Internet of things is a promising technology that could revolutionize our world reasonably and businesses have began to leverage on its enormous potentials. The possibilities of a smarter world are huge and interesting to behold. Across the world adoption of IoT varies greatly, just as the developed countries have creatively began deploying the technology to solve complex problems; it’s not the same for developing countries like Africa. The low adoption of IoT in developing countries is not limited to the following reasons;
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Awareness
The awareness around Internet of Things (IoT) as a tool of change is very low and this has greatly affected industries/businesses in developing countries as they have not started harnessing the associated benefits of Internet of Things (IoT) like smartness, scalability and intelligence.
The number of “Off The Shelf” IoT solutions available to decision makers in most developing countries are few, pricey and alot of times lack localization (Suitability for Emerging Markets).
Technical Expertise
There’s a shortage of skilled hands with respect to Internet of Things (IoT) and this contributes greatly to the shortage of “Off The Shelf” solutions available as well as the expensive nature of implementing Internet of Things (IoT).
Also, engineering curriculum in developing countries are currently not teaching and supporting a lot of the latest technologies including Internet of Things (IoT) – thereby contributing to the shortage of skilled hands we have in emerging economics of the world.
Power Challenges
Epileptic power supply is another major issue in developing countries and Internet of Things (IoT) devices need electricity to function. Self Power-Generation (S.P.G) is possible and justifiable for the Big/Large Scale industries but the associated overhead cost is reducing profit. Medium and Small Scale industries would profit more from the potentials of Internet of Things (IoT) as it helps them scale and grow. But the power issue a lot of times restricts implementing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions if not discourages outrightly. Low-power processors as well as piezoelectric or pyro electric materials are the future of Internet of Things. But until then the limitations are there.
Network Capacity Constraints
Poor and Obsolete Data infrastructures is one of the factors inhibiting internet penetration in developing countries and invaribly affect the adoption of IoT greatly. Data is the new oil and the appropriate data infrastructure is a catalyst for increasing adoption of Internet of Things (IoT).
A smarter world driven by Internet of Things (IoT) is quite possible. But except the divide in terms of adoption between the developed and developing countries of the world is bridged, we are a long stretch from achieving a smart world.