If you are a sports fan, you know that nothing is more gratifying than watching your team come back from a deficit to win. In sports, it's not uncommon to see professional teams that are down 3-1 or 3-0 in a four-game series turn the tide and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But have you ever heard of a team on the verge of defeat winning eight consecutive matches for the overall series win? In what is considered by some to be the most prolific comeback in sports history, Oracle Team USA won eight consecutive days of sailing against the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron to win the 34th America's Cup in 2013 (the final series tally was 9-8). You may be wondering what contributed to Oracle Team USA turning the tide. Many people think that the key to its triumph was in the data.

Oracle Team USA leveraged an impressive network of sensors and data analytics tools to help it achieve victory. During each race, more than 300 sensors were used to collect roughly 3,000 variables about the performance of the boat.Data for everything, from the strain on the mast to angle sensors on the wings, were captured, stored, and analyzed.These data were transmitted to support teams nearby and to the sailors on the boat who could monitor key performance indicators in real time by looking at devices strapped to their wrists.

Immediate access to these analytics during the race allowed for better strategic decision making as well as opportunities for the support team servicing the boat to make modifications to the vessel between races. While the overall victory of Oracle Team USA was incredible, it is more profound to consider how sensor technologies and the ability to rapidly transmit, store, and analyze large data sets have redefined countless operations and industries. Welcome to the growing world of the Internet of Things (IoT)!

If You Can't Take the IoT, Get Out of the Kitchen IoT is generally defined as the proliferation of Internet- connected devices. As more smart devices are connected to the Internet, increasing amounts of data are captured and transmitted by these devices. The potential impact of the IoT is tremendous. It's estimated that there will be roughly 25 billion Internet-connected devices by 2020.As seen in the Oracle Team USA sailing example, having access to more data can result in more efficient processes and better decision making. But what does the IoT mean for business? Could IoT deviceschange the way businesses operate? Could they fundamentally change the way financial transactions are processed?

A hotbed of innovation for the IoT is the home kitchen. This is because kitchens are typically filled with a variety of appliances that are already plugged in and have embedded computers (of varying degrees of complexity). The cost of adding Wi-Fi connectivity to any of these devices is trivial, yet doing so can enhance functionality (e.g., you can start the coffee maker from bed by using an app on your phone).

Refrigerators are often considered prime targets for the IoT. Internet connectivity could allow remote viewing of fridge contents (in case you forget your shopping list at home when you go to the store) or tracking of items as they are consumed and need to be replenished. Could a smart refrigerator recognize that you are low on vegetables or fruit and automatically order replacement groceries? Could it complete the financial transaction for you autonomously?

Banking institutions are starting to see the potential impact of IoT devices on their industry. They are interested in becoming the managers of these automated transactions that will be conducted by IoT devices, especially when you consider the potential for loyalty programs and rewards points to be paired with these transactions. Imagine how the magnitude of financial transactions will change over the next decade if instead of making one or two payments at a grocery store each week your debit or credit card is being charged several times a day as various ingredients and foodstuffs run low and your appliances are reordering groceries for you. Now expand the scope to other appliances or even other parts of the home(e.g., 30 percent of the hangers on a rack in your closet are missing, so your IoT closet notifies a dry-cleaning service to come pick up your dirty shirts).

IoT = Winning It is important to recognize that the IoT not only will revolutionize transactions for private consumers, but it will also change how businesses manage their transactions, loans, and other financial operations. For example, when a business takes out a loan, there is a declaration of some form of collateral. Or when a business is calculating balance sheets, inventories are assessed and reported. In manufacturing and agricultural industries, inventories of products or livestock could be tracked in real time, allowing financial statements to be current at all times,not just when inventories are tallied and official statements are produced.

At an even higher level, as inventories of raw materials or trading goods are placed on ships and are transported around the world to various partners in a supply chain, these materialscan be tracked in real time. So whether you are trying to win a race on a sailboat or win a race to get your products manufactured and delivered on time, in the high-tech businessenvironment we are living in today, IoT can be invaluable to helping you win!

The article looked at the enhanced functionality that could come from a smart refrigerator with Internet connectivity. Can you identify any potential drawbacks or complications that may arise from this connectivity? Take a minute to think about your home or apartment. What types of things would you like to see connect to the Internet? How would this connectivity make your life better or more efficient?