How can information systems professionals develop IoT skills and competencies?

1 Learn the basics of IoT

Before diving into the technical aspects of IoT, you need to understand the basic concepts and principles of IoT, such as how devices communicate, what are the common protocols and standards, what are the security and privacy issues, and what are the business and social implications of IoT. You can find online courses, books, blogs, podcasts, and webinars that cover these topics and provide you with a solid foundation of IoT knowledge.

2 Explore the IoT platforms and tools

To build and deploy IoT solutions, you need to familiarize yourself with the various platforms and tools that enable you to connect, manage, and analyze IoT devices and data. Some of the popular IoT platforms are Amazon Web Services IoT, Microsoft Azure IoT, Google Cloud IoT, IBM Watson IoT, and Cisco IoT. These platforms provide you with cloud-based services, such as device management, data ingestion, storage, processing, analytics, visualization, and integration. You can also use open-source tools, such as Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Node-RED, MQTT, and CoAP, to create and test your own IoT projects.

3 Develop the coding and data skills

To work with IoT devices and data, you need to develop the coding and data skills that are relevant to IoT. For coding, you need to learn how to program IoT devices using languages, such as Python, C, C++, Java, and JavaScript. You also need to learn how to use APIs, libraries, and frameworks that support IoT development, such as AWS IoT SDK, Azure IoT SDK, Google Cloud IoT Core SDK, and IBM Watson IoT SDK. For data, you need to learn how to collect, store, process, analyze, and visualize IoT data using tools, such as SQL, NoSQL, Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, and Tableau.

4 Enhance the soft skills

Besides the technical skills, you also need to enhance the soft skills that are essential for IoT professionals. These include communication, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, and innovation. You need to communicate effectively with different stakeholders, such as clients, users, managers, and developers. You need to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams that may involve engineers, designers, analysts, and domain experts. You need to solve complex and novel problems that may arise in IoT projects. You need to be creative and innovative in finding new ways to use IoT to create value and improve outcomes.

5 Keep learning and updating

IoT is a dynamic and evolving field that requires constant learning and updating. You need to keep track of the latest developments, trends, and best practices in IoT. You can do this by reading industry reports, newsletters, magazines, and blogs that focus on IoT. You can also attend webinars, workshops, conferences, and meetups that showcase IoT innovations and case studies. You can also join online communities, forums, and groups that discuss and share IoT topics and resources.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?