It has always been human nature, since the very dawn of time, to innovate, to progress, to build something new on the back of what we’ve got, and to find something better. Humanity has never stopped exploring or experimenting, always trying to learn new things, and create new ways of doing things. It is a uniquely special element that makes humanity.
The interminable march of human progress has yielded a transformation in the very way humans live. Starting off as loosely organised packs of hunter-gatherers, before forming rudimentary kingdoms, complete with social hierarchy, political systems, and courts of law. Then the age of empires dawned, and the most powerful societies sprawled across the world, bringing advancement, but also many terrible actions, the likes of which have had a devastating effect to this day. The flourishing of art and culture in the middle ages gave way to the roar of a primitive machine, which was very quickly outpaced by humanity’s charge into the future, placing our first footprint on the Moon, before revolutionising the world yet again with the development of the internet.
Time and again, humanity has shown an insatiable hunger for more, for different, and for better. We have come far, but we continue to move further. The early industrial revolution and later birth of the internet weren’t enough for our needs – now we are on the brink of the next leap forward.
The advancement of the internet has led to the forging of the new “internet of things” – the increasing connectivity of all objects to the internet and to each other, allowing the quick transmission and sharing of information and data. Just like with each great advancement before it, this new development presents many opportunities for our very way of life to transform.
Now, the traditional industry is embracing the internet of things, and combining old and new technology together, to develop entirely new methods which will be far more efficient, effective, and productive, increasing industrial and manufacturing output, and benefiting consumers, workers, and the economy.
This has becoming known as the industrial internet of things and is potentially considered and being the next great economic revolution. It’s not hard to see why. We know the positive impact of the internet on so many parts of life, making things quicker and easier. It is clear that the use of the internet of things to enhance older techniques will change the industry forever.
In this coming economic revolution, there will be a huge role for the tech savvy – the engineers, the programmers, the cyber-security experts. These are the people who will be at the heart of forging new, safe, and productive cyber-industry, that does what it needs to effectively and well.
It is thought that the industrial internet of things will be worth between 10 and 15 trillion US dollars by 2030 and will contribute more to the world economy than any country excluding the US and China. That is a monumental sum of money and a huge market. That means a lot of new opportunities for businesses, and a lot chances for those with particular skills.
The interesting thing for programmers who might want to work for their cut of the booming industry is that the coding language needed for the internet of things technology is awfully similar to that used for ordinary desktop computers, making the transition from one to the other fairly easy and manageable. That presents coders with ample opportunity to master internet of things technology and seamlessly glide into the industrial internet of things.
A whole range of industries, including power and energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, and others will be transformed by the growth of machine to machine communication, as part of the internet of things, with up to 46% of the global economy due to benefit from the new technologies.
So, whilst the next big leap in human progress and the evolution of civilization will bring great rewards to bold businesses and increased prosperity to communities, it will also bring new ways for programmers to be successful and find a role. It’s a good time to be in the technology industry, and even if you’re an inexperienced programmer used to simple code on desktop computers, there are still lots of opportunities for new skills and new roles. What a time to be alive!
