Informational Architecture in IoT Applications - Paper Example

Understanding the Information Architecture, Data Management, and Analysis Challenges and Opportunities of the Internet of Things

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The world today is exposed to a lot of information driven by the developments in technology infrastructure. In addition, the community has become part of the new paradigm that provides a multitude of channels through which users can access information anytime (Raina, 2016). There are three main types of data that users can be able to access through such devices including consumer home devices, commercial-grade devices, and industrial-grade devices.

The consumer home devices include items that are used on a daily basis including appliances, sensors, and meters, which frequently communicate to the users (Raina, 2016). Commercial-grade devices capture devices that aim at transmitting data based on consumer usage, interaction including automotive, and electronics among others. Industrial-grade devices are devices that play a critical role in improving business operations including manufacturing equipment, transportation, and cameras among others.

IoT has become one of the greatest evolutions in technology. This is because it has created an opportunity for billions of people across the globe to connect through mobile access. However, it is important that all the necessary data management technologies are coordinated to guarantee proper IoT functionality. Companies need to take advantage of the opportunities created by IoT to expand market share and enjoy a competitive advantage against their competitors (Raina, 2016).

Structure of Typical IoT Setup

IoT has been able to gather a significant level of attention in the recent years. Although the phenomenon is increasingly popular, there is still a debate in as far as its architecture is concerned. IoT can, however, be divided into three layers including information perception layer, data exchange or data network layer, and information application layer (Rwanshane, 2016). It is crucial to understand the functionality of each of the layers to better the understanding of IoT setup. The perception layer constitutes of physical objects and sensor devices whose primary function is to identify objects and collect information. Such devices include camera, radio frequency identification, and all kind of sensors (Rwanshane, 2016).

The transport layer performs the role of transmitting data received through the various available networks, which include cable networks and wireless network (Rwanshane, 2016). The application layer performs the function of acquiring, storing, analyzing, and processing the data received. Industries can thus use the processed data in achieving their goal in as far as communicating to the end user is concerned. Security is a paramount element when it comes to IoT mainly because there are cases where people exchange different kinds of data simultaneously. It is, therefore, important that security be implemented at every layer (Rwanshane, 2016).

The internet of things: An overview

IoT is a crucial topic in the technology industry, which has resulted in significant advancement in the computing power and network interconnections (Rose, Eldridge, & Chapin, 2015). IoT presents many promises and perils likely to be experienced in the community with the implementation of the concept. The computing ability of the IoT extends to the different devices, sensors, and other times that people use on a daily basis. The computing and connectivity trends adopted in IoT have been evolving across the different industries to the extent that they are now applicable to vast industries including automotive, manufacturing, communication, consumer electronics, and healthcare among other industries (Rose, Eldridge, & Chapin, 2015).

As the future progresses, there is likely to be a significant shift in how the community interacts with the internet. The community is quickly learning how to integrate the use of technology in delivering service to the people. IoT connects and communicates to the target market using technical communication models, which include device-to-device communications, device-to-cloud communications, device-to-gateway model, and back-end data-sharing model (Rose, Eldridge, & Chapin, 2015). The effectiveness of the IoT communications model adopted enhances the technical innovation and opportunities that foster growth in an organization. IoT raises a few issues including the IoT security challenge and a spectrum of security considerations. Users must however understand the value of using this platform and its contribution to performance (Rose, Eldridge, & Chapin, 2015).

Information architecture for intelligent products in the internet of things

A bigger section of the population has grown up seeing things such as buildings, robots, and fiction movies and books. This is however just but an imaginary world where different stakeholders are doing everything to achieve this vision (Framling & Nyman, 2008). The world today has embraced the use of control computers at performing the different functions in production. This is an implementation of the IoT, in reality, giving people the opportunity to understand how IoT can be integrated into their lives (Framling & Nyman, 2008).

IoT has also encouraged flexibility if an organization experiences an exchange in information. Ideally, because of the developments in technology, users can connect anything using the proposed architecture that supports reading, writing, and sharing of information. Information architecture plays a critical role in enabling IoT and making it practical in the market (Framling & Nyman, 2008).

Internet of things: A survey on enabling technologies, protocols, and applications

The world is experiencing a significant increase in the number of objects connected to the internet (Al-Fuqaha, et al., 2015). This has been made possible by IoT, which makes it easier for physical objects to see, think, hear, and coordinate how information is to be shared. IoT has also created a market opportunity for the manufactures of equipment, internet service providers, and companies that develop applications. In addition, it has also transcended into other industries such as health and manufacturing (Al-Fuqaha, et al., 2015).

With the growing population of the number of people with access to the internet, IoT will be able to interconnect more objects through the internet platform. IoT has fives layer each of which plays a specific role. They include service management layer, application layer, object abstraction layer, business layer, and objects layer. In addition, IoT comprises of elements such as identification, sensing, communication, computation, services, and semantics (Al-Fuqaha, et al., 2015). However, it is important that the challenges associated with IoT including availability, reliability, mobility, performance, scalability, management, and interoperability are addressed in order to increase performance and attract more users (Al-Fuqaha, et al., 2015).

Security challenges of the Internet of Things

The internet connects different devices from various parts of the world making it possible for people to share information (Weber & Boban, 2016). IoT allows networking of different things and objects for everyday communication without any form of a human interacting with the aim of improving living conditions. IoT is a network of objects with the ability to detect and exchange information. However, the current application of IoT is limited by expected future changes (Weber & Boban, 2016).

The scope of application of IoT can be divided into four categories including personal and household IoT, service programs, mobile IoT, and economic IoT. The implementation of IoT is however faced with many challenges, which include standardization, security, confidentiality, and integrity of data, and security privacy and confidentiality. If these challenges are addressed, then it will be easier to expand the implementation of IoT into the different areas of life (Weber & Boban, 2016).

Security in Internet of Things

There is significant growth and development in information and communication technology, which is making it possible for people across the world to send and receive information. Part of this development includes the application of IoT in the different industries and sectors in an economy. IoT is divided into three layers including perceptual, transport, and application layers. These layers perform different functions that complement each other to ensure successful implementation of IoT (Song, 2013).

IoT is however faced with numerous security threats and challenges especially with the increased concern of privacy by the public (Song, 2013). As such, it is crucial that the security of IoT is strengthened through implementation of mature and complete security models. There is also a concern on whether it is possible to apply IoT on a large scale despite challenges such as cost, security, and privacy. Three predominant security issues are affecting IoT including internets security issues, IoTs own security issues, and Internet security issues under the scene of IoT. The security architecture application of IoT should be able to create a design that is resilient to attacks, authentication, low cost, privacy protection enabled, and improve access control of IoT (Song, 2013).

Internet of Things: Security vulnerabilities and challenges

With IoT, electronic devices have been made an active participant in sharing information with other people in the network. IoT interconnects the real world sensors, electronic devices, and system to the internet platform. Such devices include internet connected automotive, smartphones, tablets, smart energy, wireless sensor networks, and consumer services among other devices (Andrea, Chrysostomou, & Hadjichristofi, 2015).

The world has been able to experience successful implementation of IoT because of the existing network technologies including Radio Frequency Identification, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Cloud Computing. IoT has three main layers each of which perform specific roles (Andrea, Chrysostomou, & Hadjichristofi, 2015). The layers include application layer, network layer, and physical layer. However, with the challenges IoT is experiencing, it is important that a resilient system to attacks, security, and privacy issues be created. As such, it is important to ensure that risk assessment procedures, intrusion detection, and physical security and management are done in all layers to protect IoT from security issues (Andrea, Chrysostomou, & Hadjichristofi, 2015).

Internet of Things: Security challenges for next generation networks

The Internet of things (IoT) is a network that contains embedded technology with the ability to sense and interact with the external environment (Gupta & Shukla, 2016). It has found application in many industries and areas in life including medicine, home automation, industrial plants, smart cities, wireless sensor networks, and fitness equipments among other areas (Gupta & Shukla, 2016). IoT is however faced with a number of challenges including massive scaling, architecture and dependencies, generation of big data, robustness, and security and privacy.

There are ongoing research in trying to address the challenges in IoT security by providing confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation, and authentication (Gupta & Shukla, 2016). Some of the issues include

Identifying and locating objects in IoT

Authenticating and authorizing in IoT

Privacy

Lightweight cryptosystems and security protocols

Vulnerability of software

Operating systems for the preexisting platforms

Wireless sensor networks

Internet of Things: Key technology, architecture, and cha...