1. The Internet of Things Trend
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The ‘Internet of Things’ Trend -- Challenges and Opportunities for Digital Analytics
Final Project Section 1: Creating the Digital Industrial Economy
Steve King
DMA-704: Digital Marketing Analytics
Professor Eric Brey
February 1, 2014

2. The Internet of Things Trend
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Cumulative Midterm Assignment – Final Project Section 1
The ‘Internet of Things’ Trend – Creating the Digital Industrial Economy
Kevin Ashton, a British technology pioneer and entrepreneur, is widely credited with
coining the phrase, “the Internet of Things” (IoT). While he first introduced the term in 1999
while at Proctor & Gamble, it didn’t take off until he used it in a 2009 article in RFID Journal
(Ashton, 2009). Today the Internet of Things is commonly used to describe a trend in which
Internet-connected devices can sense aspects of the real world like temperature, lighting, and the
presence or absence of people or objects then report and act on that real-world data. In this
environment more and more information is produced and consumed by machines,
communicating between themselves with the ultimate objective to improve the quality of our
lives (Duncan, 2014). A classic example of the IoT is a smart refrigerator that can read RFID
tags on grocery items as they’re put inside. The refrigerator tracks usage and sends alerts when a
particular item is running low. The refrigerator could then place a grocery order automatically
over the Internet.
The global consulting firm Accenture recently released a report identifying six
technology trends that are driving big shifts in large enterprises. It describes a phenomenon of
the IoT as the “Digital-Physical Blur.” Accenture cites how this trend is causing the real world
to come online in the form of wearable devices, smart objects, and machines that provide real-
time intelligence, changing how consumers live and how businesses operate. For consumers, this
provides new levels of empowerment; and for organizations, getting real-time, relevant data
means both machines and employees can act and react faster and more intelligently in virtually
any situation (Accenture, 2014).
The IoT trend is already having a significant impact on consumers and businesses. IT
analyst firm Gartner says the IoT is driving the beginning of a new era. It predicts that the
impact of connected smart devices will add $1.9 trillion to the global economy while disrupting
every aspect of business, starting in 2014 (Fogarty, 2013).

3. The Internet of Things Trend
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References
Accenture. (2014, January 27). Accenture Technology Vision 2014. Retrieved from Accenture:
http://www.accenture.com/microsite/it-technology-trends-
2014/Documents/TechVision/Downloads/Accenture_Technology_Vision_2014.pdf
Ashton, K. (2009, June 22). That 'Internet of Things' Thing. Retrieved from RFID Journal:
http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?4986
Duncan, G. (2014, January 24). You can't avoid the 'Internet of Things' Hype so you might as
well understand it. Retrieved from Digital Trends:
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/heck-internet-things-dont-yet/
Fogarty, K. (2013, October 7). Gartner calls Internet of Things a $3.8 Trillion New Era.
Retrieved from Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/topic/datacenter/gartner-calls-internet-of-
things-a-3-8-trillion-new-era/