Source: "Connected devices and networked machines are enabling industry and government to collect information and act on it in ways that will redefine IT and business.
One of the remarkable yet sobering realities of business is how quickly the world has become networked—and interconnected. Over the last decade, wireless technologies have extended the reach of computers to almost every corner of the planet and have left no enterprise untouched. A spate of machines—including desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones—makes data available and accessible in real time.
As people and computers become inextricably linked through these technologies, the next phase of computing is already taking shape: connected objects that are part of the Internet of things (IoE). Increasingly sophisticated devices and apps—along with sensors embedded into everything from ordinary household objects to industrial machinery—are enabling businesses, government agencies and other institutions to collect information and act on it in ways that promises to redefine technology and business."