Princess Sumaya highlights opportunities offered by Internet of Things

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya, president of the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), on Monday said the Internet of Things (IoT) offers great businesses opportunities and is a chance to improve people’s lives.

Addressing the Arab Advisers Group’s 12th Convergence Summit, the princess said IoT, a concept that refers to any physical object connected to the Internet, entails huge potential to make societies, and even cities, smarter and more efficient.

“IoT plays a key role in how we live, work, learn and communicate… It has a great potential to improve services in many areas,” she said at the event, which attracted more than 500 ICT and media experts and senior executives from over 20 countries.

According to figures released by Cisco, there will be some 5 billion devices and objects connected to the Internet by 2020. Connected devices include wearables that can generate information about peoples’ health and other information, according to ICT experts.

The International Data Corporation forecasts that the worldwide market for IoT solutions will grow from $1.9 trillion in 2013 to $7.1 trillion in 2020.

“We should not underestimate the potential of IoT as the cost of technology is decreasing and smartphone adoption and connectivity is on the rise,” the princess said.

She highlighted that the field of IoT offers several business opportunities, as the enormous amount of data emerging from connected devices boost data analytics and big data.

Stressing that there is an increased adoption of IoT in Jordan and the Middle East, Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of the Arab Advisers Group, said the growing number of connected machines, devices and people is fuelling IoT.

“The potential for making use of IoT is massive especially in the fields of health and education,” Abbassi said at the opening of the two-day summit.

In an address at the event, ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh said technological innovation and market demands are driving the ICT sector in Jordan and elsewhere towards convergence, which is pushing both the government and ICT companies towards changing, updating and upgrading their different business components.

“Jordan has adopted solid policies and strategies in the ICT sector that enabled convergence among telecommunications, media and computing services to enhance the impact of information and communication technologies on the economic development journey,” Shweikeh added.

Nowadays, Jordan’s ICT landscape is not only an enabler but also a game changer, she noted; it provides a case study in what it takes to succeed on the international scene — “a combination of sound policies, strong telecom infrastructure and growing talents”.

Shweikeh said the mobile penetration rate in Jordan reached 147 per cent of the population at the end of 2014, with smartphone penetration standing at 60 per cent and Internet penetration at 75 per cent.

“This gives an important indicator that Jordan is ahead in technology diffusion and is on the way of adopting the latest converged technologies.”

Participants at the two-day event are looking into the current state of IoT in the Arab world, and its role in transforming vital sectors such as healthcare and education. 

On the media front, they will look into HD TV adoption, which is growing among free-to-air channels, among other issues.