How the Internet of Things will improve reliability tracking

Collecting good, useable reliability data has been a challenge for many companies in the past. Usage statistics are usually not reported by customers, and service/return forms are often not filled out completely. Often, companies do not have control over their products once they are sold in the marketplace and therefore cannot adequately monitor the use of their fielded units. The Internet of Things (IoT) is going to change that. IoT will revolutionize the way we monitor reliability by providing a real-time view of the field performance of a product or a group of products [1]. By connecting products to the internet, they are able to communicate sensor readings which can include operating time and failure modes. IoT can overcome current limitations for data collection, allowing companies to monitor and track products for failure and performance in the field.