Adding Smart to IOT Solutions

The concept of smart things, whether loudspeakers, transport systems or buildings is certainly thrilling. As an increasing number of devices come to market and embed themselves in lives that become ever more frenetic, a number of basic metrics need to be enabled to make Smart satisfying. Things which augment our lives rather than overwhelming them with yet more tech.

IDC’s Global decision maker survey 2018 illuminates the most common barriers to adoption for administrators embarking on the journey to a smarter city. Done well, IOT solutions can change the future of living, working and playing for the better—but the basics must be addressed to make IoT truly smart.

For the last five years, IDC has looked at perceptions around the IOT market through its annual Global Decision Maker Survey. Every year, we also ask about the impediments and challenges to realising IOT. It’s clear that respondents have moved beyond “What is IOT?” to “How should I IOT my ______”, whatever that may be.

From traffic management to sewer maintenance to building management and infrastructure cities and their citizens (both corporate and corporeal), organizations around the world are using the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the lives of the people who livein it. Networks of cloud connected sensors provide insights to make places safer, more adaptive, and more economically robust. IDC estimates that the economic impact in terms of spending across smart city use cases will be US$113B by 2020, with 36% of that spend coming from Asia Pacific.  

However, creating genuine impact with IoT isn’t easy. As populations becomes increasingly urbanised, human environments become increasingly complex places. Layers of IT systems covering people, things, data and infrastructure all need protection, making security an essential foundational consideration. Economic models demand budgets where income balances outgoings. Complex systems require intermeshing operations. Choosing the right platform to enable all this becomes complications, especially where existing solutions cannot simply be ripped out and replaced.

In managing smart environments and their beneficiaries, three big themes emerge. 

1. Interoperability: Getting OT and IT talking

IDC’s research shows that line of business accounts for over 40 percent of smart solution decision-making and 30 percent of project funding. This siloed management approach is a real drawback, when 40 to 60 percent of the value of IoT solutions lies in interoperability.

Breaking through these barriers is one of the first hurdles on the way to creating a responsive, data enabled enterprise. For example, real-time data from smart traffic lights and tollbooths can help enterprises improve their supply chain and fine tune manufacturing production when integrated with despatch systems and order management.

In the past, this type of interoperability could require months of effort just to get proprietary, closed systems to play nicely together. The right technology choices make this much easier. IoT solutions built on open standards can accommodate many divergent technologies. Using application programming interfaces (APIs), programs can be made to talk to each other without rearchitecting them. In addition, using a common data schema can make incorporating multiple sources easier. 

2. Security: Smarter must be safer

Sharing data across networks requires a new focus on security. This means not only protecting information from misuse but also preventing unauthorised actors from gaining access to critical systems. Only with an assurance of ongoing security can a trusted relationship with IOT solutions begin to be established.

Addressing these issues requires utilising platforms and applications that are built and managed with security in mind. Capabilities that offer tools for secure device provisioning and management, data connectivity, and cloud processing and storage. Knowing these tools are baked in gives solution owners peace of mind and the freedom to focus on innovation.

3. Trust: Driving Adoption

IoT technology will go nowhere without gaining trust. This trust must come from the providers of the data and those who make decisions based upon it. As solutions increasingly utilise data which they don’t necessarily collect, the origin, timeliness and veracity of that data must be clearly articulated. 

If users don’t have confidence in new systems, they won’t embrace them. Bringing the wider community of IOT solution users into the process of IoT adoption early help reduce risk by ensuring solutions meet their needs. This factor also promotes the use of DevOps style methodologies so that solutions are delivered incrementally and can adapt as requirements change.

Using this approach, IoT can play a role by empowering people to make data-driven decisions on a day-to-day basis.

The global competition for talent, investment, and tourism isn’t getting any easier. Enterprises are investing in IoT to become more agile, responsive and flexible. The choices they make today will have long-lasting consequences for the shape of the world we live in.