Sunday 17 July 2022

IoT Is Changing the Semiconductor Industry; and How Big Data is Applied in Major Industries

1. The IoT semiconductor industry is in continually high demand, especially as people look for increasingly advanced and feature-filled connected devices. However, the specific reasons for the chip’s rise are more complex than some might think. Here’s a closer look at some of them.

2. On the other hand, there are some major big data applications where it has become a game-changer for increasing efficiency, enhancing customer service, reducing costs, making better products, and much more:

IOT SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY
1. The Chip Shortage Hinders IoT Production and Development - A recent survey of global IoT developers showed that most face significant challenges. More than eight in 10 respondents said they must rapidly manufacture new products and services to keep or grow their current market positions. However, doing that isn’t as straightforward as they might hope.

2. That’s because 61% of respondents said the semiconductor shortage had restricted their ability to deliver new products to customers. The supply chain troubles negatively impact developers, too. Respondents said developers had to adapt their firmware and digital products to make them work with whatever chips were available. Doing so put more pressure on already-strained team members.

3. More than 90% of decision-makers at IoT companies said they worried about the well-being of their developers. Digital product development is increasingly complex, and developers themselves are in short supply.

4. A 2021 IoT market research report showed that the sector grew 22.4% that year, reaching $158 billion. However, analysts confirmed that supply chain issues and the labor shortage prevented maximum growth potential during the year. Researchers expected the market to reach a compound annual growth rate of 22% to $525 billion from 2022 until 2027. However, that was adjusted down from previous forecasts due to the previously described challenges.

5. The Widespread Use of IoT Devices Has Increased Security Concerns - People used more than 10 billion IoT devices in 2021, and that number could rise to 25.4 billion by 2030. The popularity of IoT products has changed how and why people use technology. However, it has also dramatically broadened the attack surface for cybercriminals to target.

6. Succeeding in IoT semiconductor manufacturing means adhering to tight quality control measures to avoid unwanted outcomes. For example, inaccurate cutting during silicon wafer dicing lowers process yields. However, maintaining high-quality production also means taking precautions to prevent security issues at the chip level and elsewhere in the IoT product.

7. Counterfeit chips are among the often-discussed risks. One study found that 55% of integrated circuit manufacturers had found counterfeit versions of their products. Government authorities have also warned that fake chips could pose national security threats. Even if the ramifications aren’t that severe, cybercriminals might alter counterfeit IoT semiconductors to put malware on them. That’s not just a far-fetched idea, either.

8. One report showed a 71% jump in the attack rate for IoT malware in health care during 2021. Across all sectors, there was a 4% drop in such malware deployment. However, researchers said the future might show a strong rebound in such attacks. Cybersecurity researchers also recently highlighted a proof of concept for IoT malware. They said it could move laterally across an IoT network after infection and compromise the OT infrastructure.

9. When people think about how to secure devices, they must also consider the IoT semiconductor as a possible risk element. Moreover, manufacturers must keep doing what they can so chips and gadgets are as resilient as possible against attacks. Security should be a top-of-mind concern from the start rather than an afterthought.

10. The IoT Semiconductor Causes Shifts in the Tech Landscape - As IoT devices become more widely available and affordable, people naturally start to prefer them over less-advanced or more traditional options. Sales of smartphones in 2020 dropped by 12.5%. Relatedly, new phones are not as in demand as they once were, suggesting people are holding onto their old ones for longer and not feeling pressured to buy the latest releases.

11. One reason for the decline could be that people have easy access to IoT devices that do everything phones can and more. Smart speaker revenue reached $4.4 billion in 2017 and was expected to reach $17.4 billion in 2022. Such growth requires IoT semiconductor production. When people continue preferring to buy connected gadgets, the components that make them work become more in demand, too.

12. However, the previously mentioned chip shortage may not be a wholly bad thing. One possibility is that the creativity necessitated by the lack of semiconductors could lead to hardware innovations that would not have happened so quickly otherwise.

13. Some IoT designers are already making changes to integrate more functions into newer, specialized chips. Others are looking at options that would let them stop using the hardest-to-source parts altogether or make software alterations that can handle some functionality normally reserved for hardware.

14. Tech manufacturers must constantly assess customer trends and adapt accordingly. The demand for the IoT semiconductor makes that even more necessary. The average consumer won’t know or care about what happens under the hood to make their connected devices work. They’re happy as long as they function as expected. However, manufacturers must operate within the parameters set by the components they can reliably source.

15. Educational Curriculums Have Changed to Stay Current - People with semiconductor-related skills are in tremendous demand, and the IoT is a key driver of that labor market need. There was a 78% rise in job postings for electrical engineers in the semiconductor industry between 2020 and 2021. As of March 2022, Intel had more than 2,500 open positions for engineers in the U.S.

16. The people overseeing the curriculums for tech-related degrees have changed course content to reflect the growing need for and usage of IoT devices. Even some self-guided courses occurring solely online typically cover IoT products and how they affect the skills people need to succeed in the industry.

17. Representatives from many well-known semiconductor brands also understandably want to minimize the time frame for when a person receives the education they need to work in the industry and when they get hired for their first role. That’s why people from semiconductor companies often partner with educational institutions and directly influence the learning content. Some schools even have labs and equipment sponsored by manufacturers.


APPLICATION OF BIG DATA IN MAJOR INDUSTRIES
1. Big data has become an important tool in modern industries today. It has revolutionized the way business is conducted. It has changed the way data is being used. In this age of consumerism, big data helps to provide better products for users. Big data has use cases in many processes today because of its advantages. In this article, we will discuss how big data is used in many industries.

2. Education: Big data is of immense utility to the education sector. This sector is flooded with a large amount of data related to students, results, teachers, courses, etc. Proper utilization of this data can prove beneficial for everyone. It can customize course material, improve grading systems, improvise teaching methods, check teachers’ effectiveness, and make career predictions. Education can be made more efficient with the application of big data.

3. Government: Government has to keep track of states, cities, growth, trade, energy resources, financial markets, surveys, health, and whatnot. Without proper insight, all this data would be of no use and the government sector would not be able to reach conclusions based on this data. Big data is also used to protect the country by analyzing data from various government agencies. It helps the government to take action whenever required.

4. Healthcare: Big data is used in the healthcare industry for several purposes. It is used to track the spread of chronic diseases. It is used to predict the severity of epidemics or pandemics and detects the preventive measures that can be taken. It helps in healthcare research so that professionals can come up with better medical solutions. It is also used to detect diseases in their early stages so that treatment can be done as early as possible.

5. Transportation: The transportation sector benefits a lot from big data analysis. It is being used for route planning, congestion management, accident control, etc. Google maps use big data to locate areas with high traffic to optimize routes for its users. Different routes, multiple modes of transportation, and other factors are considered to find the most optimum route with the least resource wastage. Businesses use this application to save costs on deliveries and keep their drivers safe.

6. Banking and financial markets: Big data is used to monitor financial markets. It is used in the banking industry for fraud detection, risk mitigation, tracking money laundering, etc. Misuse of credit and debit cards is also detected with the help of data. Credit risk reporting of enterprises is done through big data analytics.

7. Business insights: Businesses have a lot of data with them related to their customers, competitors, products, markets, profits, etc. A major portion of this data is unstructured. Proper utilization of this data is extremely beneficial for a business. Big data is useful in product development, enhancing customer experience, and solving problems related to profit. It is also used for target marketing. Decision-makers of today rely heavily on data for making informed decisions that will be beneficial for the entire organization.

8. Weather patterns: Some of the use cases of big data in weather patterns are studying global warming, forecasting weather, understanding natural disasters, and detecting preventive measures in case of a crisis. Data is analyzed and studied in weather research of a geographical region to conclude. Weather pattern prediction is useful for other industries, for example, transport.

9. Insurance: In the insurance industry, big data is used for making transparent and simpler products. Customer behavior from various sources is studied through big data. A real-time big data study is done throughout the claim cycle to get valuable insights. Big data proves beneficial in fraud detection too in the insurance industry. The underwriting stages of insurance are important for claim management and big data helps in performing predictive analysis in these stages.

10. Media and entertainment: This industry relies heavily on big data. Customer behavior is studied to provide users with personalized recommendations. Services like Spotify and amazon prime use big data to provide a better customer experience and recommend personalized content. It is used to predict the interests of the audience and get insights from customers’ feedback. Advertisements are also targeted on these platforms using big data. Content performance can be measured on any streaming platform, and content for different target audiences can also be curated.

11. Industries are recognizing the importance of data science in their day-to-day activities. Big data analysis helps to deliver better products and services. It is a competitive world and businesses need to keep up with the latest technologies. Big data has endless applications and great utility. Its benefits are what we are here for and its utilization will continue to grow in the future.


Source:
https://datafloq.com/read/4-reasons-rise-iot-semiconductor-industry/

https://datafloq.com/read/application-big-data-major-industries/