This year is posed to be a significant one in the Internet of Things world. Everyday devices are moving toward IoT in an attempt to make our lives easier, which is slowly but surely tethering to the internet. It's particularly interesting to think mundane items like lightbulbs and doorbells are being made smart and can potentially communicate with each other along IoT. This is only the beginning of a new technological shift and 2019 will see a lot of growth.

Artificial intelligence is driving this IoT expansion. Not only have we seen an onslaught of AI enabled devices to come into our lives but AI could potentially aid in protecting the internet of things. With an infinite amount of data moving through IoT, it’s virtually impossible that humans can manage that kind of constantly moving information. So AI can be trained to spot efficiency issues or even catch any problems with an automated threat detection system. Basically anywhere you see an AI device, IoT is lingering very near.

The next advancement you’ll see is businesses moving toward IoT adoption. There are so many ways businesses can use IoT to aid in successes. The manufacturing industry is a great example of the ease that comes along with streamlining IoT and AI. They are able to report every little detail of its operations as well as cast that info to connected devices. Not only is there a lot of value in this data, but it also makes many tasks more accurate and simplistic. Finally, it can really boost businesses into the 21st century of marketing with endless smart possibilities.

Something most people are becoming familiar with is the vocal abilities of IoT devices. Many people are already using devices like Google’s Alexa in their homes. The ability of voice control is something that will begin to take hold amongst the majority of IoT devices through the development of AI. It is already assisting with inter-communication and is a logical progression to working efficiently without even lifting a finger.

With the increase in IoT device use, an issue has come up causing some people to step back from cloud computing. With so much data being processed to and from the cloud, networks are often clogged and slow. So instead, many businesses have switched to edge computing or “on-site”. This seems complicated, but it’s really not, it’s simply a server that is close to where the action is taking place, such as the business. This allows the immense amount of data to flow more freely by sending and receiving information locally rather than sending it to the cloud. The biggest issue with edge computing is the very real need for backup disaster recovery.

Finally, with IoT needing speed and data to function properly, 2019 should see more 5G networks. This will assist in faster-operating speeds as well as data availability. With this in place, IoT will expand immensely in the next few years. With increased bandwidth, opportunities are endless to initiate more smart devices.