The Internet of Things (IoT) is catapulting new services and innovation in various industries and is at the heart of our business in the home energy management sector. But like all technology, IoT needs to offer incremental value that exceeds the cost and time savings required to harness its potential.
As I see it today, the IoT value stack can be thought of as having four layers:
- Two-way data transmission: The foundation of the IoT value stack, this is the ability for a device to exchange data packets with a remote server, regardless of how that device connects to the Internet.
- User-to-machine (U2M) remote manipulation: Leveraging two-way data transmission, U2M access allows a defined set of control signals to be sent from the remote server to the device, so that the device can then respond accordingly.
- Data conversion to knowledge: This third layer is all about storing data collected from connected devices and running analysis to detect patterns and valuable insights. These insights can be repurposed to inform and educate companies of an individual device or an aggregate of devices.
- Machine-to-machine (M2M) adaptive control: The highest and final layer in the IoT value stack, M2M adaptive control combines the knowledge and understanding that comes from analyzing all that raw data with the ability to remotely manipulate the device. This layer is all about automation.
The IoT space is full of “we do, because we can” initiatives. But it’s really the combination of connectivity, data management, and analytics that create the opportunity for hardware and software to meet its full potential of providing end-users the myriad benefits of IoT.
You can learn more about the IoT evolution in an article I wrote in the upcoming November/December print issue of Wireless Design & Development.
