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The Internet of Everything (IoE) is Cisco’s term for the intelligent connection of people, process, data and things. It broadens the focus beyond connected devices to include how people use information and the workflows that turn it into action. This is Cisco’s framework, not a universal standards definition.
What is the Internet of Everything?
In Cisco’s definition, IoE brings four elements together so networked information can become useful action, capabilities or experiences:
- People: the humans involved in or affected by networked activity.
- Process: the way people, data and things work together.
- Data: information produced by connected systems or made useful through them.
- Things: physical objects and devices that can participate in networked connections.
The key idea is not simply that more objects connect to a network. It is that connections among these four elements can make information relevant to a person or workflow that can act on it. Cisco’s overview describes IoE in those terms: Cisco’s Internet of Everything overview.
What is the difference between IoE and the Internet of Things (IoT)?
In Cisco’s terminology, IoT emphasizes connected things; IoE includes things along with people, process and data. Put simply, IoT asks what objects are connected, while IoE also considers who uses the resulting information and how it changes a workflow.
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This distinction is useful as a conceptual lens, but it is not established here as a universal industry convention. Organizations may use the terms differently. Cisco explains its distinction in its IoE and IoT explanation.
How do the four parts work together?
Consider a general example: a connected sensor reports a condition, software analyzes the data, and a workflow routes an alert to a person who can respond. The device is the “thing,” its measurement is “data,” the alert-and-response sequence is the “process,” and the person receiving and acting on the alert is “people.” This illustrates the framework; it is not a specific deployment documented by Cisco.
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What are examples of IoE?
Retail
Cisco describes retailers combining sensors, video and analytics to improve store productivity and customer experience. The example shows how connected devices and their data can inform a business process and affect shoppers and staff.
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Cisco also points to supply chains as processes that can be transformed through networked information. In IoE terms, the focus is on how information from connected systems can support the people and workflows involved, not only on the devices themselves. These examples are presented in Cisco’s overview of IoE applications.
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Where did the term come from?
Cisco promoted an “Internet of Everything” campaign in 2012 and explained its four-part framework and distinction from IoT in material published in 2013. This supports describing Cisco as a prominent promoter of the framework in that period; it does not establish that Cisco coined the phrase or was the first to use it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are Cisco’s IoE value estimates current results?
No. Cisco cited potential private-sector value of $14.4 trillion over ten years in a 2013-era estimate, and potential public-sector value of $4.6 trillion over the following decade in 2014. These were forecasts, not measurements of value subsequently realized. They should be read as historical Cisco projections, not as current adoption or economic-impact figures. Cisco’s historical estimates are discussed in its Internet of Everything economic analysis.
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Is Internet of Everything a formal standard?
The cited material establishes IoE as Cisco’s conceptual framework. It does not establish a standards-body definition, a cross-industry consensus that IoE and IoT must be distinguished in this way, or current adoption statistics. For understanding the term, the most useful distinction is therefore the one Cisco makes: connected things are part of IoE, alongside the people, data and processes involved.
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