Internet of Things: Analyzing the Impact on Businesses and Customers

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to intelligently connected smart devices and systems using embedded technology software and sensors to communicate, collect and exchange data with one another. According to analyst firm Gartner, there will be 20 billion connected devices to be deployed by 2020. The IoT encompasses sensor, actuators, electronic processing, microcontrollers, embedded software, communications services and information services associated with the things. The focus of this research is to find out the impact of IoT on businesses and their customers and design a prototype system that will assist users to make informed decision and protect their IoT devices. IoT is a collection of fragmented and complicated data from different devices. Data are collected from and shared between devices to gather information for various uses, such as improving customer relationships and identifying customer segments. This research will use quantitative research methods to collect data from selected companies that utilize IoT. By analyzing the data collected, we can identify and define the requirements to design a prototype system. The prototype system will collect information from IoT devices, perform critical data analysis, and provide insightful information to help businesses make decision about IoT future.