Gratitude

As 2024 draws to a close, we bring you the final edition of this year’s newsletter. It's a time for reflection and gratitude as we look back on a year filled with challenges, triumphs, and growth. To all our readers and everyone who engaged with Concept Reply in any way - thank you for being part of our story. Here’s to celebrating the year gone by - and gearing up for what’s next! ??

News Articles

IoT and Embedded Developer Survey Report 2024

The Eclipse Foundation recently released the IoT and Embedded Developer Survey Report 2024, shedding light on key trends in the IoT and embedded landscape. We recommend checking out the full report as we only present some highlights here!

Embedded Operating Systems: Preferences and Priorities

Linux (45%) and FreeRTOS (29%) lead the pack as the top choices for embedded operating systems on constrained devices. Zephyr and Bare Metal (no OS) each garnered 21%, while Eclipse ThreadX secured 13% of the responses.

When selecting an RTOS, developers prioritize hardware/platform support (54%) and developer tooling (49%), emphasizing the need for compatibility and streamlined development.

Be sure to check out our article on choosing the right embedded operating system and connect with us if you want more information.

Communication Protocols and Security

MQTT remains the go-to IIoT communication protocol, with 56% of developers choosing it. HTTP/HTTPS (32%), TCP/IP (30%), and MQTT+Sparkplug (8%) follow, while emerging protocols like Eclipse Zenoh are gaining traction, now at 4.29%.

Security and OTA

Security continues to be a top concern for IoT/Edge solutions, with communication security (40%) leading the way. Over-the-air updates (32%) are increasingly popular, while data encryption holds steady at 24%.

Agentic AI

Agentic AI is a topic that is gaining momentum, as highlighted in the "What CEOs Talked About" article by IoT Analytics for the current quarter.

What is Agentic AI?

Imagine an AI system that doesn’t just recommend actions but autonomously makes decisions, adapts to changes, and executes tasks with minimal human intervention—this is agentic AI.

Example

An automotive company's production ecosystem could use agentic AI to optimize car manufacturing. Multiple AI agents would work autonomously yet collaboratively within a structured framework to achieve goals like quality, efficiency, and profitability.

For example, a planning agent could forecast demand for car models, while a supply chain agent ensures parts arrive just in time. On the factory floor, an assembly agent might sequence tasks, and a quality control agent monitors production, addressing issues as they arise.

The key lies in coordination—decisions by one agent, such as resource allocation, must be informed to other agents to ensure seamless operations.

Good Fit for Enterprise

As highlighted in the article "Gen AI is passé. Enter the age of agentic AI" by SiliconANGLE, while consumer applications might be too vast and unpredictable, agentic AI can thrive in enterprise environments. Enterprises offer a defined terrain where agents can be assigned specific tasks and operate within clear boundaries. This allows the AI to effectively orchestrate workflows and ensure the job gets done.

Over the past year, we’ve seen an onslaught of AI news and buzzwords. Among them, agentic AI has emerged as another interesting concept. It certainly shows promise, and we’ll be watching closely to see where it leads.

Concept Reply Spotlight

Year in Review

2024 has been a remarkable year for Concept Reply. We successfully delivered key projects like agrirouter 2.0, which has proven to be highly available and scalable, processing over twice the data volume of its predecessor by September of this year.

At Concept Reply, our commitment to customer satisfaction remains our top priority. We’ve strengthened partnerships with long-standing clients like Multivac and welcomed new customers onboard. We have actively contributed in the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance over the year.

We value knowledge sharing, which is reflected in our 17 internal sessions organized this year and 4 workshops held at universities, showcasing IoT expertise to students. Additionally, we’ve published whitepapers, case studies, and articles covering various IoT-related topics throughout the year.

We organized 5 successful IoT Meetups, featuring industry experts presenting on key topics. These events provided valuable networking opportunities with like-minded enthusiasts.

Outlook

Final words on what we think about the future: The market conditions may remain challenging, but Concept Reply and the broader Reply Group are prepared to adapt. We recognize the importance of flexibility and staying ahead by embracing new technologies, including AI. Our commitment to delivering excellence remains unwavering, and we look forward to another year of growth and innovation.

Thank you for being with us throughout the year. We look forward to continuing this journey together in the year ahead!

Contact Us

You can reach out to us via email at [email protected] or connect with us on LinkedIn.

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