Companies are looking for mechanisms to familiarize themselves with the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT), a technology that shows more and more successful use cases in activities ranging from product traceability to the prediction and prevention of failures in production machinery.

While this is happening, a brand new and more immersive concept is already beginning to emerge: the Internet of Everything (IoE). The idea is no longer that devices connect to the network to emit or capture information, but that people, processes, data and things are combined to ensure that the total network connections are more relevant and deliver the maximum possible added value.

IoE goals include the ability to deliver seamless experiences and enable smarter decisions to be made in real time.

Core technologies

The technological principles that make IoE possible do not differ from those that allowed the deployment of IoT: edge computing and cloud computing for absolute decentralization. The data is not processed in unified centers, but where it is required.

Another relevant feature of IoE is that external data can be put on devices and returned to other network components. And, on the other hand, interconnection with other cutting-edge technologies currently available is essential: from IoT itself to artificial intelligence, machine learning and, of course, big data. IoE is not possible without the ability to process huge volumes of data.

The 4 pillars of IoE

1. Connection: unlike IoT, IoE is not just about connecting devices or things. This is just one of the pillars on which this concept rests.
2. Users: they are the ones who deliver personal knowledge through different channels, such as websites, applications, wearables or social networks. Cognitive technologies analyze this data and deliver relevant content according to the detected needs.
3. Data: the essential pillar to generate valuable insights. 
4. Processes: based on technologies such as machine learning, processes guarantee that the right data reaches the right person at the right time.

First use cases

The applications that can be based on the IoE concept are numerous. In fact, this concept allows us to exploit the potential of IoT to the extreme. For example, in a logistics solution that defines optimal routes and controls vehicles with smart devices, an analysis of the delivery conditions requested by buyers can be incorporated to increase customer satisfaction. It is even possible to add real-time monitoring that immediately reschedules a delivery if a consumer can’t receive their product as scheduled.

The public sector can use it to optimize traffic light systems dynamically or promote energy savings with personalized intelligent use systems. 

There are practically no industries that do not have the potential to benefit from IoE. This technology seeks to turn data into meaning, and meaning into value.

Many times, given the dimension of the social change that the Internet has produced since its appearance just a couple of decades ago, people tend to say “the Internet is everything”, and this is a concept that takes that idea almost literally.