By: Phil Dawsey
Panel on IoT platforms, standards and winner take all at the GMIC Silicon Valley conference in SF
We have all heard of the promise of Mobile, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data in transforming our lives. While mobile surpassed desktop usage a while ago, the IoT using big data to personalize our lives is certainly still in the early stages of development and it will be what I focus on in this post. At the GMIC conference in San Francisco this past week, panels delved into what the future might look like given the massive potential of these technologies and several themes were repeated throughout that I’d like to explore here.
Interoperability was a buzzword I kept hearing. With so many new devices coming online, it will be important for each of them to talk and share data to fully take advantage of the potential value of each device. With Zigbee, Thread, Z-Wave, and other protocols competing to communicate data, software often compatible with only specific hardware and chips, and numerous platforms like HomeKit, Brillo and SmartThings competing to be the IoT OS, it makes sense to worry about interoperability. The expectation at GMIC was that things would eventually shake themselves out with a couple communications protocols becoming standard, interoperable hardware being developed, and big players like Google and Apple likely winning the platform wars (who else has the resources and trust to manage your devices?). In the short term though, hardware and software should be engineered to be as flexible as possible until standards shake out. While not the definitive answer we’d all like, this makes sense and is a phenomenon we’ve seen in technology races in the past (VHS or BetaMax?).
Multi-faceted value propositions are expected to win the day in the long run. Home security has been the top sales pitch thus far for IoT devices, but as consumers become more comfortable with IoT devices, they will demand more of each product. Once our devices can seamlessly speak with each other (interoperability), they will be able to do so much more and do it so much better! Imagine your thermostat, security system and phone working together to keep you more comfortable, safer and better informed about your home. Each could operate better with data from the others, but more on that in the next theme. Telling stories of all the things that each IoT device can do and how easily they can work together is what will truly unleash the IoT in the future.
Personalization was another theme of the conference. Building on the multiple value propositions that will be needed in the future, consumers will increasingly demand these value streams in a personal manner. Big data analytics will enable us to more quickly, accurately and proactively make recommendations for each individual and take action on those. EcoFactor has led this charge to personalize the home experience with our home energy management services that learn from the home’s thermal profile and user preferences. We feel vindicated to hear that our perspective is catching on!
Privacy and data security are also key challenges that we are not yet comfortable with in the IoT space. While it would be tempting to require minimal encryption for a light switch in the home, any slip-up will set the industry and brand responsible back significantly. Everyone at the conference agreed that best in class standards used for connecting mobile and PCs should be implemented for IoT devices as well. It was also brought up that a central hub that all communication goes in and out of was significantly more secure than many devices of varying quality communicating separately. Finally, there needs to be some kind of regulation set up for how private data is handled while not restricting the value that sharing data could unlock. This will take time to shake out, but to become fully mainstream and trustworthy, the IoT must solve user concerns over the issues of data security and privacy.
Partnership as part of business model innovation is the last theme we heard as a key driver of the IoT. It was interesting to hear out of the box ideas like taking direction from non-tech/product companies who could benefit greatly from the IoT like Airbnb who should have great use for connected locks, thermostats, and other security devices. Panelists saw many opportunities with a very broad spectrum of partners to really build out the IoT as well as pioneer different methods for monetization. Going through retail isn’t the only way to market, and tapping into the value that partners see in IoT devices will be a significant path to market in the future.
These themes among others will build the future of the IoT, which we can expect to be pretty interesting. Some thoughts on what the future will look like included:
- – The way we think of devices powered by electricity today (all of them… duh!) will be how we think of connected devices in five to ten years
- – It will be common to speak and gesture to things (knobs/dials/displays will fade)
- – Driverless cars will comprise about 20% of vehicles on the road by 2030
- – Many jobs will be performed as a human/machine hybrid – machines doing mainly diagnostics and humans doing more of the decision making and execution based on those diagnostics (with the help of machines again)
- – Distribution will be completely disrupted as barriers to entry fall
- – Significant data literacy will be a requirement for all leaders
- – Data interpretation will be what separates good from great
Let us know what we missed! What do you think the world will be like in 10 years and what themes and trends you think will be critical to getting us there?
