The Internet of Things poised to run even more in 2019

Hodgeson continued: “As we enter 2019 the number of connected devices will only increase as more organisations begin to realise the benefits of IoT technologies. Consequently, next year will see the birth of a smarter IoT – whereby fully connected businesses will begin to pull data for more predictive use.

“Imagine a world in which electricity providers can predict, and prevent potential outages, or healthcare institutions can predict, and stop, machines from failing. Industries that are proactive in connecting more of their devices will benefit from increased insights into their critical infrastructures’ performance. The benefits really are a no brainer. With the ability to implement predictive maintenance solutions, improve production on the factory floor and reduce downtime, in sometimes life-threatening situations – we can see why IoT will become further ingrained over the coming year.”

Human awareness of IoT security risks will come under the spotlight to ensure we are keeping pace with technological change.

“As businesses strive to embrace full connectivity, the concern around employees’ technology expertise in the field only increases. With companies progressively adopting IoT, business leaders are fast realising that those employees involved in the installation, maintenance and control of IoT systems are generally not all IT experts. Nor are training courses helping them to keep pace with the new capabilities of machines in order to properly assess risks. 
 


“Consequently, business leaders are recognising potential gaps in their cyber security measures. After all, it only takes one compromised device to hack the entire chain. And now, with critical infrastructures such as healthcare, electricity, and water suppliers implementing IoT solutions, the need for comprehensive training is imperative. 
 


“Next year we will see the vast deployment of human resource departments across multiple industries as organisations strive to ensure that employees are prepared for both hardware downtime as well as external cyber security threats. This means human operations and fast moving IT will no longer be siloed. As machines are increasingly embedded in the workforce, humans will need the correct IT training to spot and deal with potential cyber attacks and malfunctions.”