The most beneficial IoT applications:
industry verticals and horizontal enablers

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the latest stage in a long and still pending revolution in computing and communications. Its size, diversity, and impact on daily life, business, and government overshadow the previous history of technological progress.
McKinsey estimates that IoT market turnover will reach $ 11 trillion by 2025. So experts agree that the IoT will eventually completely transform the existing IT landscape. In an increasingly competitive environment, more and more industrial and manufacturing companies will begin to implement IoT technologies.

Horizontal and vertical application in IoT
With the advancement of IoT technologies, two business models have emerged: vertical and horizontal.

The vertical market is closely focused on meeting the needs of one specific industry that is provided and controlled by the same company. The horizontal market can sell its products and services in more than one industry and therefore targets a wider range of business segments.

The advantage of a vertical business model is the ability to quickly contact a service provider in case of mistakes and minimize errors with compatibility between different elements. The horizontal model allows for fast communication and resource exchange between suppliers, which in turn promotes innovation and rapid growth.
Vertical application in IoT
Smart Cities

Smart city solutions examples such as smart parking, noise mapping, smart lighting control, etc. will be extremely useful. These applications are under development, but their implementation is inevitable, because the prospects for public safety, air pollution monitoring, and optimization of city traffic, especially in metropolitan areas, are enormous. Therefore the Smart City IoT applications are a fast-growing and very promising industry.

Intelligent buildings

IoT applications allow for the control of Intelligent Buildings and Home systems: facility-automation and monitoring for building systems (HVAC, lighting, elevators, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers), building utilization, and security (room use, access, surveillance). This enables rational resource usage and saves valuable resources for the future.

Smart Homes

Today, IoT applications are helping us make our life more comfortable and safer. There are many products built into the Smart Home system. Among them: smart thermostats and air conditioners, speakers, smart sockets, smoke and motion detectors, smart intercom system, pet feeders with a timer, light bulbs that turn on at dusk, etc. IoT Smart Home technologies are one of the most fast-growing segments and are expected to have around 15.12% CAGR over the forecast period 2019-2026.

Features of Smart Home | Oriented Soft
Healthcare

The global internet of medical things (IoMT) market is expected to reach a $158 billion valuation in 2022. IoT use cases in medicine are changing the treatment of patients, tracking their condition and collecting vital information. Such solutions provide data on the current state of the patient, monitor their changes, and automatically warn of potential problems before they become critical. Data analysis using devices is aimed at improving the diagnosis of patients' conditions. Constant monitoring of patients allows doctors to have a holistic and relevant picture of a patient’s wellbeing.

Consumer Goods

Technological solutions in everyday goods allow for continuous monitoring of the main indicators and they make life easier and more pleasant. "Smart" assistants in the form of wearable devices on the hand have gained immense popularity. Smart bracelets are full-fledged gadgets for health monitoring that also count steps, analyze activity, and provide health reports to the user. Moreover, IoT use cases in consumer goods can help to care for children or older persons, or pets, by giving 24/7monitoring, care, and communication.

Industrial

Among the best examples of IoT applications in the industry are all kinds of sensors, software systems, and big data analytics for operations management and control in the shop-floor or remote production processes. Smart machines improve productivity and correct common human errors, especially those related to quality control and sustainability.

Automotive

Already, we can use smart cars equipped with countless sensors and an internet connection to guarantee us maximum comfort. Other IoT use cases include remote control of doors and garage temperatures. Moreover, smart cars can independently assess the situation on a road and correct a car’s route without human intervention. They can also be used to update maps and assess traffic situations.

Agriculture

IoT technology in the form of sensors records various indicators of soil conditions: moisture, plant nutrition, temperature, etc. Now there is no need to go around entire fields to control crops as the work can be done with smart systems and products. IoT use cases in agriculture include precision farming, livestock monitoring, irrigation control and automated drones for farm surveys, field mapping, crop spraying, and more.

Supply chains

Top IoT applications track and shape supply chains in real time to help businesses make informed decisions and prevent shortages. Accurately tracking the availability of goods at a remote warehouse, based on the order or current demand, IoT applications automatically generate the best delivery or exchange operation scheme that is convenient for all interested parties. At the same time, the minimum need for labor is achieved and, as a result, the best economic effect of logistics in general.

Energy systems

The energy sector, which will grow by 40% in the next 25 years, requires a particularly painstaking approach to the design and organization of electrical networks. Thus, by collecting data on the time and nature of consumption, IoT applications analyze the processes of electricity circulation between suppliers and consumers, automatically optimize the use of resources, and improve their delivery parameters.

Horizontal IoT applications
A horizontal application is any software application that connects numerous users with different knowledge and skill sets by allowing multiple providers to work with a common framework. They can be off-the-shelf solutions or integrated and proprietary vendor solutions.

The horizontal architecture makes it possible to combine and match hardware devices from many producers with a single application. It enables open connectivity, improved privacy and security, scalability and flexibility, higher quality, and lower cost.
Horizontal and vertical applications in IoT | Oriented Soft
The horizontal enablers comprise all those technology and service elements required to make a smart connected system. Every IoT application requires all these enablers:

  • Sensors and devices
They gather information about the physical world, and can even interact with it. Raw data such as temperature and pressure are recorded and then sent to a gateway or any other device for local analysis or further processing. These can be various thermometers, microphones, cameras, and dozens of other less common devices.

  • IoT gateways and communication protocols
These are devices that are usually assigned the logic of superficial analysis of information coming from sensors connected to them. In certain situations, data analysis may require a few computing resources, so that the gates are quite capable of making some decisions on their own.

  • Security Infrastructure
Security for operational efficiency and protection of physical and digital assets is a critical element that needs to be built into each component of a system, including the devices, apps, gateways, hubs, communications, servers, and cloud platforms. With the necessary tools, you can monitor, detect and defend against attacks on informational and operational resources.

  • IoT Platforms
The IoT platform is a complex software environment. It collects information from sensors, devices, networks, and software and links them all together. Together, they provide valuable and effective data. Horizontal platforms enable companies to select best-in-class products tailored for their work needs in a heterogeneous environment.

  • Data acquisition and analytics
Big data, predictive analytics, stream processing, and other methods are used to design “smart” IoT devices.

  • IT infrastructure
All previous elements must be supported by a cloud, hosted, or hybrid IT infrastructure that integrates into legacy IT and business systems.
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Final thoughts
A horizontal approach simplifies innovation and allows new applications and businesses to proliferate quickly, but it must receive significant support before it can deliver on its promises. Many open gateways are required before third-party developers can count on an adequate market for service.

Thus, there are two types of IoT players:

  • Companies that provide technology, services, infrastructure, and other capabilities to create smart experiences;
  • New or existing companies that use IoT tools to create new or improve existing products or operations.



After deciding which model is more beneficial in the long run for your business, we can help you realize your IoT idea from prototypes or an MVP to the release of a ready-made mobile or web solution. We strive to use the enormous potential of the Internet of Things and help you start large-scale projects even without extensive experience.
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