Cisco Canada’s Connect Roadshow: Fueling Innovation with the Internet of Everything
2 min read
With Victor Woo, General Manger, Industry Transformation, Cisco Canada
The world we live in is becoming increasingly complex and increasingly connected.
More than 12 billion people and things are communicating today via Internet Protocol (IP) over the Internet; yet we believe that more than 99% of objects are still unconnected.
Advanced standardization of communication protocols and the consequent rapid global adoption of IP and the Internet is moving from the information age into the networking age. The Internet provides the technical and human network to connect people with processes with data and things. As the Internet of Everything (IoE) connects the unconnected, it is expected that more than 50 billion smart objects will communicate freely over the Internet by 2020 and early indicators show us that this is a conservative estimate.
It’s exciting to see how the Internet of Everything is working to change our lives. Already, we see sensors embedded in trees to tell us the health of our forestry; sensors attached to cattle to monitor its health and measure the quality of the beef; wearable technologies that keep us informed of our physics and health and have the ability to communicate directly with our physicians for real-time and up-to-date wellness advise.
And we are just at the beginning of what’s possible. In an IoE world, our streetlights will adjust to the activity at the street level allowing for significant reduction of energy consumption while increasing the sense of safety and security. We will pay with a swipe of our smart phones. Using QR and augmented reality we find ourselves converging our physical and virtual worlds, opening doors to a new world of business opportunity and productivity.
Our cars will communicate amongst one another to avoid collisions and optimize traffic flow, while providing us with instant diagnostics information of the performance of all its systems. Our public transportation system will be streamlined and its operation will be optimized to reduce inefficiency and energy cost while enhancing the travelers’ experience. Our buildings – in which we work, live, learn, and play – will predict our needs in order for us to be most productive, and they become responsive organisms rather than static bricks and mortar.
Our electrical distribution system will communicate bi-directionally, from generation to consumption, and our citizens will become an active part in the optimization and reduction of energy usage and even have the ability to sell back home-generated energy. Our pipelines that transport our energy resources will be monitored and protected through sensors and surveillance, improving the security of the energy systems that we’ve become so dependent on, while at the same time providing ultra-broadband connectivity to communities and regions that previously were unconnected.
The Internet of Everything is enabling a new world: where data is the “new oil”…crude oil that is.
Extracting data alone from all the billions of sensors and devices isn’t nearly enough. It’s about the intelligence and analytics that we’re adding that turn this data in wisdom and give us the tools to tap unprecedented markets and opportunities.
The Internet of Everything will give us the means to improve citizen services and experiences, improve safety and security, reduce energy and carbon footprints and provide economic development opportunities. Most important of all, it will provide a new platform of constant innovation in which businesses, governments, communities, and countries can re-define and advance themselves in the networked world.
The value to the world that can be unleashed through this movement exceeds $14 trillion for the global business markets. It will provide more than $500 billion in new opportunities for Canada through productivity, economic development and job creation.
Please join us at the Cisco Connect Roadshow that will travel through Canada in October through December, to learn more about the trends, benefits, examples, and future of our networked world. It’s a world where the Internet of Everything will turn data into wisdom, and utilize wisdom to fuel innovation and prosperity.
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