How IoT and Situational Awareness Changes the Management Profession

IoT sensors extend our physical senses beyond our physical reach. Haptic feedback systems enable us to physically feel distant objects and experience events, digital odors can be collected, profiled, transmitted and recreated locally on odor printers, 3D infrared scanners can capture and scale physical shapes and environments and transmit them anywhere to be used by 3D printers or in digital scenes. We can visualize, sense, and mentally and emotionally experience events. These experiences, which are data centric and data heavy, are all supported by IoT. Wikipedia defines reality as, ”The state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined.” With enough sensors collecting data, and with the right VR solutions and sensory feedback systems in place, we can step across the line from virtual to real reality. These technologies enable us to sense, feel, and experience actual events - potentially on the other side of the world. This is a big deal. This can enable experts to be anywhere on the planet, with maximum understanding of local situations. Although many of these technologies are still in their infancy, they hint of a time very soon when the ability to bring distant realities into homes, industry and boardrooms are not only possible, but commonplace. The keys to making this future a reality, are measuring and collecting the right data, transmitting it, and optimizing the sensory experience.