The world is moving beyond standalone networks, systems, and devices into a new era in which virtually everything of value is connected. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to this concept of connectivity in which real-world “things” (electronics, equipment, appliances, and other assets) communicate with each other and also with computing resources for purposes of monitoring, recording, and controlling things.
The way people live, work, and play will all be profoundly impacted as IoT technologies and solutions will permeate virtually every facet of society. However, much of the IoT inter-workings will be not be readily transparent to most people’s daily lives as many technologies, solutions, and processes will work autonomously in the background without human intervention. This will affect everything from consumer lifestyle areas such as living spaces, entertainment, and transportation to enterprise areas such as automation, logistics, and product life cycle management.
IoT in Industry Verticals
IoT is also anticipated to be a substantial driving force behind economic growth for the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry as well as many other industry verticals. Some of the early areas are Connected Homes, Connected Vehicles, and Connected Retail. Longer-term, enterprise and Industrial IoT (IIoT) will become a much larger opportunity area for innovation and economic impact. One of the most important IIoT areas is IoT in Agriculture (IoTAg).
Farming Technology, AgriTech, and the Role of IoT
The general term, AgriTech, represents the use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture for purposes of improving yield, efficiency, and profitability. The Internet of Things (IoT) in Agriculture (IoTAg), including smart farming and connected farming, represents a more specific use of technology wherein agricultural planning and operations becomes connected in ways previously impossible if it were not for advances in sensors, communications, data analytics, and other areas.
Agriculture has transformed in the last few decades from small to medium farming operations to highly industrialized, commercial farming that is concentrated among a few large corporations. Growing crops and raising livestock and fish has become an increasingly mechanized and computer-driven operation. This allows corporations to treat agriculture like manufacturing in the sense that measurements, data, and control is very important to manage costs, maximize yields, and boost profits. Accordingly, every aspect of agriculture that can be automated, digitally planned, and managed will benefit from IoT technologies and solutions.
The Future of Agriculture
IoTAg and smart farming will change the way agricultural operations and farms are managed, which will bring various benefits to farming, including enhanced crop quality and quantity; improved use of resources and farm equipment; real-time monitoring of farms, animals, and machines; and automated irrigation systems, fertilizer spraying, and pest control.
Connected farming and IoTAg is causing a shift from traditional farm management personnel and tools towards a software-managed operation that is managed by people unskilled in traditional farming practices. The agriculture business will be controlled by companies that are not conventional experts of agriculture, such as farmers and traditional farm value chain, including farm equipment makers, seed suppliers, and producers and suppliers of plant foods and chemicals.
The market research firm Mind Commerce sees a transition from conventional agriculture to Farm Management Systems through 2022. With this shift, software developers and predictive data analytics companies will take over control of end-to-end agricultural operations.
Find Out More → To learn more about smart farming and the future of agriculture, read the Mind Commerce report IoT in Agriculture: Market Outlook and Forecasts 2017-2022.
Additional IoT Coverage by Mind Commerce
In addition to IoTAg, Mind Commerce covers IoT in other industry verticals including Connected Vehicles, Energy Management, Healthcare, Insurance, Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, Smart Homes, Smart Workplace, Intelligent Retail, and more. The Industrial Internet, also known as Industrial IoT (IIoT), is also covered by Mind Commerce, which includes various IIoT technology areas as well as Connected Manufacturing and Industrial Convergence.
In addition to IoT in Industry Verticals, Mind Commerce also covers IoT opportunities across the full ICT spectrum including Infrastructure (Platforms, Hardware, Software); Data and APIs; Security and Privacy; and Devices, Applications, and Services.
For example, Mind Commerce covers IoT Platforms, which represent those systems (software, hardware, and middleware) that enable IoT network, device, application, and service management. This includes connectivity, device administration, identity management, permissions control, data management, APIs, SDKs, and more.
Additional Mind Commerce IoT coverage areas Include:
- Industrial IoT (IIoT): Includes IoT in manufacturing, Industry 4.0, 3D printing, robotics, teleoperation, and more
- IoT in Enterprise: Includes IoT enabled ERP solutions to connect people, processes, data, and things
- IoT and Geolocation: GeoIoT includes presence and location along with IoT technologies for advanced apps and services
- IoT and Virtualization: Includes virtualized infrastructure in support of IoT such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV)
- IoT Chipsets: Includes advances in semiconductor industry in support of IoT
- IoT and Contextual Computing: Includes convergence of IoT with computing technologies
- IoT Data Management and Analytics: Includes technologies and solutions in support of managing structured and unstructured IoT data and deriving insights and information
- IoT Device Management: Includes device provisioning, administration, monitoring, and diagnostics important for trouble replication and corrective measures
- IoT Infrastructure: Includes IoT Platforms, Hardware, Software, Middleware, and IoT as a Service
- IoT Operating Systems: Includes real-time operating systems (RTOS) as a critical component to build comprehensive embedded systems for IoT solutions
- IoT Privacy and Security: Includes privacy and security technologies and solutions in support of centralized and distributed infrastructure and data
- IoT and Wireless: Includes cellular and non-cellular WAN and local area and personal area wireless
About Mind Commerce
Mind Commerce is a trusted source for research and strategic analysis focused on digital technologies and the telecommunications industry. Mind Commerce reports are designed to provide decision makers with technological insights to improve business intelligence. Mind Commerce reports provide key trends, projections, and in-depth analysis for infrastructure, platforms, devices, applications, services, emerging business models and opportunities.
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