Monday, 27 February 2017

Q.3.1 Discuss the Internet of Things and how it will affect businesses in South Africa. Identify a sector in the industry and detail how it will be impacted.


The internet of things refers to any device or thing which can be connected to the internet. This is more and more common nowadays, with so many devices being available that rely on the internet (Kobie, 2017). This will have a major impact on South African businesses, as we can already see it is currently doing (Toesland, 2015). 

More and more businesses are having to update their technology, develop apps and smart devices in order to keep up with the current trends. Taking an example, the healthcare industry is already being completely changed by the Internet of Things. There are so many wearables that you can get which will tell you your heart rate, sleep quality and time and so much more, which is giving the patients much more access to their own medical records, and allowing them to track their own health (Meola, 2016). Remote care monitoring is becoming more common, and there are apps through which you can get a doctor’s diagnosis now, and telehealth is more common where you are able to have a doctor's appointment remotely (Johnson, 2016). 

This is radically changing the whole of healthcare and the accessibility of these services to millions, as people do not necessarily have to go into a doctors surgery anymore, which can be very difficult for some people, particularly those who do not have the money for the high fees, or for public transport. These changes therefore have huge potential for increasing availability of healthcare across the country. 

References: 
Johnson, A. (2016) The Internet of Things and its Impact on the Healthcare Sector, Cira Labs. Available at: https://cira.ca/blogs/cira-labs/internet-things-iot-and-its-impact-healthcare-sector (Accessed: 29 March 2017).
Kobie, N. (2017) What is the internet of things?, the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/06/what-is-the-internet-of-things-google (Accessed: 29 March 2017).
Meola, A. (2016) Internet of Things in healthcare: Information technology in health, Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/internet-of-things-in-healthcare-2016-8 (Accessed: 29 March 2017).
Toesland, F. (2015) Will Africa take the lead in the Internet of Things?, African Business Magazine. Available at: http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/sectors/infrastructure/will-africa-take-lead-internet-things (Accessed: 29 March 2017).

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