Many disruptive technologies exist in today’s world. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has increased the rate at which technological innovations are released. However, none of these innovative attempts have been as popular as IoT and blockchain technology. This article discusses the possibility of combining both technologies and the benefits we can achieve from the combination.
What is IoT?
IoT stands for Internet of Things. It is a system that connects numerous digital devices in a single network. The IoT system enables these devices to interact and share data. Any digital device can connect to an IoT system if the device has a digital identifier such as an IP address. Hence, devices as simple as a household air fryer can also connect to the IoT system. Today, more than seven billion IoT devices share data over the internet.
What is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized system that stores data in the form of transaction blocks. Data stored on the blockchain is distributed across all computers on the network. Thus, the data cannot be edited or deleted.
The IoT-Blockchain Convergence
While IoT and blockchain may seem like completely different technologies, their combination holds immense potential. An IoT-Blockchain combination will involve the IoT system enabling devices to interact over the internet while all shared data is sent to a blockchain network. IoT acts as a digital connector while the blockchain network is responsible for data storage.
Benefits of the IoT-Blockchain Convergence
More Trust and Security:
While there is no doubt that IoT is a remarkable innovation, it is not without its flaws. One of such flaws is IoT’s vulnerability to hacking attacks. Hackers often hijack the system when devices are connected to IoT systems by sending false service requests. These requests bombard the system and affect its proper functioning. With the integration of blockchain, all data on the IoT system are sent to the blockchain system. Since blockchain technology is less vulnerable to hack attacks, the information is more secure.
Higher Scalability:
As stated earlier, the IoT is basically a network of devices. However, as IoT systems continue to process more data, the systems may experience lags. Resolving this issue will require additional investments to expand the system’s capacity. Blockchain can eliminate these challenges by handling millions of transactions per second. Essentially, blockchain will improve the IoT system’s ability to deal with increasing data load.
Fewer Costs:
Given that the added capabilities of blockchain technology will reduce the challenges experienced in the IoT system, companies utilising IoT will be able to cut costs on expansion and security investments.
Conclusion
Technological collaboration has gained significant attention in today’s world. This trend is because there is a general realization that technological innovations are rarely perfect. These innovations often have features that can complement the operations of other technologies. Hence, it is only wise to facilitate cross-technology combinations like the IoT-Blockchain convergence.
