Assuming personal data trust issues prevalent in today’s society are overcome, the Internet of Things is poised to take off. Apple has a history of disrupting the technology market through making technology accessible and the Apple watch will soon be available with analysts believing the company is expecting to shift 30-40 million this year alone.

Additionally in 2014 Ralph Lauren trialled its smart shirt at the US Open tennis tournament, giving weight to the suggestion that brands carrying social currency are pushing wearable technology, and it will have a wider knock-on effect.

Various figures have been thrown about regarding the ‘number of things’ connected to the internet with Cisco claiming 25 billion devices will be connected this year. That’s significantly over three times the number of people on the planet.

A key benefit of the Internet of Things is supporting human planning and decision making.

As it goes mainstream, consumers will start expecting ‘everything’ to be connected and more intelligent in the provision of information. We are entering the era of Ubiquitous Connection.

Businesses that can adopt this mantra of creating a more intelligent offering will gain competitive advantage. Doing this will need a reversal of brand data flow, from pull to push, and companies that think along the lines of ‘what information can we give (push) to our customers to help their decision making and planning’ will be the ones who gain an advantage and will not have to play catch up.