Pros and Cons of Internet of Things

Pros and Cons of Internet of Things – Internet of Things AKA IoT is a trending topic that can be heard on the lips of every tech-freak out there.

It might not look like it, or feel like it. But this thing has been stapled for households or even commercial use. But as with everything in this life, IoT also has its own advantages and disadvantages.

With millions or maybe billions of devices interconnected in the IoT ecosystem, you might not realize that these devices are around us in inter-human or machine-to-machine interaction.

And with that in mind, this article will discuss the pros and cons of Internet of Things that you should acknowledge.

Pros of Internet of Things

1. Ease of Access

Yes, this is the most important and most obvious pros of the Internet of Things which makes our life much easier.

It benefits us, as users, due to its real-time operation that gives us improved experience with smart solutions with just a touch of our smartphones and Internet connection.

IoT offers you a lot of things, such as informing you about the status of your groceries, your electricity bills alert, or when it’s the time to pull your turkey out of the oven through text messages or other communication means.

Surely it makes our life easier, right?

Another example of the convenience the IoT will give you is explained through this one example. 

Let’s say your alarm rings at 6 o’clock in the morning then you switch it off. When doing so, it’ll connect with your home water heating system to heat the water at the desired temperature.

Not going to stop there, at the same time, it’ll instruct the coffee maker to start brewing your coffee, all with a single touch and the best thing is you don’t even have to wake up.

2. Smart Cities

Due to automated operation provided by the IoT-enabled devices, it’ll ensure that none of the electricity is going to be wasted even with minimal human interference.

For example, IoT-enabled devices can automatically switch off street lights during the day and turn them back on when the night arrives.

Another example of the IoT is that you can monitor the vibrations of buildings, bridges and monuments to prevent overloading that can be harmful for the occupant of the said buildings.

3. Eases Communication

IoT encourages communication between devices or also known as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication that allows you to control and automate taxes daily.

4. Save Time and Money

IoT allows businesses to save their production costs on a large scale due to its ability to provide an effective communication between electronic appliances which in turn would conserve and save both cost and energy.

5. Data Collection

The  IoT devices are constantly capturing data and storing it through the sensors that are integrated into the devices.

With that being said, the major benefits of IoT is because the data collection can be used to explore new business opportunities as it can store the data from your customers.

And other than that, IoT devices such as smart watches are able to collect data about your heartbeat, temperature, sleep and exercise.

This data can be a lifesaver in case some health concerns happen.

Cons of Internet of Things

1. Complexity

IoT can get a little complex and complicated since so many devices are connected with each other with varied configurations.

With that being said, even any small glitches in the system can be a big issue and would be difficult to identify and resolve the issue.

2. Security

Since the IoT works over connected networks such as Bluetooth, Zigbee or Wi-Fi connection, there is a constant cyber attacks threat to the system which is one of the major disadvantages of IoT.

And in addition to that, the sensors integrated with the IoT devices constantly collect data and may contain sensitive information regarding finance, health or other personal details of its users.

3. Unemployment 

A lot of tasks can be tackled with using IoT devices, which surely make our daily life much easier.

But, this can be a double-edged sword, as this trait may be a threat to many existing job roles, thus leading to unemployment in many sectors.

4. Dependency

Not only with the Internet of Things, dependency is an inseparable aspect of technology as a whole, too.

With each innovation and technological advancement, the dependence on machines is increasing exponentially.

With that being said, this dependency will affect us as humans, as it may make us less efficient.

5. Compatibility

Different IoT devices from different manufacturers have different specifications too. And with that, if those devices are interconnected with each other, compatibility issues may appear. This is Common Challenges of IoT.

This happens due there’s not yet a global standard that’s set for IoT devices that would take care of the compatibility issue in the system.

So there you have it! The Pros and Cons of the Internet of Things that you should be aware of.