The purpose of this chapter is to address challenges related to the integration and implementation of the developing internet of things (IoT) into the daily lives of people. Demands for communication between devices, sensors, and systems are reciprocally driving increased demands for people to communicate and manage the growing digital ecosystem of the IoT and an unprecedented volume of data. A larger study was established to explore how digital transformation through unified communication and collaboration (UC&C) technologies impact the productivity and innovation of people in the context of one of the world's largest automotive enterprises, General Motors (GM). An analysis and exploration of this research milieu, supported by a critical realist interpretation of solutions, suggested that recommendations can be made that the integration and implementation of digital transformation, delivered via UC&C technologies, impact productivity and opportunity for driving innovation within a global automotive enterprise.
TopIntroduction
In this chapter, there will be a focus on introducing the paradigm of the Internet of Things (IoT). The role of people in the rapidly developing and emerging digital environment of the Internet of Things is investigated, highlighting changes in the dynamics of communication and collaboration between the IoT-enabled, digital, cyber and physical worlds.
This chapter establishes background context on the development of the technologies associated with the Internet of Things and how it overlaps with other emerging digital paradigms, such as Industry 4.0. A literature review explores these concepts, serving to provide a context for addressing questions relating to the drivers of individual innovation behavior (Ngugi & Goosen, 2018) and productivity, resulting from the integration and implementation of associated Unified Communication and Collaboration (UC&C) technologies.
The context developed through the review of the IoT and Industry 4.0 is essential to address the primary research question: To what extent can the integration and implementation of the Internet of Things through digital transformation impact productivity and innovation? To establish and evaluate the requirements of a communication and collaboration technologies framework that supports successful enterprise digitization, comprehension of the future and emerging Internet of Things applications and strategic trends, as well as technological advances related to cloud based IoT, is required.
The rapid development of the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 is leading to not only the next generation of industrial revolution, but also the emergence in new approaches to UC&C technologies in society, businesses and enterprises.
The IoT has garnered a lot of attention based on what is known as smart objects, as well as being connected via technology, middleware and applications (Fortino & Trunfio, 2014).
Cloud computing is considered to act as a paradigm for Big Data management, storage and analytics, including, according to Tripathi (2015), Optimizing Operational and Migration Cost in the Cloud Paradigm (OOMCCP). The cloud based IoT, alongside integration, is further fueled towards the next generational era.
Target Audience
This chapter lies therein that the target audience of academics, as well as members of IoT research groups, who integrating introduction of protocols, led by developments about integration and implementation in the context of the challenges and implication issues of these on society.
In terms of the recommended topics for possible inclusion in the book, this chapter will consider:
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With regard to network architecture and system design for cloud-based IoT, the functional architecture of “UC&C systems are typically composed of multiple heterogeneous communications platforms, applications, digital communication mediums and” computer platforms (Bolton, Goosen, & Kritzinger, 2016, p. 5). Such platforms can “include dedicated virtual, cloud, desktop, mobile” computer and storage systems.
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Integration and implementation of existing IoT related technologies, standards and protocol options
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Solutions and recommendations
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Future research directions
Impacts: This chapter will therefore represent the incorporation of inputs. The chapter will also provide an introductory overview and discussion of the impact that the current uses, issues and inherent assumptions with regard to information being shared across ‘things’ and applications, as well as the possible impact that these sectors could have on the Internet of Things and vice versa. Together with studies related to the features of this chapter, the main emphasis will be placed on such social aspects.
The impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on sustainable development towards youth employability (Alao & Brink, 2020), sustainable and inclusive quality education through research-informed practice on ICTs (Goosen, 2018a), as well as the sustainability of cloud-based solutions for smart society, will also receive attention.
Finally, unified communication and collaboration that could be achieved with cloud computing in terms of security and social media (Messier, 2014), as well as the impact on productivity and innovation that the integration and implementation of the IoT through digital transformation and UC&C technologies could have on the promotion of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Bolton, Goosen, & Kritzinger, 2020b), will be investigated.