A Fitbit can help you shed pounds, and a Nest thermostat can help you trim your carbon footprint. But the Internet of Things-the network of connected objects that is projected to reach 30 billion devices by 2020, according to McKinsey & Company-can be about so much more. In fact, if you ask one of the companies pioneering these technologies, lot can lead to true Social Innovation. "Hitachi is looking to do great things for society by leveraging the Internet of Things," says Sara Gardner, CTO of Social Innovation and Global Industries, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS). The company has even coined a term to highlight that priority: "When we say the Internet of Things That Matter, it means we are addressing challenges using data, but doing it on a much wider scale to solve societal problems that will impact the future."
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