Why Enterprises Can’t Overlook IoT Device Management
From simple smartwatches to today’s feature-rich smart homes, the tech industry has seen enormous growth. A few decades back, the Internet was a revolution in itself; now, it’s the Internet of Things (IoT) that’s making our lives more comfortable.
Imagine automatically controlling your lights, locks, refrigerator, water heater, car, microwave, and more, with all devices turning on and off, is based on your presence and the settings you’ve defined. By connecting all of these devices with one another, IoT provides enhanced access to the internet that is creating a revolution in our homes that’s quickly moving to enterprises.
In this fast-paced world, there’s never enough time to do it all. IoT could change that, at least to some degree, by enabling users to improve their overall efficiency by spending less time and energy on completing tasks. When devices are connected with each other, they can communicate to offer the best results in the shortest time possible. For employees that deal with service-level agreements (SLAs), like IT managers, saving time on high-priority tasks could make all the difference.
A few IoT devices have already started taking over enterprise routines. Voice-enabled personal assistants built into devices, like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and various smartwatches, are helping employees send messages, pull up information, and complete more complicated tasks using API calls and other integrations with business apps. Smart GPS tracking devices are making it easier for IT teams to track equipment, especially valuable endpoints. Internet-enabled chemical and toxin monitoring devices can send facilities staff updates about potential issues so they can maintain a healthy work environment. And, while they may not be performing complex data analysis like some of their IoT counterparts, smart lighting and heating systems are saving enterprises on their utility bills.
Once an organization starts implementing more of these IoT devices, it won’t be long until they find themselves prioritizing IoT device management and security.
The IoT market has a long way to go until it reaches its final stage of saturation. One major hurdle for IoT device manufacturers is making sure that their products’ underlying software is always up-to-date. For instance, let’s say a vendor produces smartwatches that run on Android. If this vendor doesn’t continue supporting newer versions of Android, their smartwatches are going to be incompatible with many applications and vulnerable to cyberthreats. The threat of outdated devices is a huge concern for enterprises, and it is one of the biggest security risks associated with IoT.
