Looking at the Future of IoT

On January 10th, I was able to chat with Charlie Key, the CEO of Losant, on the future of the Internet of Things. Charlie had some great insights into the IoT ecosystem and its future. I wanted to highlight and elaborate some key points 🔑 from the interview.

The Definition of IoT

First, we needed to define what IoT is. Charlie defined it as:

The way I define IoT is a bit complicated. First, you have to have internet connected devices that are sending useful data somewhere (usually the cloud). Second, you need to have to be able to add automated value … It’s about adding a ton of passive value to the world. This could be in consumer space or enterprise.

IoT is generally grouped with the “put a chip in everything” disaster. That’s not how we should define IoT if we want to create long-term value. Lasting IoT products will create “automated value”, and, most of the time, be “passive.” In a lot of cases, we won’t even see it.

How can we create better products?

I find that a lot of companies are building IoT products for the sake of building interesting technology. They don’t stop to ask themselves “what is the big problem we’re solving here” and then “what is the value we’re generating”.

In the future, as everything becomes connected, it’s crucial to ask the question: “what is the value we’re generating”. We are connecting everything, literally. But, everything must have its place and use.

The cloud will not always be the answer

One major trend we’ll see over the next couple of years is more and more data being processed at the edge or fog. This is needed due to the amount of data that will be created from the massive proliferation of sensors and devices. Not all of this will need or be able to go to the cloud.

IoT has opened up an interesting industry shift. All the data should be sent to the cloud — primarily to make it available somewhere else — but in a lot of cases, data needs to be processed locally to be used efficiently. In some cases, for devices to make quick, complex decisions, internet latency should be removed from the equation. With products like AWS Greengrass, the industry will move in this direction.

Long Term Support is crucial

As new devices hit the market security has to become a key characteristic. However, in my mind securing everything at the device level is extremely tough. Physical security is nearly impossible and most people aren’t thinking about long term support. This has to change.

In the future (and currently), consumers won’t buy an IoT product if they fear one day it won’t work anymore. Consumers are already losing control of some of their basic devices because they won’t work without the cloud. In the future, especially for enterprise, having an LTS strategy will be vital.

Learn More

In the interview, Charlie touches on more things like securing new and existing devices in the future and how his company, Losant, helps tackle some of these problems.

You can learn more about Charlie, Losant, and his thoughts on the future of IoT by checking out the full interview.

Until next time, Stay Connected 😉