Abstract: Like other milestones in technology, the Internet of Things enables us to measure what could not be measured before. Until today it remains difficult to come up with a clear definition of the Internet of Things. For companies this means additional information for high resolution management of industry and business processes. For citizens the possible implications are manifold, ranging from consumer empowerment to rethinking society. Different infrastructures and networks will compete and interact in the future Internet of Things. The Internet of Things is not synonymous with ubiquitous / pervasive computing, the Internet Protocol (IP), communication technology, embedded devices, the Internet of People or the Intranet / Extranet of Things, yet it combines aspects and technologies of all of these approaches. This paper elaborates the phrase Internet of things, discusses and analyses various definitions of IoT in use and try to distinguish it from other related technologies/concepts.