IoT & Cloud Computing: Correlation and Way Forward

Cursory Review:

IoT and Cloud Computing are not technologies per se.

IoT is an umbrella term for several different categories of interconnected devices especially through internet (for example, wireless sensor network, Internet-connected wearables, low power embedded systems, RFID enabled tracking, use of mobile phones to interact with the real world, smart homes, connected cars etc).

Cloud Computing is an IT framework / architecture which provide access to shared configurable system resources like networking hardware, servers, storage etc and higher-level services like software development platform, software, Web App, Mobile App etc over the Internet. Benefit of Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale.

Correlation:

Cloud computing is providing computing service (i.e. servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics etc) on Internet (i.e. Cloud) and IoT is interconnection of devices for data exchange especially over internet. So, analogically, if we consider Cloud as a factory, then cloud computing is the manufacturing process, raw material suppliers are IoT Devices, and IoT-Cloud Gateways are transport vehicles. 

So, IoT and Cloud Computing are complement to each other and are gaining acceptance as productivity improvement platform in industrial sector at an encouraging pace though for several obvious reasons these two technologies are yet to find their logical space in Utilities. 

Way Forward:

#IoT & #CloudComputing, these two combinatorial innovation frameworks are going through a technical evolution and commercial hype phase. Encouraged with the business potential, several Cloud, IoT Gateway, Cloud Gateway, and Cloud based IoT Software/OS providers have come up in the market. Fair enough to expect that it would take some more time for these two frameworks to mature up and stabilize. 

But the following two aspects would decide how fast and to what extent IoT & Cloud Computing will percolate into our lives... 

1. The systems (firmware /software) used should be modular, scalable, technically future-proof (at least upto a reasonable ROI time period of 3 years), and reliable. 

2. To a reasonable extent, there should be industry-wide standardization for the following 

- Reference framework / architecture for IoT for each application major area

- Communication & Interfacing between major sub-systems

- Operational requirement of different sub-systems

What’s your view…

#IoT #CloudComputing #IaaS #PaaS #SaaS #Gateway #CommunicationStandard