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These devices will also need new protocols, more bandwidth and tighter security and con-
sume more energy.
A good example of this push toward smart devices is General Electric’s (GE) Industrial
6
Internet. GE’s Industrial Internet is a broad program focused on creating smart devices, ana-
lyzing the data from these devices, and then making changes that increase efficiencies, reduce
waste, and improve decision making. GE sees the greatest potential for smart devices in hospi-
tals, power grids, railroads, and manufacturing plants.
GE estimates that an average airline using smart devices in its jet aircraft could save an av-
erage of 2 percent in fuel consumption. The resulting fuel and carbon dioxide savings would be
the equivalent of removing 10,000 cars from the road. 7
Microsoft has also made tremendous gains using smart devices. Microsoft has created a
8
network of 125 smart buildings spread over 500 acres in Redmond, Washington (Figure 4-6).
Its operations center processes 500 million data transactions every day from 30,000 devices, in-
cluding heaters, air conditioners, lights, fans, and doors.
Microsoft engineers were able to reduce energy costs by 6 percent to 10 percent a year by
identifying problems like wasteful lighting, competing heating and cooling systems, and rogue
fans. For Microsoft, that’s millions of dollars. What if every corporate building were a smart
building? When you consider that 40 percent of the world’s energy is consumed in corporate
buildings, you can start to get an idea of the immense cost savings.

Self-driving Cars

The second disruptive force that could change the way businesses operate is self-driving cars.
A self-driving car (also known as an autonomous car or driverless car) uses a variety of sen-
sors to navigate like a traditional car but without human intervention. It will be full of advanced

Figure 4-6
Microsoft’s Redmond, WA,
Campus
Source: Ian Dagnall/Alamy

6
Peter C. Evans and Marco Annunziata, “Industrial Internet: Pushing the Boundaries of Minds and Machines,”
General Electric, November 26, 2012, accessed May 21, 2014, www.ge.com/docs/chapters/Industrial_Internet.pdf.
7 Ibid.
8 Jennifer Warnick, “88 Acres: How Microsoft Quietly Built the City of the Future,” Microsoft Corp., accessed
May 21, 2014, www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/stories/88acres/88-acres-how-microsoft-quietly-built-the-city-of-
the-future-chapter-1.aspx.