5pm. After a day of work, Michael returns home by car. Before getting in the car, he looks at his smartphone that is automatically unlocked through his iris. In his house there is nobody. He gets in the car and the GPS tells him the best way home depending on traffic. The Spotify application is on and playing one of his favorite records: Transformers of Lou Reed.

When Michael is 10 minutes away from his destination, home air conditioning is turned to 24 degrees (as he likes). 50 meters away from his home, garden irrigation turns off and the garage door opens. He parks his car, and automatically the music keeps playing inside the house. Michael looks at the LED display refrigerator with the grocery list to buy. He presses “ok” and confirms the order to the supermarket. A text message makes his watch vibrate: the products he just bought will arrive in 1 hour. The vacuum cleaner goes alone quietly.

The smart home sensor sends another message. His wife arrives in 15 minutes. He goes into the bathroom to take a shower and the water regulates itself at the right temperature. When he takes off his shoes, his watch tells him how many steps he took during the day and how many calories he burned considering he also ran 1 hour in the noon.

It is not a science fiction scene. Nor is it one of the future. Michael's life is an intelligent life that already exists. Can you remember the TV show the Jetsons? The Jetson family lived in a futuristic utopia. Well that world is already here today! It is clear that the new technology is taking us through some massive changes. The improvements in wearable technologies are becoming a reality in our day-to-day lives.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is finally coming and emerging as the third wave in the development of the Internet. Personal lives, workplace productivity and consumption will all change, with repercussions across the business spectrum, too. A simple idea that will make our lives easier and more productive by connecting us to our devices and connecting our devices to us.

The third wave?

Check this. The 1990s’ Internet wave connected 1 billion users while the 2000s’ mobile wave connected another 2 billion. The IoT has the potential to connect 10X as many (30 billion) “things” to the Internet by 2020.

All the devices around us will be smart, connected and working in coordination to optimize for efficiency and to respond automatically almost instantly to our needs. The Technology is available and the possibilities are endless: in an office ecosystem, in the home ecosystem and in the personal ecosystem.

In an office ecosystem the Internet of Things include servers, printers, computers, lights, windows and doors. All of these devices will talk to an office control system which in turn would talk to the building management system while some of these devices will also interact with a personal ecosystem. At the most basic level, the smart office will also allow companies to save money.

In the home ecosystem all devices (TV’s, lighting, heating, doors, windows, fridges, freezers etc.) will talk to an internet connected Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC enabled device, which in turn can talk to devices in a personal ecosystem, where productivity becomes fun and ties everything together.

The devices in this ecosystem include laptops, tablets, mobile phones, wearable technology such as fitness trackers, smart glasses, smart wallets, and cars. All of these devices will connect with a mobile phone and communicate with other ecosystems.

In short, the advantages of these highly networked and connected devices mean productive and enhanced quality of lives for people.

As captured by Goldman Sachs’s, IoT has key verticals of adoption: Connected Wearable Devices, Connected Cars, Connected Homes, Connected Cities, and the Industrial Internet.

Source: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research.

And now, 2 things to consider…

On the one hand is the fact that most devices are not yet ready to communicate with another brand of devices. Specific products can only be networked with their fellow products under the same brand name. It is essential to note that the Internet of Things can only work if these gadgets and devices start interacting with each other through a networked system. The AllSeen Alliance, a nonprofit organization devoted to the adoption of the Internet of Things, is facilitating to make sure that main companies are manufacturing products compatible with a networked system and to ensure that these products can interact with each other.

On the other hand, the most important disadvantage of the Internet of Things is with regard to the privacy and security issue. The dangers that the connected world brings are real.

Smart home devices have the ability to devour a lot of data and information about a user. These data can include personal schedules, shopping habits, medicine intake schedule and even location of the user at any given time. If these data fall into the wrong hands great harm and damage can be done to people.

Anyway, the greater security risk will always be in the hands of the users. It is better to be educated on the IoT now than to wait till the Internet is already in everything. In our view, the advantages are stronger than the disadvantages.