The IoT revolution is expected to create millions of new job opportunities across the industry, especially for electrical professionals.
This sits in contrast to the revelation that automation will cause massive job redundancies.
This opposing opinion was made by industry leaders including Schneider Electric, Osram, ABB, and Philips who were brought together by digital media business and sales enabler Voltimum.
Schneider Electric UK&I president Tanuja Randery said: "The IoT revolution is going to change the way we work, as individuals, organisations and companies.
"We have to find new ways of applying our resources, so I don’t agree with those that say it’s going to cause an enormous amount of redundancies.
"I fundamentally believe that IoT won’t work without human interaction of some kind. You can automate processes and create significant efficiency, but at the end of the day there is someone programming the algorithm or analysing the data – because the robots can’t do it.
"We need 4.5 million developers for IoT alone, so I think anyone that does get made redundant will end up getting jobs elsewhere."
Content from our partners
Smart home technology like electric bulbs and the ones used in buildings are expected to significantly benefit electrical professionals.
According to industry experts, for the successful deployment of IoT, proper standards must be established and implemented to safeguard the rise of connected devices.
ABB Low Voltage Products Standardisation and Industry Relations head Kai Garrels
said: "Function and safety standards ensure that machines and installations are safe and they don’t harm people and have been in place for many years.
"We then have IT security standards, mainly on the infrastructure, which are also in place but have room to evolve as you wouldn’t apply power plant infrastructure security to your home."
