The Internet of Things has had a pretty bad wrap over the years, with IoT connected devices kicking up a myriad of cybersecurity concerns; remember when IoT toys were (accused of) spying on kids? Yeah that.

These security worries are still very much present, but now the IoT may be a lot more valuable than we first thought – after all, we live in the age of information, and right now data is our most valued commodity.

Usually, our data is generally stolen/harvested via the usual online channels, but as more and more IoT devices are deployed, the amount of data they generate is set to dwarf that of the usual internet/app-based means of data thievery, according to research from IoT experts, Eseye.

Services like Amazon, Facebook and Netflix capture more of our data than we know, which is stored, analysed and used to customise our online experience (and essentially encourage us to spend more money). But as radical as this reinvention of shopping and socialising has been, now IoT data is set to be king, powering ‘unprecedented levels of innovation’ in the coming years.

Nick Earle, CEO at Eseye commented, “IoT companies that see the potential, not just in the device but also in the data collected, will be the big winners.”

“As we come out of the pandemic, organisations will be looking for new ways to innovate, and IoT data has the potential to disrupt business models and processes in practically every industry.

“Disruption, by its nature, comes from places we haven’t even dreamed of, but it can be radical. For example, the people who invented the internet could never have predicted the emergence of services such as Uber and Netflix.

“Likewise, we can only speculate around what IoT entrepreneurs will come up with once they have access to data from billions of devices capturing rich intelligence on every aspect of our lives and businesses. We predict it will be an even bigger wave of innovation than the first wave of IoT adoption.”

But it’s hard to tell at this stage whether this radical innovation is going to do more harm than good. But for now, let’s focus on the positive. For instance, one of Eseye’s customers is already using this rich data to predict diseases before they happen, and you’ve got to admit, that’s pretty impressive.

They achieve this via a next-gen clinical grade wearable, manufactured and sold by a leading digital therapeutics provider. This device is able to deliver actionable insights powered by machine learning, deep neural networks and AI on real time disease trajectory.

This of course helps clinicians predict and prevent serious medical events, potentially saving billions of pounds in unnecessary hospitalisations and re-admissions, not to mention lives. Therefore, the potential benefits across the healthcare sector if this model becomes widely adopted are enormous.

Considering we are currently experiencing a global pandemic, it’s a pretty invaluable innovation if you ask me, that couldn’t have come about at a more fitting time. But even on a more basic level, due to the economic slowdown caused by Covid-19, businesses are under enormous pressure to reduce costs and increase value to the customer.

Luckily for these businesses, the IoT can help solve both these problems, and just so happens to be reaching a cost and maturity level that will allow for mainstream adoption, happy days.

This editorial originally appeared in the Data Centre Review Newsletter February 19, 2021. To ensure you receive these editorials direct to your inbox, you can subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.