the Internet of Things is made up of devices – from simple sensors to smartphones
and wearables – connected together," says the Iot programme head Matthew Evans from
techUk. (Matt, 2018)

Why do we need IoT?

Internet of things has many advantages for us consumers, businesses, governments, and
health care. Because of the internet, we can stay in contact with friends and family. The
internet provides a lot of information that is very important to us like recipes, GPS, health
information, DIY (Do It Yourself), books, dictionary, transportation information, etc. IoT gets
integrated in normal objects like fridges, microwaves, toothbrushes and many more.
On the other hand, businesses can use the ‘Internet of Things’ to help grow their companies.
IoT help companies analyse information about customers, suppliers, and employees. Some
other items that help organisation are listed below:
- Access valuable data at low cost
- Analyse big data
- Understand customer behaviour
- Save time and money
- Introduce remote working options
Governments utilise the ‘Internet of things’ to have an overview of their country (population,
the economy, political issues etc..). Evan Matthew says "IoT offers us opportunity to be more
efficient in how we do things, saving us time, money and often emissions in the process,".
(Matt, 2018)
Do we really need to incorporate IoT in our daily lives? Can we live without it? We have grown
custom to how much technology has advanced and how it’s integrated in our lives. It is offered
to us and it makes our lives easier, so why shouldn’t we use it? We do not know the long-term
effect these items because it hasn’t been that long.

Zoubeda El Ayadi – 2IBM03

Who is going to benefit from it?
As I already mentioned, companies, governments and us regular people are going to benefit
from IoT. I do believe that in the end, the vast organisations will have more out of it than us.
Companies use our information to advertise to us and make money from it. It also allows us
to look at more opportunities to advance. How can we produce better products? How can we
deliver our services and products faster?
The products and services that businesses offer can connect to the company’s system
whenever something goes wrong. Video editing software like After Effects, Premiere Pro and
Sony Vegas Pro etc. can send messages to the company whenever it crashes.

What shouldn’t be connected and why?

I personally would not connect baby monitors to the internet. As previously mentioned,
anything can get hacked and I would not like my children to be vulnerable to anonymous
people on the internet. “Forbes explained that through "simple searches or tweaked web
addresses", a novice hacker could remotely access the Baby Monitor's video feed, and could
even talk to the baby.” (Nightingale, 2015)
‘Smart locks’ are something that recently went on the market. You can open your door with
your phone, so you will never have to use any keys. This product can make it very easy for
hackers to enter your home without anyone detecting that there is a burglary.

What is the biggest risk associated with the Internet of Things?

We are very vulnerable on the internet when we do not use adblockers, virus detecting
software etc. Anyone can find our information and track us down. This is very dangerous for
children that use the internet to play games, listen to music or watch videos. Human trafficking
and paedophilia are real issues in the world, and anyone can disguise themselves to be
someone else online.
“If every product becomes connected then there's the potential for unbridled observation of
users. If a connected fridge tracks food usage and consumption, takeaways could be targeted
at hungry people who have no food. If a smartwatch can detect when you're having sex, what
is to stop people with that data using it against the watches' wearer.” (Matt, 2018)
Companies and governments can be hacked. Hackers can expose millions of classified to the
world. This could potentially cause wars between countries and citizens. Important knowledge
about organizations is left exposed to their competitors. Hackers can retrieve information
from customers and steal money.

Zoubeda El Ayadi – 2IBM03

What will happen in terms of jobs losses and skills as IoT makes devices
and robots more intelligent?
The ‘Internet of Things’ will make jobs much easier for people. Companies can obtain and
distribute information more efficiently. Employees can use software that is connected to the
company, so they will not lose any documents. ERP systems (Enterprise resource planning) are
used to organise all the orders, manufacturing, accounting of businesses.
On the other hand, IoT will make a lot of people lose their jobs. Good examples are banks and
stores. People now days are more inclined to use the ATM to withdraw money. Some banks
around the world are fully automated and only have a small office with 2 or 5 employees.
More and more shops have self-scans where customers can scan their products, which will
result in cashiers losing their jobs.

Reflection
I personally liked making this assignment because I never really realise how important
‘Internet of Things’ is to us. Looking up more information and going deeper into the topic is
very interesting as how much it changes every year. Being up to date about IoT is very
important for us students in International Business Management.

Zoubeda El Ayadi – 2IBM03

References
Amruta, U. (2020, November 6). What is IoT and Why is it Important? 9 IoT Statistics to
Watch Out For. Retrieved from Built.io Blog: https://www.built.io/blog/what-is-iot-
and-why-is-it-important-9-iot-statistics-to-watch-out-
for#:~:text=IoT%20makes%20everyday%20objects%20'smart,sensors%20across%20a
ll%20its%20regions
Bhatnagar, R. (2020, September 8). Career in IoT (Internet of things): Here's all you need to
know. Retrieved from India Today: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/jobs-
and-careers/story/career-in-iot-internet-of-things-here-s-all-you-need-to-know-
1719353-2020-09-08
Bill, M. (2018, May 1). IOT and Job Loss — What does the future Hold ?? Retrieved from
Medium: https://medium.com/@billsoftnet/iot-and-job-loss-what-does-the-future-
hold-d15bc405b139
Fearn, N. (2016, September 25). IoT to result in 94,000 job losses by 2021, says report.
Retrieved from Internet of Business: https://internetofbusiness.com/iot-result-
94000-job-losses/
IoTDunia. (2020, June 6). Why Do We Need the Internet of Things? Retrieved from IoTDunia:
https://iotdunia.com/why-do-we-need-the-internet-of-things/
M, T. (2019, February 18). The internet of things (IOT): 5 reasons why the world needs it.
Retrieved from Medium: https://medium.com/zeux/the-internet-of-things-iot-5-
reasons-why-the-world-needs-it-125fe71195cc
M.W., S. (2019, July 24). 7 biggest IoT risks facing businesses today — and what to do about
them. Retrieved from TechGenix: http://techgenix.com/biggest-iot-risks/
Margaret, R. (2020, February 11). internet of things (IoT). Retrieved from IoT Agenda:
https://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT
Matt, B. (2018, February 16). What is the Internet of Things? WIRED explains. Retrieved from
WIRED UK: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-of-things-what-is-explained-iot
Nightingale, R. (2015, October 5). 5 Devices You Do NOT Want to Connect to the Internet of
Things. Retrieved from MakeUseOf: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/devices-not-
connect-internet-of-things/
Reed, T. (2019, December 11). 7 Real Benefits that IoT Brings. Retrieved from Hellersearch:
https://www.hellersearch.com/blog/7-real-benefits-iot-brings
Steve, R. (2020, February 3). What is the IoT? Everything you need to know about the
Internet of Things right now. Retrieved from ZDNet:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-the-internet-of-things-everything-you-need-
to-know-about-the-iot-right-now/

Zoubeda El Ayadi – 2IBM03