Telecommunications, computers and the internet have all helped propel humanity forward. They have enabled us to achieve more than was technically possible in the past.

Now, we, as businesses and as individuals, are fast approaching a new era in what is technologically possible. Soon, nearly every object will be able to communicate and share information or data at near-instantaneous speeds. Human interfacing with many machines and consoles will be minimised, and issues which previously could have led to catastrophic problems will be solved before they ever have a chance to begin.

The era, of course, is the introduction of wide-scale Internet of Things (IoT) services where information is collected and shared between remote smart-devices. Connected things can signal their environment, be remotely monitored, controlled – and increasingly, make decisions and take actions based on the messages they receive.

IoT promises to bring a variety of business benefits with it, including increased efficiency across industries, safer infrastructure and reduced operational costs.