Carl Weldon, HOSPA CEO, and Wayne Gosden, Professional Development Marketing & Communications, investigate the latest in connectivity. Since Google’s recent acquisition of Nest, the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) has been the phrase on everyone’s lips but what is this new phenomena all about?

Looking back, the internet of things is not new at all – the term was coined back in 1999 and RFID (Radio-frequency identification), which has been around since 1973 is seen as a prerequisite to the internet of things.

So what’s changed to make this the current hot topic and a market that will reach a value of $8.9 trillion in the not too distant future?

In short, technology and the internet itself have changed. Bandwidth is growing exponentially with increased pipelines from internet providers and the introduction of 4G to the UK as well as component costs dropping in price rapidly to the point that connectivity is becoming a standard feature, even for processors costing less than £1.

As an example of this increased connectivity, in 2013 there was approximately 1 device connected to the internet per person on earth. By 2020, we expect this to increase to around 9 devices connected to the internet per person (with a population of 8 billion in 2020). Presently, 80 ‘things’ connect to the internet every second but by 2020 we will see this rise to more than 250 ‘things’ connecting to the internet every second!

About HOSPA

HOSPA - the Hospitality Professionals Association - is a not-for-profit educational organisation, formed to bring together professionals involved in all things commercial within the hospitality industry in the UK. HOSPA is recognised as the UK's authoritative voice in the hospitality industry on financial management, technical accounting issues, as well as the leading arena for debate on investments, hospitality technology developments, revenue management and marketing. HOSPA's Professional Development Programmes provide rigorous and relevant education for all those seeking to further their careers in these important functions. It will also be launching its new course in Asset Management in September 2020. A regular programme of workshops and seminars provides the perfect opportunity for members to continue to develop their knowledge and network with colleagues. HOSPA is on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @HOSPATweets. For more information, visit: www.hospa.org

Related