Internet of things (IoT) is no longer in the future, it is the future. There are signs of it already; Refrigerators are already connected to smartphones to talk to you; wristwatches are no longer just for checking time, they can do lots more; eyeglasses see a lot more than what is in front of you; houses are going beyond just where you find shelter to interacting more with you; moving chairs will soon be the way you queue in shopping malls and more. All of that is captured under the word ‘disruption’.
Often you find Nigerians who say, “Well, IoT will take years before it reaches Nigeria because of broadband challenges”. Although we still have a long way to go in broadband connection, the IoT revolution is not waiting for when broadband gets to every nook and cranny of the country. It is here already. At a recent Cyber security conference, one man stood up to tell the audience how his television was predicting accurately what he would loved to watch and informed him on his phone whenever his children tuned to channels he did not authorize.
At an interview recently, an interview wore a smart hand-band that informed him when his phone was ringing and it can take a voice massage. The implication of the looming IoT movement is that your old skills that made you the most grossing staff may no longer cut it. It will not be enough to take you to the next level of your career. Your skill-set could use a disruption too and the only way to do that is to think of how you can leverage the imminent IoT future. Projections are already strong on the possibility of IoT coming mainstream by 2020. It is not a question of your classroom education and colourful certificates.
Regardless of the degree you have or the position you occupy in your industry, there are basic skills you will need to survive in an IoT workplace. According to experts, these will be the leading employability indicators. The first is the knowledge of data. Big data is the major force that is projected to drive the internet of things workplace. The smart TV, refrigera- tor, house, sunglass and many more will only function by harnessing vast amounts data and analyzing them. While noting the importance of data, an expert put it this way, even if your field does not seem like it would make use of big data, chances are if you will be using an IoT device, you will need to have at least some functional knowledge of big data. There is no escaping it, data is going to become very important and ignorance will be to your financial detriment. The good news is there is not enough talent to mine the IoT workplace skills. Hence, starting early to integrate the data skills will ensure you are ahead of those that will eventually adopt the phenomenon later. Another useful skill is the knowledge of technoloIoT skills to stay financially relevant gies often used with big data, like flash storage.
Communication will also be a necessary skill for sur- vival. People with good skills for communication are able to interpret the big data process or teach others the fundamentals of IoT – there will be vast number who will want to learn, trust me. Earlier in the week, the CyberxChange Conference held in Lagos and there were various cyber security experts who were paid to make different presentations. Most of them do not necessarily own their businesses but some other company pays them separate to provide expertise. This is an important skill you may want to acquire. As IoT proliferates, the fear of security breaches will grow and organisations will require experts who can proffer so- lutions to the challenges. You will need to know how to conduct vulnerability as- sessments and how to ensure wireless network security. Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be a vital part of IoT world and someone that knows the ins and outs will be a valuable asset to many organisations and individuals. AI will be important to help IoT devices make important decisions. While you are at it, put collaboration in focus. Do not restrict your knowledge to one aspect of IoT, ensure you are as diversified enough that your solutions can be applied to different business and that you are in contact with other professionals who possess these skills in other to smoothen the process
