The IoT refers to the connection of all kinds of devices to the internet and to each other. It is a network that spans two overlapping areas: communication and information technologies. The first is smart, connected products and services, including consumer devices like smart watches. The second is the collection of data to improve business performance. This includes the industrial Internet of things (IIoT), when manufacturers and other industrials collect and analyze data from equipment, machines and other sources. With this data, they can improve processes, predict and prevent problems, and ultimately create superior ecosystems for new products and services. The global IoT market is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2020. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of executives responding to our 2017 Global Digital IQ Survey say they’re already investing in the IoT, and 63% say they will be investing in three years.

Among our Essential Eight Technologies presented by PWC respondents to the survey said the IoT was the one in which they most expect to invest. Respondents rank the IoT technology as the most disruptive technology to industry and business models. Companies across industries are investing in the IoT. They are using the IoT to provide consumers with a better experience and to increase the effectiveness of their products and services. The goal? Overall, to make life easier and better by
automating tasks, improving healthcare, making homes and cars safer, and saving electricity and water, among other things.