In the past five years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has risen from a fringe concept to one of the biggest technology buzzwords of the era.

As a technology journalist, I’ve witnessed discussion on the subject move from fascinated future predictions and hesitant outlining of the technology to furious hype and wild, overly ambitious claims in relatively short space of time.

What has often been lacking is meaningful discussion about the impact on companies today; it’s out there, but it can end up being lost in the noise of overstated predictions and empty buzzwords.

And that’s a shame, because while there's a lot of overblown hype around the IoT, there’s also much that businesses can exploit here and now, and the potential for industries is only set to increase in the coming years.

So in this issue of Verdict Emerge, we’re cutting through the hype to find out what the benefits and impacts of the IoT really are.

We look at how the technology can be used – rightly and wrongly – to build a truly disruptive business model, find out how businesses are currently using the technology and consider how Salesforce is planning to shape the field.

But the IoT isn’t the only thing we’re looking at in this issue. We also hear from a host of experts – an incredible 39 in total – about what business technology trends are set to shape 2018.

Plus, we ponder the state of industrial design, find out how Google is bringing augmented reality into our everyday lives and hear how 3D printing can help companies rapidly get involved in Industry 4.0.

For all this – and more – read on in this month’s Verdict Emerge.

Lucy Ingham 

Editor