It is hard to think of a profession facing a more trying set of circumstances than farming. Climate change has brought higher temperatures and lower winter rainfall. Soil erosion, a loss of biodiversity, as well as myriad pests and diseases add to the farmer’s burden.

The global agricultural and farming industry is facing a perfect storm. Earlier this month, the world population hit eight billion for the first time, in the two weeks since it has grown another 1.5 million. That is a lot of extra mouths to feed when there are already 690 million people going hungry, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Monitoring different industrial quantities, and understanding what this data might represent, is important to many sectors – from manufacturing, transportation, and logistics, to mining, energy and utilities, among others.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) regularly publishes a list of the world’s 100 most destructive species. Chief among the culprits are the likes of the Nile Perch and the small Indian mongoose, both voracious and opportunistic predators between them responsible for the extinction of well over 200 species. Luckily the IUCN list doesn’t include humans because when it comes to eliminating other species, we make the Nile Perch and small Indian mongoose look like amateurs.

For the length of human history, technology has played an important role in preventing theft. Before car keys, Henry Ford had to chain his car to a lamppost to avoid anyone with the strength to turn a physical crank from stealing it. Anti-theft technology has moved on significantly since Ford’s day, but so too have the criminals, and it’s not just cars they have in their sights.

Carrying more than 90 percent of the world’s goods—cargo worth an estimated $14 trillion each year—shipping containers are as essential to global logistics as ships, trains, and trucks. Keeping track of these ubiquitous steel boxes to ensure they and their contents reach their destination is a significant undertaking, with an estimated 65 million containers in circulation.

Beacon technology is rapidly evolving. Today's devices support use cases that extend from proactive retail engagement to indoor asset tracking and navigation in shopping malls, airports, hospitals, and more.

The global asset tracking market is going places fast. In our increasingly connected world, technology designed to track valuable items, animals or even children, is becoming more prevalent and pivotal than ever before.