Internet of Things will transform business in the next five years, survey says

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of products via the internet, and this innovative technology is beginning to fuse the digital realm with the physical world. The introduction of machine-aided commerce has catalysed this shift, and Amazon is leading the way as commerce automation becomes more prevalent in everyday life.

Euromonitor International conducted a global Industry Insights Survey of 1,445 professionals to decipher how companies are reacting to the ever-changing technology of the digital era. According to the survey, respondents identified the IoT and the cloud as the top technologies, with more than half disclosing that their company is planning to make investments over the next five years.

While the cloud was identified as the most influential technology for businesses in the past year, almost 60% of the respondents believe that IoT will be the most impactful corporate tool over the next five years. Upcoming investments in internet-enabled products are perhaps a result of recently reduced technological costs, alongside significant improvements in processing power.

Amazon is leading the market when it comes to commerce automation with the introduction of the Amazon Dash, a service that allows consumers to order products at the press of a button. This technology is designed to dramatically impact the final purchase decision of a consumer, and it looks like the service will continue to improve based on customer engagements and personalised recommendations.

The company has also gone one step further by launching the Amazon Dash Replenishment Service, a platform that allows customers to reorder products from the comfort of their own home, and often without a thought. Consumers can choose to passively rely on automation technology that measures the usage of goods, an important innovation that would advance the commerce sectors that require continuous replenishment.

As the IoT technology advances and integrates into everyday life, the active consumer is becoming redundant. According to industry professionals, machine-aided commerce is the next big step, and it looks as if the IoT will continue to innovate and become increasingly important in business.