The Era of Connected Machines Date:   Monday , November 24, 2014 Headquartered in Santa Clara, Intel (INTC) is a semiconductor chip maker. The current market cap of the company is $166.45 billion. The Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are dramatically changing the way computing is being woven into our everyday lives: from automotive, healthcare, and retail to manufacturing, IOT, wearables, and more. The Internet of Things is creating a world with endless possibilities. The Internet of Things, sometimes referred to as the Industrial Internet of Things, the Internet of Everything (IoE), or Industry 4.0 is defined as \"devices that are connecting to the internet, integrating greater compute capabilities, and using data analytics to extract valuable information which helps to make meaningful decision. The internet of things is one that accelerates the development and deployment of the Internet for industrial applications, autonomous driving, Smart Cities, and more, but should create sustainable economic development, high quality of life and improving efficiency. Solutions enabled with the backbone of IoT with emphasis on enabling complete end-to-end solution while keeping in mind connectivity, manageability & security as the most important drivers. The approach has been enabling gateway solutions & integrating them with the backbone ICT infrastructure while adding intelligence & using the extracted data to arrive at meaningful decision making capability in a secure environment. Through exciting innovations in IoT, we can enable the possibility for cars that recognize their drivers, supermarket displays that help plan dinner menus, baby clothing that delivers real-time information about your child, and devices that automate energy and water use for optimal savings. According to a recent McKinsey Global Institute report, the number of connected machines has grown by 300 percent over the past five years, due largely to the transformational power of IoT technologies and their ability to drive greater efficiency in the estimated $36 trillion spend in operating costs in affected industries. As more devices become connected every day, companies face increased fragmentation, interoperability and security challenges. IoT will influence both consumer and business sections. From devices to data centers; hardware and software; security and services, it is about delivering products and technologies that embed intelligence into everyday objects to connect and share data and enable the connected world. Working across pillars such as Environmental (Urban planning, Energy, Building automation and having a strong Green initiative), Social (Safe, Healthy, inclusion of ICT & e-governance), Human (Inclusive society, better education, foster creativity) and Economic (Improve Productivity, Connectivity, and Entrepreneurship) and excelling in these key areas can be done so through strong human capital, social capital, and ICT infrastructure. The IoT is all about the power of connection. What\'s more, no single technology provider can enable the IoT alone. So it makes sense that fulfilling its promise requires collaboration. While we at Intel are at the center of a vibrant ecosystem of organizations that are speeding the development of the IoT in industries and applications everywhere, the ecosystem helps brings together the range of expertise and abilities required to create the IoT value chain. To address big challenges that the industry will face as IoT scales such as Standardization & Interoperability, we are putting our efforts together with large eco system partners globally on Industrial Internet Consortium and Open Interconnect Consortium. The chain begins with components, starting with ingredients, such as processors, modules, operating systems, and security software. Original design manufacturers (ODMs) use these to build boards that end up in things delivered by original equipment manufacturers (OEMS). Systems integrators turn these things into industry-specific solutions with application and data analytics software. Network services connect things and cloud services, which take advantage of that analytics and application software to turn raw data into useful information. In India there is real need & value to have smart environmental practices, smart governance, efficient infrastructure and better utilization of resources which collectively will help economy & improve life of average citizen while bringing more transparency & efficiency into the system.There are some very intelligent systems that have been implemented in India. For example, \"Intelligent transportation project have been adopted, deployed and executed by our eco system partners e.g. Punjab, UPSRTC project in UP and Gujarat BRTS\", \"Computerization of Public distribution System with complete end-to-end solution and local language support is deployed in Karnataka and is also under pilot phase in couple of other states,\" \"Retail solution with Analytics & mobile healthcare platform are under active consideration for couple of high volume opportunities.\" We will get faster and more complete access to information, which we can all agree fuels a better quality of life. The amount of data generated from device-to-device communication is staggering, but the key is to have greater access to the right information, not an overload of information that is irrelevant. This will have a tremendous impact on our physical and intellectual well-being. IoT will play a key role in the Internet of Things that is enabling new services, enhancing productivity and efficiency, and improving development of innovative consumer experiences. IoT is changing the way we interact with the world as well as enabling the world to interact with us.