As previously discussed, the IoT is not just a specific technological innovation, but a radical change that will impact the whole of human society. This means that the IoT will affect nearly every aspect of our personal and professional lives and any sector of the economy, including the following:

• Industrial and manufacturing
• Supply chain
• Retail
• Financial and marketing
• Healthcare
• Transportation and logistics
• Agricultural and environmental
• Energy
• Smart cities
• Smart Homes and Buildings 
• Government and military
• Security forces
• Education
• Sports and fitness

All of these are already involved in the digital transformation that has been caused by the IoT, and are likely to play a greater role in this in the future.

Across all uses of the IoT, the common feature is the smart object. From a qualitative perspective, a smart object is a multidisciplinary object which includes the following elements:

• The physical product.
• Sensors, microprocessors, data storage, controls, and software, managed by an embedded operating system.
• Wired or wireless connectivity, including interfaces and protocols. This is used to connect the product to its user, all instances of the product to its vendor, or the product to other types of products and external data sources.

In another definition, the article How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition, written by Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann, details four increasing levels that classify the smartness of an object or product:

• Monitoring: Monitoring of product conditions, external operation, and usage. This enables alerts and notifications of changes.
• Control: Software embedded in the product or in the cloud enables control of product functions, and/or personalization of the user experience.
• Optimization: The previous capabilities are used to create algorithms to optimize the product's operation and use. They enhance product performance, and/or allow features such as predictive diagnostics, service, repair, and so on.
• Autonomy: The combination of the previous capabilities produces a product with autonomous control for self-coordination with other systems and/or self-diagnosis or services.