In a move that surprised very few people, the Oxford English Dictionary in August officially added a number of buzzworthy words to their online dictionary, including, yes, “buzzworthy,” but also “Internet of things,” which is defined as “a proposed development of the Internet in which everyday objects have network connectivity, allowing them to send and receive data.”
We’ve been talking about the Internet of things for some time here at Microsoft. For instance, a little over two years ago, we introduced intelligent systems, which is how enterprises take advantage of the Internet of things. Companies are bringing intelligent systems powered by Microsoft into healthcare facilities, the factory floor and even onto the streets of Paris.
“So, while we’re gratified to see formal recognition of the Internet of things, I have to take issue with one part of the dictionary’s definition… the use of the word ‘proposed,’” writes Kevin Dallas, general manager at Microsoft, over on the Windows Embedded blog. “It may be the early days, but there is nothing proposed about the Internet of things. It is here right now. It is happening today.”
For more on the ways Microsoft is using the Internet of things to solve hard problems in a number of industries, head on over to the Windows Embedded blog.
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Jennifer Chen
Microsoft News Center Staff