Demystifying Technology: Internet of Things (IoT)
Reviewed and updated in October 2026.
The term "Internet of Things" was coined in 1999, but it took another decade before it became part of everyday vocabulary. Put simply, IoT covers anything that collects data and shares it over a network, usually a wireless one, so that the data can be processed somewhere else.
What is IoT?
IoT is more than a device connected to the internet. It includes the whole data supply chain: the device that collects data, the wireless network that transfers it, the back-end infrastructure that analyzes and processes it, the data itself, and the app you use to control the device or view its data.
IoT today
IoT has been part of daily life for years, often without anyone noticing.
The smartwatch is a good example. For most consumers it is an extension of their phone. Technically, it is an IoT device: it collects data about the wearer, such as heart rate, GPS location and number of steps, sends it to the phone and from there to the cloud, where the user can review the data over the course of a day. That simple watch involves a local wireless connection from watch to phone, a wider wireless connection from phone to internet, and a cloud provider where the data ultimately resides.
The smart home is another. It ranges from door sensors and carbon dioxide sensors that send notifications when triggered to light bulbs, TVs or air conditioning that you control from an app or by voice through a virtual assistant.
Industry uses IoT to take work off people's hands. Many utilities have deployed smart meters that report consumption automatically, so nobody has to visit every house to read the meter.
These examples are only the tip of the iceberg. IoT can automate repetitive tasks (opening and closing a greenhouse window), give insight into an environment (temperature and humidity in a building), report the status of a remote location (free spaces in a parking lot), act as a trigger (a panic button for lone workers) or handle access control (an NFC reader at a door).
Connectivity
At the heart of every IoT ecosystem is connectivity: the device needs a path to deliver its payload. Depending on the technology, IoT devices connect in one of three general network architectures: point-to-point, mesh or star. There are dozens of protocols, but only a handful have reached the critical mass for widespread use, such as Bluetooth and NFC/RFID.
The IoT series at a glance
This article opens our "Demystifying Technology" series on IoT. The following parts look at how IoT devices communicate and how to choose the right technology for a use case:
- IoT Communications, Short Range: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave and Zigbee
- IoT Communications, Long Range: LoRaWAN, Sigfox, NB-IoT and LTE-M
- IoT Communications, Conclusion: network topologies, deciding factors and example use cases
How IoT sensors can be monitored and tied into existing alerting and ticketing tools is covered in ISEC7 SPHERE Expands Its Capabilities: IoT Device Management Made Easy. An early example is ISEC7 SPHERE IoT for smart buttons.
Planning to bring IoT devices into your device management? ISEC7 SPHERE monitors IoT devices alongside your other endpoints, and our team supports endpoint management projects end to end. Contact us with any questions.
