Rigzone reports that “the global oil and gas industry’s hunt for hydrocarbons in increasingly remote, extreme environments and its focus on safety and efficiency as it faces a shortage of expertise is driving the need for Internet of Things solutions within the industry.”  

“The Internet of Things – where objects, people and animals have unique identifiers and can transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to computer interaction – has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems and the Internet. In the Internet of Things, a thing can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a car with built-in sensors that alert drivers to low tire pressure – or any natural or manmade object that can be assigned an IP address and able to transfer data over a network.”  

“The shift from human input generating data – such as credit card transactions at a gas station pump – to data generated between machines, is greatly expanding the number of possible transactions that can occur. Presently, there are at least 10 billion unique devices currently connected, according to technology analysis firm Gartner. By 2020, Gartner expects the Internet of Things will have more than 50 billion devices.”