I met a business acquaintance the other day. He asked me who I thought was leading the Internet of Things (IoT) industry. It was easy to dismiss the question by pointing out the large number of companies—many very young and quite small—that occupy this nascent space. But what about in the future? Who will lead the IoT industry 5 or 10 years from now?
How do you define leadership in IoT?
It’s not about connecting billions of devices, which is a useless metric.
It’s not about creating the “plumbing” of the Internet as many are fond of describing the IoT.
And it isn’t about the next generation of wireless communication that will be able to cram more data through the pipes of the Internet.
The value of the IoT technology is in enabling a connected ecosystem that provides tighter value chain integration, greater supply chain clarity, and better informed decisions. No one company is going to lead the ecosystem, because it is any ecosystem, any business, any decision-making process.
The Internet of Things is about orchestration and enablement of a connected ecosystem, deriving knowledge and decision-making from synthesis of data. Some of this data is, indeed, generated by sensors and other devices and “things”, but other data come from sources that are not “pure” IoT, such as enterprise software and social media. The IoT value realization takes place at the edge of the ecosystem farthest from the sensors and devices, outside the reach of many of the software and hardware that concentrate on connecting these devices.
This is not to say that there is no room for innovation and technology market leadership. There will be multiple companies “servicing the cause”: connectivity, security and privacy, device management, analytics, and numerous others, including application and adaptation of IoT technology for Application-Specific IoT.
So, in my opinion, no single company is going to lead the Internet of Things. But hopefully many companies will collaborate through common business processes and technology standards to maximize the opportunity afforded by the technology.
Image: His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen, His Highness the Prince (Joan Miro, 1974)