Even people who aren’t in technology have heard of the Internet of Things (IoT). From smartphones to smart cars and smart everything in between, IoT is changing every element of our lives.
A decade ago, most Africans viewed the concept of a smart home as futuristic. It’s shocking what has turned out to be the reality in today’s modern Africa. Everyone is racing to catch up with reality given the increasing availability of devices like Google Home, Alexa, and Amazon Echo in most contemporary homes in the continent offering the conversational control needed to get things done in today’s rapidly evolving world.
From using your voice to order items & get them delivered to your front door to get step-by-step cooking instructions from over 7 million recipes, scheduling your important meetings ahead of time to setting reminders by your own voice and getting relevant information in a hands-free way when you ask for it, IoT is sipping into every bit of our daily living.
With Zion Market Research’s projected market reach of $53.45bn by 2022, the smart home industry has rapidly evolved and is now having a major impact on businesses.
Three members of the Forbes Technology Council were quoted to have spoken about the future of smart home technology:
“Sharing the data of homeowners with businesses will probably be the next big thing in smart home technology. Having your fridge order the food you need or setting the lights and preferred temperature for your arrival is what is coming soon. The data that you share with the smart devices will be of great interest to the companies that build such products.” – Ivailo Nikolov, SiteGround.
“Naturally, a smart home tech will continue to become more accessible and inexpensive to the mainstream. As consumers become accustomed to the conveniences that come with smart tech, they will begin to seek out these efficiencies outside of the home. We’re likely to see an uptick in commercial smart building tech, particularly in offices seeking to adapt to more mobile workplace trends.” – Arie Barendrecht, WiredScore.
“Homeowners will like the idea of more cool ways to control their homes. Surveillance has become more necessary to combat crime, as more people work from home and want to protect their physical and intellectual property. Appliances also could be a focus since people would like their appliances to take on more of the workload.” – Chalmers Brown, Due
Just as millennials can’t conceive of a world without video calls and instant messaging, the future is one in which it will be hard to explain to the next generation how we got anything done without the connected ecosystems of IoT (Internet of Things) even at the home front.