IoT in 2021 : Remote Foundational; Simplicity Leads; Security Critical

2020 has seen a generation worth of learnings. If we all entered 2020 thinking we knew where our professional life, personal life and the industry/market was headed, the universe paused all of us and corrected us. Reflecting on learnings from the new normal, my projection for the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2021 is a re-prioritization of many things we have spoken about before.

Remote foundational

Remote operations was always the core principle on which IoT was built. The value of remotely operating things was magnified in 2020 because of COVID-19. Just like how many of us in the technology industry got adjusted to the new normal of working remotely, every industry has now forcibly seen the needs and benefits of operating remotely. IoT will be a big enabler as remote becomes the new normal.

However, with this renewed priority on remote operations, IoT solutions have to evolve to make sure all functions of the IoT solution lifecycle are truly remote - example Day 0 deployment, two way data flow/control of devices remotely, etc.. 

Remote capability of Day 0 IoT solution/device deployment still has some ways to go both in the consumer and the industrial world. How does a device automatically get on the network so that it can be deployed remotely? I have recently seen some major advancements in this aspect from Amazon when I on-boarded a few Amazon IoT devices over the holidays. From being shipped pre-linked to my account to the Wi-Fi credentials being passed from the mobile app to the device seamlessly, it was a pleasant step forward. However, I have still not been able to deploy a headless Wi-Fi device in my parent’s house in India as they are not tech savvy and the device cannot be set up remotely.  This is where telcos and service providers can play a leading role in providing connectivity out of the box - example zero touch auto provisioning using global SIM (or eSIM)

Today, many IoT applications are primarily one directional from device to application with sprinkled uses in low value assets to be controlled remotely. With remote being the new normal, the two way pipe being bulletproof and the ability to control (not just monitor) operations remotely will need much higher reliability.

Finally, while we are on the topic of remote operations, the smallest valve or the smallest device becomes the weakest link if it cannot be managed and controlled remotely. IoT has always been about connecting the unconnected and we have to work extra hard now on making it possible.

Simplicity & Outcome leads

I have always maintained a simple definition of IoT, it is data from physical objects enabling outcomes. But there is a complex technology stack between the physical object and the applications providing outcomes. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we have no time for assembling and integrating technology components. Customers need results NOW. A 10 year vaccine life cycle had to be compressed into less than 1 year. If that can happen in the bio-pharma world, I am sure we can do better in the IoT industry. Having a complicated value chain, and integration across multiple components/parties to enable an outcome is a thing of yesterday. The winner in this space will be one who can look from the customer's outcome perspective and provides everything needed end to end, from edge to cloud with everything in between, to provide a simplified experience. So simplified that it works like magic.

Security critical

There is always a tug of war when you reach out into the far end of the spectrum with everything being remotely managed/controlled and the entire solution being opaque with simplified experiences. The friction on the other side is Security. If the recent attacks on FireEye and SolarWinds taught us anything, it’s the fact that as things go more connected, the surface area only increases making it prone and inviting the hacker community. It’s unfortunate they exist, but they do. 

Balancing getting every aspect of the operations remotely controlled along with a magical, simplified experience with security incorporated from physical object to application is certainly going to be a challenge our technology industry has to embrace and live up to the needs. 

Finally, I know in the technology world, we like to drop buzz words as the next big thing. Frankly, I don’t think any customers care much for the technology buzzwords, I have never seen anyone ask me - give me Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML) or Internet of Things (IoT). However, we need to use advancements in AL/ML with IoT to accomplish robust remote connectivity, simplified experiences and reliable security.

Who thought 2020 will teach us a lifetime's worth of learnings. I have changed my personal priorities drastically after the lesson 2020 taught us. It’s no surprise that what we do in our professional life also gets re-prioritized as part of the learnings. Let’s be humble, modest and continue to learn and adapt to growing market needs.

Welcome to 2021 and Happy New Year !!

Author

Anoop Mohan

[email protected]

Note:

Cover Image: Analyst Insights

This article represents thoughts and opinions of the author.