Four Lessons from IoT Early Adopters

Four lessons from IoT early adopters: To paraphrase the late Roy Scheider in one of the greatest of all summer movies, you’re gonna need a bigger router. In 2025, Machina Research predicts, the Internet of Things is going to be a $3 trillion market of 27 billion devices generating more than 2 zettabytes of data. Two zettabytes of data is something like twice the total global IP traffic we’ll generate this year, according to Cisco.

The IoT data deluge is, by the way, the first of four lessons drawn from early IoT adopters by contributing writer Howard Baldwin for his article in Computerworld. IoT initiatives at ARI Fleet Management, for instance, generate the same amount of data every two weeks as the company previously collected in two decades. “Understand where data is coming from, and determine how you’re going to analyze it,” writes Baldwin.

The second lesson is that IoT will require cross-functional collaboration. Because IoT is deployed and used in factories and fleets and products, the IT department is going to need to partner with other functions and business units. “Determine how and when to combine operations and information technologies for maximum data insight,” writes Baldwin.

Baldwin’s third lesson for early adopters is that IoT is likely to require working with and coordinating across multiple vendors. The new Kansas City streetcar line, for instance, required collaboration with Sprint, Cisco and other vendors. “In orchestrating the many moving pieces of an IoT rollout, make sure you know who plays what part,” writes Baldwin.

Fourth and finally, as applies to forays into any young, fast-emerging technology, watch out that you don’t get caught out too far on the IoT growth curve. “Some early IoT adopters have reported reliability issues with either sensors or vendors or both, and others have struggled to reconcile competing protocols,” writes Baldwin. “Be prepared for setbacks in an immature market, and try to select a protocol that has long-term industry support and a sound security footprint.”

A primer on artificial intelligence: If you’re looking for a good primer on AI, Devin Coldewey of TechCrunch has found a gem. Turns out that in late June, the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House