Metanet

The darned thing about the Internet of Things is that it is not about things.

It’s about adding a layer of ubiquitous inputs and outputs to the network which allow far more data-driven and automated decision making and new kinds of services. I call this layer the metanet. The ‘things’ in the internet of things are as disposable and interchangable as coasters in a bar.

What seems cool about a smart thermostat is that you can set it using your phone. Well whooptie doo, couch potato. What is cool about the metanet of homes with smart thermostats is that it can detect when your home’s heat insulation is less effective than identical homes in your neighbourhood. Imagine being alerted to invisible damage so you can go all Terminator on the rats’ nest which caused it.

What seems cool about a smart fridge is that it can send tweets. Nice, now your followers know about those midnight binges. What is cool about the metanet of smart fridges is that they can coordinate with the aforementioned thermostat and intelligently draw power when the cost of power is low, as this new Whirlpool is capable of.

For consumers ubiquitous data about the immediate environment enables augmented reality overlays that display useful extrasensory information. Think a more wearable Microsoft HoloLens. Or more useful Google Glass. See how fresh the air in your house is and which ingredients in your fridge would do well together in a pan. It also lets people make their own smart interactions between applicances in their little corner of the metanet. Let the TV and the lights sort out their relative brightness together so you can see your food and your show without squinting. Neat stuff.

What the metanet means to CIO’s is that soon, everything, including the wastebaskets is an IT device in need of the unique skillset of the IT department. But the devices, like I said, are not what the new game is about. All the smart devices coming into the workplace are a veritable fountain of actionable data about everything the company is and does. Building, securing, maintaining and utilizing the companies’ new ‘metanet’ is a whole new ball game. One which requires a lot of forethought to have a chance at mastering.

That brings us to IT service providers. The skills, good practices and service propositions to help companies make the most of the metanet don’t exist yet but are in rapid development. Frankly, it’s a new lease on life for service providers who are currently still dependent on office automation. That cloud thing, well, it rains on their parade.

The forerunners amongst companies and service providers in 2016 and onward will be the ones who first identify the difference between what seems to be the internet of things but what actually is a whole new type of information technology. These will form the next wave of blue chip companies. Will you be on the list?

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