The challenges of the "Internet of Things"
Floris Blok
CMO | Strategy | Marketing | Customer Experience | Digital Transformation | Sales | IoT | Connected Services | Fractional Services
IoT is quite a buzzword nowadays. Every one in the tech industry is talking about it, all the manufacturers are running around trying to develop "solutions", startups are popping out of the ground left, right and center with new products and concepts, etc... Basically, it's the next "big thing". Or is it?
I just read an article on Techcrunch that basically covers 2 of my concerns in a well written article. Basic summary: how are all these "IoT" devices meant to communicate together? How is someone meant to "control" these devices?
The article in question is found here: https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/04/the-problem-with-the-internet-of-things/
We've seen protocol wars in the past and most of them were solved by a simple law of nature, "survival of the fittest". But the 70's, 80's, 90's and even the 00's were very diffferent than the time we're in now. Technology develops and expands exponentially, so are the products on offer and the firm/software that runs them! So how do they all communicate? How is a Samsung washing machine supposed to communicate to a Nest thermostat or a Belkin WeMo? How about integrating Philips Hue lighting in the mix? What about Apple's Homekit? How about the plathero of other products that are currently "connectable"? Imagine bringing health devices into the mix as well and have them connect with professional systems where doctors, nurses, caretakers etc... can make use of them. Unified Communication solutions, how to they fit in? We have Skype, Viber, GSM, telephone, Lync, WebEx, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, BBM, etc... How do they work in this mix?
A friend and ex-colleague of mine and I have just started talking about it. He's setting up a new project that will hopefully try and solve this issue and another important one. How is the data of all these devices going to be best utilised? Big Data is another buzz word, a derivative of the IoT.
My second concern is how to operate or control these devices? Right now, it seems everyone is focusing on getting apps out that allow these IoT devices to be managed by mobile tech (smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc...) but with all these different standards, you also have different apps for each one of them. The example discussed in the Techrunch article is the Philips Hue lighting. Find your phone, unlock your phone, find the app, open it, control the light. That's a 5-step process instead of flicking a switch on the wall, a switch that's always there and isn't lost or used by your kids for playtime. Is this really the way to make our lives "easier"?
I disagree. I believe we're in a much more complicated situation than the one we were in years ago when we had multiple remotes for our Home Entertainment System, one that Logitech tried to solve with their universal remote or using nowaways Peel from an Infrared enabled smartphone. 5 remotes trimmed down to one. But these remotes all used a SINGLE technology to communicate with the devices, Infrared. "Point and shoot", job done. We now have several WiFi protocols, Bluetooth, NFC, etc...
How is the IoT making our lives easier. It currently is NOT. That's a shame. There is a huge potential in this segment and the future is bright, if we were to believe some of the Sci-Fi shows on TV (Star Trek, Continuum, etc...).
Should individual corporate interest prevail or should all manufacturers come together and decide on 1 single protocol? Remember, IoT is supposed to make our, the consumers or users, lives easier. In Captain Picard's infamous words, I say "Make It So"!
Managing Partner @ Nevajen Capital Ltd | Capital Market Access
9 年Thank you for the article. We are currently working on the issues stated here (zenodys.com). We bridge the protocols and we provide universal app to control all the connected devices. Also we provide fully visual development environment. But the main question for us in the market sense is exactly: is something so universal really needed for end consumers?
Product Management Leader growing new categories of audio and connected devices for the IoT
9 年"One protocol to rule them all" is probably an utopia since we're talking about unifying a broad range of devices from different verticals, battery and processing capabilities...and price point ! What you see at the moment - people promising they'll be open (Samsung/SmartThings) - people who are open but will monetize your data (you know who) - people with a walled garden but it just works (Apple) - an awful lot of others in between who are currently too small to make a real impact It is a fascinating scene to observe, we just need to keep in mind that connecting everything is hard but more importantly it does not necessarily create customer value (famous example : the universal remote control)
Pitch Coach | Creator of The Pitch Canvas? | Author of Pitch To Win | TEDx Speech Coach
9 年NiceCheck two companies (I coached with to pitch) who will almost certainly be powerhouses in IoT. relayr.io and undagrid.com with have smart insight into how this will improve the world, for health, security and all kinds of aspects of our lives. I remain to be convinced about the real benefits in general, but these teams with have smart ways of seeing it.