Excerpt: Over the last five years, the marketplace has seen an explosion in the number of IoT (Internet of Things) devices being used not only personally but also professionally. From health monitors and smart coffee machines to cars, the growth in the usage of these devices has gone from millions to billions, driven mostly by a massive decrease in the cost of the technology and faster/low cost internet speeds. While these devices being heavily adopted is leading to greater opportunities for real-time collection of data, improved integration, and low-maintenance operations, it does not come without significant security concerns. The addition of hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of new devices on secure networks introduces great risk, and a review on the part of IT professionals to determine how to manage the flood of these devices headed into hospitality operations will be necessary.

We will discuss the business implications for the new world of IoT devices, what it means for the hospitality industry, and what precautions operators need to take in order to maximize the benefit without putting the network, data, and the overall business at risk. The technology will soon be available in almost all major appliances and devices – perhaps even in places that you as an operator are not aware of – so getting out in front of this and developing a strategy to deal with it is most prudent.