E-guide

Ultimate IoT
implementation
guide for
businesses
 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

What is IoT?
Stephen Bigelow, Senior Technology Editor

How does IoT work?

The internet of things provides organizations with real-time information and business
What are the layers of an IoT insights that, when acted upon, can ultimately make them more efficient. IT
architecture?
administrators, architects, developers and CIOs considering an internet of things
deployment must have a thorough understanding of what the internet of things is,
Business use cases for IoT
how it operates, its uses, requirements, tradeoffs and how to implement internet of
What are the business benefits things devices and infrastructures.
of IoT?
What is IoT?
What are the challenges of IoT?

The internet of things (IoT) is a network of dedicated devices -- called things --

What are the requirements for
deployed and used to gather and exchange real-world data across the internet or other
implementing IoT?
networks. Examples of this technology in operation include the following:
Steps for implementation
• Cardiac patients have a heart sensor installed after surgery, reporting
diagnostic information about each patient's heart to a monitoring physician.
What is the future of IoT?
• Homes use sensors for tasks including security and home management, such as
lights and appliance control, with status reporting and control performed
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through smartphone apps.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

• Farmers use moisture sensors throughout the fields to direct irrigation where
In this e-guide crops need it most.
• Ranchers use location sensors placed on each head of cattle to both identify
What is IoT? and locate cattle across the ranch.
• Industrial plants use sensors to monitor the presence of dangerous materials or
How does IoT work? workplace conditions and manage employee movement throughout the facility.
• Cities deploy a fleet of sensors to monitor road and traffic conditions, adjusting
What are the layers of an IoT a traffic control apparatus dynamically to route and optimize traffic based on
architecture? prevailing situations.

Business use cases for IoT Key concepts of IoT are as follows:
A focus on real-world data. Where an enterprise routinely deals with documents,
What are the business benefits PowerPoints, images, videos, spreadsheets and many other forms of static digital
of IoT? information, IoT devices produce data that typically reflects one or more physical
conditions in the real world. IoT devices can not only help a business to learn what's
What are the challenges of IoT?
happening, but also exercise control over what's happening.

What are the requirements for The vital importance of immediacy in real-time operation. Where routine data -- such
implementing IoT? as a memo document -- can exist for days or months without ever being used, IoT
devices must deliver data for collection and processing without delay. This makes
Steps for implementation related factors, such as network bandwidth and connectivity, particularly important for
IoT environments.
What is the future of IoT?
The resulting data itself. IoT projects are often defined by the larger project or
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business purpose driving IoT deployment. In many cases, IoT data is part of a control
content
loop, with a straightforward cause-and-effect objective. For example, a sensor tells a

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

homeowner that their front door is unlocked, and the homeowner can use an actuator
In this e-guide -- an IoT device designed to translate control signals received from the network into
real-world actions -- in the door to lock it remotely.
What is IoT?

But IoT can support much larger and more far-reaching business goals. Millions of IoT
How does IoT work?
sensors can produce unimaginably vast quantities of raw data -- far too much for
What are the layers of an IoT
humans to review and act upon. Increasingly, large IoT projects are the core of big data
architecture? initiatives, such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) projects. The
data collected from vast IoT device deployments can be processed and analyzed to
Business use cases for IoT make vital business projections or train AI systems based on the real-world data
collected from vast sensor arrays. Those back-end analyses can demand substantial
What are the business benefits storage and computing power. Computing can be handled in centralized data centers,
of IoT?
in public clouds or distributed across several edge computing locations close to where
data is collected.
What are the challenges of IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the requirements for
implementing IoT?
IoT isn't a single device, software or technology. IoT is an amalgam of devices,
Steps for implementation networks, computing resources and software tools and stacks. Understanding IoT
terminology usually starts with the IoT devices themselves.
What is the future of IoT?

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

Things. Every IoT device -- a thing or smart sensor -- is a small dedicated computer
In this e-guide possessing an embedded processor, firmware and limited memory and network
connectivity. The device collects specific physical data and sends that data out onto an
What is IoT?
IP network, such as the internet. Depending on the sensor's work, it might also include
How does IoT work? amplifiers, filters and converters. IoT devices are battery-powered and rely on wireless
network connectivity through individual IP addresses. IoT devices can be configured
What are the layers of an IoT individually or in groups.
architecture?
Connections. The data gathered by IoT devices must be transmitted and collected. This
Business use cases for IoT second layer of IoT involves the broad network, along with an interface between the
network and back-end processing. The network is typically a conventional IP-based
What are the business benefits network, such as an Ethernet LAN and the public internet. Every IoT device receives a
of IoT?
unique IP address and unique identifier. The thing passes its data to the network using
a wireless network interface, such as Wi-Fi, or a cellular network, such as 4G or 5G. As
What are the challenges of IoT?
with any network device, data packets are marked with a destination IP address where
the data is to be routed and delivered. Such network data exchange is identical to the
What are the requirements for
everyday exchange of network data between ordinary computers. The destination for
implementing IoT?
this raw sensor data is typically an intermediary interface, such as an IoT hub or IoT
Steps for implementation
gateway. The IoT gateway usually serves to collect and collate the raw sensor data,
often applying early preprocessing tasks, such as normalization and filtering, to IoT
What is the future of IoT? data.

Getting more PRO+ essential Back end. The enormous volume of real-time data produced by an IoT sensor fleet and
content collated at the IoT gateway must be analyzed to yield deeper insights, such as exposing

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

business opportunities or driving machine learning. The IoT gateway sends its cleaned
In this e-guide and secured sensor data across the internet to a back end for processing and analysis.
Analyses are performed using extensive computing clusters, such as Hadoop clusters.
What is IoT?
This back end might be located at a corporate data center, a colocation facility, or a
How does IoT work? computing infrastructure architected in the public cloud. There, the data is stored,
processed, modeled and analyzed.
What are the layers of an IoT
architecture? What are the layers of an IoT architecture?
Business use cases for IoT
The discussion of sensor, connection and back-end layers can help business and IT staff
What are the business benefits understand IoT technology, but such discussion also demands a consideration of IoT
of IoT? architecture. Although the scope and detail of an IoT architectural plan can vary
dramatically depending on the IoT initiative, it's vital for leaders to consider how IoT
What are the challenges of IoT?
will integrate into the current IT infrastructure.

What are the requirements for There are four major architectural issues:
implementing IoT?
1. Infrastructure. The physical layer includes IoT devices, the network and
computing resources used to process the data. The infrastructure discussion
Steps for implementation
often includes sensor types, quantities, locations, power, network interface and
configuration and management tools. Networks involve bandwidth and latency
What is the future of IoT?
considerations to ensure they can handle IoT device demands. Computing
handles the analysis on the back end, and organizations might need to deploy
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extensive new computing resources to handle additional processing or use on-
content
demand resources, such as the cloud. Infrastructure discussions also involve a

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

careful consideration of IoT protocols and standards, such as Bluetooth, GSM,

In this e-guide 4G or 5G, Wi-Fi, Zigbee and Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Network.

What is IoT? 2. Security. The data produced by the internet of things can be sensitive and
confidential. Passing such data across open networks can expose devices and
How does IoT work? data to snooping, theft and hacking. Organizations planning an IoT project must
consider the best ways to secure IoT devices and data in flight and at rest.
What are the layers of an IoT
Encryption is a common approach for IoT data security. Additional security
architecture?
must be applied to IoT devices to prevent hacking and malicious changes to
device configurations. Security involves various software tools and traditional
security devices, such as firewalls and intrusion detection and prevention
Business use cases for IoT
systems.
What are the business benefits 3. Integration. Integration is getting everything to work together seamlessly,
of IoT? ensuring the devices, infrastructure and tools added for IoT will interoperate
with existing systems and applications -- such as systems management and ERP
What are the challenges of IoT? -- already in place in the organization. Proper integration requires careful
planning and proof-of-principle testing along with a well-researched selection
What are the requirements for of IoT tools and platforms, such as Apache Kafka or OpenRemote.
implementing IoT?
4. Analytics and reporting. The very top of an IoT architecture requires a detailed
understanding of how IoT data will be analyzed and used. This is the application
Steps for implementation
layer, which often includes the analytical tools, AI and ML modeling and
training engines, and visualization or rendering tools. Such tools can be
What is the future of IoT? acquired from third-party vendors or used through cloud providers where data
is stored and processed.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation Business use cases for IoT

What is the future of IoT?
The vast array of small and capable IoT devices has found meaningful business
Getting more PRO+ essential applications in major industries. Consider some of the expanding use cases in five
content important industries:

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

1. Home (commercial or end user). IoT devices appear in homes for energy
In this e-guide management, security and even some task automation:
o Thermostats and lighting can be scheduled and controlled through
What is IoT? internet applications.
o Motion-activated sensors can trigger video and audio streams to
How does IoT work? homeowner smartphones.
o Water sensors can watch basements for leaks.
What are the layers of an IoT
architecture?
o Smoke, fire and carbon dioxide detectors can report danger to users.
o IoT actuators can lock and unlock doors remotely.
Business use cases for IoT o Smart refrigerators can track contents, and automated vacuums keep
the home clean without direct human intervention.
What are the business benefits
of IoT? 2. Manufacturing. IoT devices have found broad adoption in all manner of
manufacturing and industrial settings. Examples of the industrial internet of
What are the challenges of IoT? things (IIoT) include the following:
o IoT tags can track, locate and inventory enterprise assets.

What are the requirements for

o IoT devices can help monitor and optimize the use of energy, such as
implementing IoT?
lowering lighting when human-occupied areas are idle or lowering
temperature settings during off-hours.
Steps for implementation o IoT sensors and actuators can support process automation and
optimization.
What is the future of IoT? o IoT devices can monitor all types of machine behaviors and parameters
during normal operation, enabling ML to guide predictive maintenance
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

3. Public (health and safety). IoT sensors with cellular-class connectivity can
In this e-guide operate collaboratively across metropolitan areas to serve a wide range of
purposes:
What is IoT? o IoT devices can detect the presence of vehicle traffic, enabling cities to
adjust street lighting on idle streets and off-hours.
How does IoT work? o Crime prevention efforts might include camera-based surveillance,
while connected audio detection can direct police to areas where
What are the layers of an IoT gunfire is detected.
architecture?
o Cameras can be used to determine and optimize traffic, while
transponders and cameras can read license plates or toll boxes to direct
Business use cases for IoT toll collection and management.
o Interconnected parking systems enable cities to track parking spots and
What are the business benefits
alert drivers to available spots through an app.
of IoT?
o Sensors can watch bridges and other structures for stress and problems,
What are the challenges of IoT?
enabling early detection and remediation.
o Sensors can monitor water quality, enabling early detection of
contaminants or pollutants.
What are the requirements for
implementing IoT? 4. Medical/health. IoT is present in remote patient telemetry and other medical
uses:
Steps for implementation o IoT exists in countless wireless wearable devices, including blood
pressure cuffs, heart rate monitors and glucometers. Devices can be
What is the future of IoT? tuned to watch for calories, exercise goals and remind patients of
appointments or medications.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

o IoT enables early warning devices, such as fall detection, that alert
In this e-guide health providers and family members and even provide location
information for the potential issue.
What is IoT? o The remote monitoring of IoT helps health providers track patient
health and adherence to treatment plans, and perhaps better correlate
How does IoT work? health issues with telemetry data.
o Hospitals can use IoT to tag and track the real-time location of medical
What are the layers of an IoT
equipment, including defibrillators, nebulizers, oxygen and wheelchairs.
architecture?
o IoT in staff badges can help locate and direct staff more efficiently.
Business use cases for IoT o IoT can help with other equipment control, such as pharmacy inventory,
refrigerator temperatures and humidity and temperature control.
What are the business benefits o IoT hygiene monitoring equipment can help ensure that medical
of IoT? environments are clean and help reduce infection.

What are the challenges of IoT? 5. Retail. IoT and big data analytics have found extensive use in retail sales and
physical store environments:
o IoT devices can tag every product, enabling automated inventory
What are the requirements for
control, loss prevention and supply chain management -- placing orders
implementing IoT? based on sales and inventory levels.
o Cameras and other surveillance technologies can watch shopper activity
Steps for implementation
and preferences, helping retail stores optimize layouts and organize
related products to maximize sales.
What is the future of IoT?
o IoT devices can support touchless and scanless checkout and payment,
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such as near field communication payment.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide What are the business benefits of IoT?

What is IoT?
When business leaders research and consider IoT adoption, it's easy to find lists that
cite the benefits of IoT, such as more efficient operations and long-term cost savings.
How does IoT work?
Although this can be true, such conversations are mainly tangential to the principal
What are the layers of an IoT overarching benefits of IoT: knowledge and insight.
architecture?
Accurate and timely decisions demand knowledge and insight that can be difficult or
Business use cases for IoT even impossible to obtain. Businesses strive for such knowledge and insight, using it
each time a sales manager forecasts the next quarter's revenue, or a production
What are the business benefits manager decides whether to shut down a key machine in a vital production line for
of IoT? routine maintenance.

What are the challenges of IoT? The stakes are far higher when state inspectors discover structural defects in long-
neglected municipal infrastructure or physicians struggle to keep an aging patient
What are the requirements for healthy.
implementing IoT?
IoT provides better immediate knowledge through measuring and reporting specific
Steps for implementation real-world conditions. It's modern instrumentation: The real-world condition can be
examined and responded to in real time. If a heart rate monitor alerts to an excessive
What is the future of IoT? heart rate, the patient can slow down and relax to lower the heart rate to an
acceptable level, take appropriate medication, contact their physician for further
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guidance or even call for medical assistance.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

If a traffic monitoring system sees a backup on a major highway, it can update travel
In this e-guide apps of the prevailing conditions and enable commuters to select alternate routes and
avoid the congestion.
What is IoT?

But the real power and benefit of IoT is the long-term insights it can provide to
How does IoT work?
business leaders. Consider the vast number of IoT sensors that can be distributed
What are the layers of an IoT
throughout equipment, vehicles, buildings, campuses and municipal areas that enable
architecture? better long-term insight through advanced analytics -- the back-end computing
processes capable of evaluating and correlating a huge quantity of seemingly unrelated
Business use cases for IoT data to answer business questions and make accurate predictions about future
circumstances.
What are the business benefits
of IoT? The data collected can also be used to train ML models, supporting the development of
AI initiatives that achieve a deep understanding of the data and its relationships.
What are the challenges of IoT?
For example, the varied sensors distributed in an industrial machine can be analyzed to
What are the requirements for detect variations in operation and condition, which might suggest the need for
implementing IoT? maintenance or even predict an impending failure.

Steps for implementation Such insights enable a business to order parts, schedule maintenance or make
proactive repairs while minimizing the disruption to normal operations.
What is the future of IoT?

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide What are the challenges of IoT?

What is IoT?
IoT projects can bring strong benefits to the business regardless of the deployment
scope. But IoT can also pose serious challenges that a business must recognize and
How does IoT work?
consider before undertaking any IoT project.
What are the layers of an IoT
Project design. Although IoT devices readily implement a variety of standards, such as
architecture?
Wi-Fi or 5G, there are currently no significant international standards that guide the
Business use cases for IoT design and implementation of IoT architectures; there's no rulebook to explain how to
approach an IoT project. This allows for a great deal of flexibility in design, but also
What are the business benefits allows for major design flaws and oversights. IoT projects should generally be led by IT
of IoT? staff with IoT expertise, but such know-how shifts day to day. Ultimately, there is no
substitute for careful, well-considered design and demonstrated performance based
What are the challenges of IoT?
on copious testing and proof-of-principle projects.

What are the requirements for Data storage and retention. IoT devices produce enormous amounts of data, which is
implementing IoT? readily multiplied by the number of devices involved. That data is a valuable business
asset that must be stored and secured. And unlike traditional business data, such as
Steps for implementation emails and contracts, IoT data is highly time-sensitive. For example, a vehicle's speed
or road data conditions reported yesterday or last month might have no timeliness
What is the future of IoT?
today or next year. This means IoT data might possess a radically different lifecycle
than traditional business data. This requires a significant investment in storage
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content capacity, data security and data lifecycle management.

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

Network support. IoT data must traverse an IP network, such as a LAN or the public
In this e-guide internet. Consider the effect of IoT device data on network bandwidth and ensure that
adequate, reliable bandwidth is available. Congested networks with dropped packets
What is IoT?
and high latency can delay IoT data. This might involve some architectural changes to
How does IoT work? the network and addition of dedicated networks. For example, rather than pass all IoT
data across the internet, a business might opt to deploy an edge computing
What are the layers of an IoT architecture that stores and preprocesses the raw data locally before passing only
architecture? curated data to a central location for analysis.

Business use cases for IoT Device and data security. IoT devices are small computers connected to a common
network, making them vulnerable to hacking and data theft. IoT projects must
What are the business benefits implement secure configurations to protect devices, data in flight and data at rest. A
of IoT?
proper and well-planned IoT security posture might have direct implications for
regulatory compliance.
What are the challenges of IoT?

Device management. One often overlooked problem is the proliferation of IoT devices.
What are the requirements for Every single IoT device must be procured, prepared, installed, connected, configured,
implementing IoT? managed, maintained and ultimately replaced or retired. It's one thing to deal with this
for a few servers, but another problem entirely for hundreds, thousands or even tens
Steps for implementation
of thousands of IoT devices. Consider the logistical nightmare involved in battery
procurement and replacement for thousands of remote IoT devices. IoT leaders must
What is the future of IoT?
employ tools to manage IoT devices from initial setup and configuration through
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide IoT security and compliance

What is IoT?
IT and business leaders must embrace the considerations of security and compliance in
any IoT deployment. IoT devices present the same basic security vulnerabilities found
How does IoT work?
in any networked computer. The problem with IoT is volume:
What are the layers of an IoT
• Some IoT devices might overlook a
architecture?
full complement of security features
or implement weak security
Business use cases for IoT
standards, such as no default
password.
What are the business benefits
of IoT? • There can be tens or even
hundreds of thousands of IoT devices
What are the challenges of IoT?
involved in an IoT deployment, each
posing the same potential
weaknesses.
What are the requirements for
• IT admins must employ tools
implementing IoT?
capable of discovering, configuring
and monitoring all IoT devices in the
Steps for implementation
deployment.
What is the future of IoT? • Every IoT device must be
configured to enable and use the
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

IoT security can pose problems for businesses because weak default security is
In this e-guide multiplied by countless devices that all rely on human monitoring and management
efforts. The attack surface can be enormous. Thus, IoT security comes down to three
What is IoT?
principal issues:
How does IoT work?
• Design. Select IoT devices with the strongest available security features.
What are the layers of an IoT • Process. Implement tools, policies and practices that successfully discover and
architecture? properly configure every IoT device, including device firmware upgrades when
available.
Business use cases for IoT
• Diligence. Use tools to monitor and enforce IoT device configurations, along
What are the business benefits with security tools suited for detecting intrusion or malware in IoT device
of IoT? deployments.

What are the challenges of IoT? Still, IoT devices are plagued by a range of potentially devastating attacks that include
botnet attacks, weak DNS systems that can allow the introduction of malware,
ransomware, the potential attack vectors caused by unauthorized and unsecured
What are the requirements for
implementing IoT? devices on the network, and even the threat of physical security.

Steps for implementation Security risks carry corresponding risks to an organization's compliance posture.
Imagine what happens when patient data is stolen from a medical IoT infrastructure or
What is the future of IoT? a business can't manufacture products because hackers have infected the IoT
infrastructure with ransomware.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

Such events create potential compliance headaches for business leaders and
In this e-guide regulators. Any discussion of IoT security must include a careful evaluation of
compliance.
What is IoT?

IoT is still evolving. There are no common, broadly adopted standards for designing,
How does IoT work?
configuring, operating and securing an IoT infrastructure. In most cases, all a business
What are the layers of an IoT
can do is document design and process decisions and attempt to correlate them to
architecture? other IT best practices.

Business use cases for IoT

One example is to choose IoT devices that adhere to existing technological standards,
such as IPv6, and connectivity standards, including Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi,
What are the business benefits Thread, Zigbee and Z-Wave. It's a good start, but often not enough.
of IoT?
Fortunately, additional compliance standards are emerging from industry-leading
What are the challenges of IoT? organizations, such as the IEEE. IEEE 2413-2019 is the IEEE Standard for an
Architectural Framework for IoT. The standard offers a common architectural
What are the requirements for framework for IoT across transportation, healthcare, utility and other domains. It
implementing IoT? conforms to the international standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011.

Steps for implementation Although such standards don't guarantee compliance by themselves, organizations
that follow the established frameworks and practices can strengthen existing
What is the future of IoT? compliance postures in IoT implementation.

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide IoT services and business models

What is IoT?
Getting countless individual IoT devices set up can be a daunting task, but processing
that data to divine useful business intelligence can bring its own problems, too. As the
How does IoT work?
IoT industry evolves, the IoT ecosystem is expanding to bring new support for IoT
What are the layers of an IoT implementation and facilitate new business models.
architecture?
One of the biggest issues with IoT is simply getting it to work. Infrastructure demands
Business use cases for IoT can be extensive, security is often problematic, and processing can add new complexity
for the business. IoT vendors are addressing these problems with a growing number of
What are the business benefits SaaS platforms designed to simplify IoT adoption and eliminate many of the deep
of IoT? investments typically needed for gateways, edge computing and other IoT-specific
elements.
What are the challenges of IoT?
IoT SaaS operates between the IoT device field and the enterprise. SaaS handles many
What are the requirements for of the important elements that an enterprise must otherwise provide. For example,
implementing IoT? the SaaS offering typically handles mundane infrastructure tasks, such as data security
and reporting. But the SaaS offering will often include much of the high-level
Steps for implementation processing and computing, such as analytics, with additional support for ML. This
relieves the enterprise data center from this IoT burden, and the business can focus on
What is the future of IoT?
receiving and using the resulting analyses.
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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

IoT SaaS offerings provide similar features, so carefully consider the pricing to select
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the provider best suited to the number of IoT devices, data volumes and analytical
content
needs of your organization. Typical IoT SaaS providers include Altair SmartWorks,

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

EMnify, Google Cloud IoT Core, IBM Watson IoT Platform, Microsoft Azure IoT Hub and
In this e-guide Oracle IoT.

What is IoT? IoT isn't just changing the way businesses operate. It's enabling a variety of new
business models that let organizations derive revenue from IoT projects and products.
How does IoT work?
There are at least four types of business models that IoT can facilitate effectively:
What are the layers of an IoT
1. Salable data. The raw data gathered by IoT devices can readily be monetized.
architecture?
For example, the data gathered by a personal fitness tracker might be
interesting to health insurance companies seeking to adjust rates based on
Business use cases for IoT consumer fitness activity.

What are the business benefits 2. Business-to-business and business-to-consumer. IoT is all about collecting and
of IoT? analyzing data, and such analytics can be used to identify and optimize brand
loyalty or drive additional sales based on business needs or consumer activities
What are the challenges of IoT? identified by IoT devices.

3. IoT platforms. The data and analytics yielded by IoT can form the foundation of
What are the requirements for platforms that offer AI services -- think Amazon's Alexa. Those platforms
implementing IoT? continue to learn and improve, and the services offered can be integrated by
third-party businesses for a fee.
Steps for implementation
4. Pay-per-use. Businesses such as bicycle or scooter rentals are readily facilitated
What is the future of IoT? by IoT technologies where equipment can be located by GPS and found by
users with corresponding apps, then accessed, used and paid for automatically.
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content business process.

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide What are the requirements for implementing IoT?

What is IoT?
There are numerous technical issues for IoT, including the selection and deployment of
devices, network connectivity and building adequate analytical capabilities and
How does IoT work?
capacity. But all those considerations relate to the actual building and operation of an
What are the layers of an IoT IoT infrastructure. For many organizations, the initial questions are far simpler: Why do
architecture? it, and how should we start?

Business use cases for IoT As with any IT project, an IoT initiative must start with a clear strategy that outlines the
purpose of the project and clearly states its goals. Such an initial strategy might also
What are the business benefits underscore the intended value proposition -- such as increased productivity or
of IoT? decreased costs through predictive maintenance -- of the project to justify the financial
and intellectual investment required.
What are the challenges of IoT?
With a strategy in mind, the business usually moves into a period of research and
What are the requirements for experimentation to identify IoT products, software and other infrastructure elements.
implementing IoT? Project managers then implement limited proof-of-principle projects to demonstrate
the technology and refine its deployment and management tactics, such as
Steps for implementation configuration and security. At the same time, analysts evaluate ways to use the
resulting data and understand the tools and computing infrastructure needed to derive
What is the future of IoT?
business intelligence from the IoT data. This might involve using limited data center
resources for small-scale analytics, with an eye to public cloud resources and services
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content as the IoT project scales.

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

A business can approach an IoT project in three ways:

In this e-guide
1. The effort might be experimental, assembling a platform and allowing users to
What is IoT? find value.
2. The effort might be more formal, employing a clear project blueprint and
How does IoT work? project timeline.
3. The effort might represent a complete commitment to IoT across the
What are the layers of an IoT organization, though such an effort usually requires more expertise and
architecture? confidence in IoT compared to others.

Business use cases for IoT Regardless of the approach, the key is to remain focused on the value IoT brings to the
business.
What are the business benefits
of IoT?
What are the risks and challenges of implementing
What are the challenges of IoT? IoT?
What are the requirements for
implementing IoT?
Although the risks are generally well understood, the sheer volume and diversity of IoT
devices requires a greater level of attention and control than a business might
Steps for implementation otherwise exercise. The most detrimental risks of IoT environments include the
following:
What is the future of IoT?
• Inability to discover all IoT devices. IoT tools and practices must be capable of
Getting more PRO+ essential discovering and configuring all IoT devices in the environment. Undiscovered
content devices are unmanaged devices, which can provide attack vectors for hackers

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

to access the network. In a broader sense, admins must be able to discover and
In this e-guide control all devices on the network.
• Weak or absent access control. IoT security depends on the proper
What is IoT?
authentication and authorization of each device. This is strengthened by each
device's unique identifier, but it's still important to configure each IoT device
How does IoT work? for least privilege -- accessing only the network resources that are essential.
Reinforce other security measures by adopting strong passwords and enabling
What are the layers of an IoT network encryption for every IoT device.
architecture?
• Ignored or overlooked device updates. IoT devices can require periodic
updates or patches to internal software or firmware. Ignoring or overlooking a
Business use cases for IoT
device update can leave IoT devices susceptible to intrusion or hacking.
Consider update logistics and practices when designing an IoT environment.
What are the business benefits
Some devices might be difficult or impossible to update in the field and might
of IoT?
even be inaccessible or problematic to take offline.

What are the challenges of IoT? • Poor or weak network security. IoT deployments can add thousands of devices
to a LAN. Each new device opens a potential access point for intrusion.
Organizations that implement IoT often implement additional network-wide
What are the requirements for security measures, including intrusion detection and prevention systems, tightly
implementing IoT? controlled firewalls and comprehensive antimalware tools. Organizations might
also opt to segment the IoT network from the rest of the IT network.
Steps for implementation
• Lack of security policy or process. Policy and process is vital for proper network
security. This represents the combination of tools and practices used to
What is the future of IoT?
configure, monitor and enforce device security across the network. Proper
documentation, clear configuration guidelines and rapid reporting and
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response are all part of IoT and everyday network security.
content

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide

What is IoT?

How does IoT work?

What are the layers of an IoT

architecture?

Business use cases for IoT

What are the business benefits

of IoT?

What are the challenges of IoT?

What are the requirements for

implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

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content

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

In this e-guide Steps for implementation

What is IoT?
There is no single ubiquitous approach to designing and implementing an IoT
infrastructure. But there is a common suite of considerations that can potentially help
How does IoT work?
organizations check all the boxes to successfully architect and deploy an IoT project.
What are the layers of an IoT Below are some important implementation considerations.
architecture?
Network connectivity. IoT devices can offer several alternatives for connectivity,
Business use cases for IoT including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G and 5G. There's no rule that requires all devices to use
the same connectivity but standardizing on one approach can simplify device
What are the business benefits configuration and monitoring. Also decide whether sensors and actuators should use
of IoT? the same network or a different one.

What are the challenges of IoT? IoT hub. Simply passing all IoT data directly from devices to an analytics platform can
result in disparate connections and poor performance. An intermediary platform, such
What are the requirements for as an IoT hub, can help organize, preprocess and encrypt data from devices across an
implementing IoT? area before sending that data along for analytics. If a remote facility is IoT-enabled, a
hub might gather and preprocess that IoT data at the edge before sending it along for
Steps for implementation further analysis.

What is the future of IoT? Aggregation and analytics. After the data is collected, it might drive reporting systems
and actuators or be gathered for deeper analysis, query and other big data purposes.
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Decide on the software tools used to process, analyze, visualize and drive ML. One
content
example includes the choice of IoT database and database architectures -- SQL vs.

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

NoSQL, or static vs. streaming. These tools might be deployed in the local data center
In this e-guide or used through SaaS or cloud providers.

What is IoT? Device management and control. Use a software tool capable of reliably servicing all
the IoT devices deployed throughout the IoT project's lifecycle. Look for high levels of
How does IoT work?
automation and group management capabilities to streamline configuration and
What are the layers of an IoT
reduce errors. IoT device patching and updating is emerging as a problem, and
architecture? organizations should pay close attention to update and upgrade workflows.

Business use cases for IoT

Security. Every IoT device is a potential security vulnerability, so an IoT implementation
must include a careful consideration of IoT configuration and integration into existing
What are the business benefits security tools and platforms, such as intrusion detection and prevention systems and
of IoT? antimalware tools.

What are the challenges of IoT? What is the future of IoT?

What are the requirements for
implementing IoT? The future of IoT can be difficult to predict because the technology and its applications
are still relatively new and have enormous growth potential. Still, it's possible to make
Steps for implementation some fundamental predictions.

What is the future of IoT? IoT devices will continue to proliferate. The next few years will see billions of additional
IoT devices added to the internet, fueled by a combination of technologies -- including
Getting more PRO+ essential 5G connectivity -- and countless new business use cases emerging across major
content industries, such as healthcare and manufacturing.

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 E-guide: Ultimate IoT implementation guide for businesses

Coming years should also see a reevaluation and increase in IoT security, starting with
In this e-guide initial device design through business selection and implementation. Future devices
will incorporate stronger security features enabled by default. Existing security tools,
What is IoT?
such as intrusion detection and prevention, will include support for IoT architectures
How does IoT work? with comprehensive logging and active remediation. At the same time, IoT device
management tools will increasingly emphasize security auditing and automatically
What are the layers of an IoT address IoT device security weaknesses.
architecture?
In addition, some aspects of AI and IoT are converging to form a hybrid artificial
Business use cases for IoT intelligence of things (AIoT) technology intended to blend the data-gathering
capabilities of IoT with the computing and decision-making capabilities of AI. AIoT can
What are the business benefits create a platform more capable of human-machine interaction and advanced learning
of IoT?
capabilities.

What are the challenges of IoT? Finally, IoT data volumes will continue to grow and translate into new revenue
opportunities for businesses. That data will increasingly drive ML and AI initiatives
What are the requirements for across multiple industries, from science to transportation to finance to retail.
implementing IoT?

Steps for implementation

What is the future of IoT?

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