Monetizing the Internet of Things (IoT)

Every few years a new enabling technology sweeps through the industry which has everyone predicting that we have entered a new era. The latest wave is the Internet of Things (IoT). Wikipedia defines IoT as, "The Internet of things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data." When I read this definition, I can't help but think, "network connected devices embedded with sensors and software", that doesn't sound that revolutionary. We have had equipment monitoring and telemetry for years in building, data center and network management.

So what's so special about IoT. As with many enabling technologies, it takes a convergence of underlying (technological) advancements to allow the enabling technology to move into the mainstream. In the case of IoT, it has been the convergence of multiple underlying technologies, including commodity sensors, ubiquitous wireless communication, economical mass storage, real-time analytics and machine learning. Mass-produced (commodity) sensors have enabled the collection of massive amounts of data in applications from home automation to health care to transportation to manufacturing. Ubiquitous wireless communication and massive storage capabilities have enabled the economical transport and storage of this data from remote locations to the cloud (centralized data centers with massive storage capacity). And finally, real-time analytics (big data) and machine learning have enabled the processing of these massive data sets and subsequent production of actionable information.

This last point, often overlooked, represents the key to monetizing IoT, and is why I referred to IoT as an enabling technology. As with any technology, it will only grow in adoption if properly implemented to produce value for users (businesses or individuals). Wikipedia does allude to this, saying, "The IoT allows objects to be sensed or controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure ... resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit in addition to reduced human intervention." The key words here being "economic benefit", and that is the key to monetizing IoT. (As an aside, many organizations are finding that synthesizing the massive amounts of data into relevant information is not as easy to as they expected.)

The takeaway from this brief is that, like any new, exciting technology, IoT offers some fantastic opportunities for new applications, but we need to make sure that we don't get overly enamored by the technology, and forget about our end users and the economic benefit they will receive from the use of IoT as an enabling technology. It absolutely makes sense to investigate how to leverage IoT in your business, but be sure you stay focused on a result that will deliver real value to your constituents and monetize the Internet of Things.

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