FEATURE : INTERNET OF THINGS

With Digital Transformation accelerating , the benefits the

Internet of Things ( IoT ) can provide organisations , especially those reliant on data collected from Edge devices are substantial . Industry experts share insights on how IT decision-makers can increase their understanding of how IoT can be better integrated into existing systems while remaining scalable for growth opportunities , writes

Manda Banda .

A ‘ thing ’ in the IoT can be a person with a heart monitor implant , a farm animal with a biochip transponder , an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tyre pressure is low or any other natural or manmade object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol ( IP ) address and is able to transfer data over a network . shown great promise and opportunity in the past decade . He said this , of course , can be seen in the continent ’ s eagerness to transcend into the Fourth Industrial Revolution .

Holland added that IoT has grown in both supply and demand – especially with COVID-19 now accelerating the continent ’ s deployment . “ This can be seen in the continent ’ s growing demand for smarter financial systems and more stable telecommunications operations . The truth , however , is that deploying IoT at scale can be quite an intricate task . Africa has , however , shown it ’ s agility and eagerness regarding IoT ,” he said . “ This can be seen with Kenya ’ s investment in IoT networks and base stations as well as Nigeria ’ s rollout of IoT networks powered by Ingenu ’ s Random Phase Multiple Access ( RPMA ) technology .”

Ian Jansen van Rensburg , Senior Systems Engineer and Lead Technologist , VMware , said the industrial revolution global markets are experiencing today , commonly referred to as Industry 4.0 , is powered by technological advancements that include the Internet of Things ( IoT ), smart manufacturing , robotics and Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) to name a few things .

van Rensburg , said the ability of machines to communicate and evolve to become a more intelligent device coupled with the advent of connected devices and platforms drives digitisation of the manufacturing arena .

MarketsandMarkets forecasts that the global IoT market size to be US $ 170.6 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach US $ 561.0 billion by 2022 , growing at a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of 26.9 % during the forecast period . Jim Holland , Regional Director , Africa , Lenovo Data Centre Group , said while Africa may be a developing continent , it has

“ IoT , supervisory control and data acquisition ( SCADA ) and Industrial IoT ( IIoT ) are transforming manufacturing by allowing for a connected experience that has streamlined and simplified many manufacturing processes ,” he said . “ This will become a critical technology to enable the continent to embrace a digitally transformed landscape in Africa .

34 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com