Since nearly everything that technical and business innovators want to do around the internet of things (IoT) needs to make use of Internet-level protocols, the intersection of the IoT and the future will to a very great extent happen on the web.
What is critically required is an entirely new architecture - a 'web communications' architecture - since the 'things' these innovators want to talk to are typically encircled by web infrastructure like firewalls and proxies.
We speak to Vikram Mehta, CEO of KAAZING, a San Jose-based web communications infrastructure company and provider of IoT Websocket software, whose mission is to accelerate the Web for ensuring the performance of the IoT is maximised.
TechRadar Pro: What impact will the Internet of Things (IoT) have on an enterprise?
Vikram Mehta: If you look at the explosive growth in connected devices, predominantly web-enabled and Web-accessible devices, the demand for live and event-driven information over the Web, or as some call it IoT, will grow exponentially.
At this expected rate the growth of data distributed over the Web, and Internet, will outpace the performance principals of Moore's Law, which we depend on to ensure that our hardware can keep up with our needs.
The legacy systems that we are currently using and deploying were never designed for the performance and scalability demands required by the new generation applications that are accessed at any time and anywhere, from any device.
It's a simple matter of physics and computer science - the traditional web and internet technologies of the last 18 years won't take us through the next ten years.
Rather than relying on legacy solutions and continue down the traditional technology path, enterprises should select new established IoT technologies, such as that of KAAZING.
Technologies that are designed from the ground up to support this new world will offer greater ROIs, better TCO's, and greatly improved user experiences and security.
TRP: How can CIOs and IT professionals keep up with IoT and incorporate it into their business?
VM: The definition of IoT is not new, in fact it's been around for over a decade. What has changed is the public's awareness that the technology we use on a daily basis has caught up on the vision of an always on, always connected World.
If you look into the details of what comprises the IoT then you'll see that it includes everything from cloud computing, big data analytics, web communication, applications, network, storage - it is essentially including everything connected online from hardware to software, or as we like to say, it's an internet of many different things.
The difference is that what has in the past been disparate and disconnected systems are now rapidly becoming uniform, connected, and always-on systems.
This shift in computing triggers new demands and requirements that will put existing infrastructures to the test.
This will most likely cause massive disruption in the technology ecosystem, as the old players can't keep up with new more agile players. As with any major technology shift it is important to stay open minded to new ideas and emerging technologies - those that may help you stay ahead in the next ten to 20 years.
I have met with many CEOs and CIOs in my career and they have all been very active and eager to know how new players, like KAAZING, can help them stay ahead of trends and benefit from the new connected World.
TRP: What industries do you see benefiting the most of IoT?
VM: We see industries such as banking, transportation, travel, logistics, healthcare, and emergency services requiring this type of implementation in order to rapidly execute delivery of their mission-critical, guaranteed, larger-sized business messages out to all their connected devices and customers.
TRP: How can enterprises prepare and ready themselves for IoT?
VM: With any new trend there is initially some uncertainty that can cause concern and technology is no different.
However, looking at some of the new industry standards that have emerged in the past three years, such as WebSocket and HTML5, the adoption curve and people's natural curiosity have helped soften this, and I believe we will see a similar trend with IoT.
TRP: With the adoption of IoT technologies to accumulate even more intelligence about consumers and their behaviour, how can CIOs tackle the likely challenge of user resistance?
VM: This is a loaded question and will, hopefully, stay at the top of the agenda at every CIO's staff meetings for a very long time.
At KAAZING we believe in people's right to protect their privacy and although it might seem to contradict where the technology industry trend is heading it is still very important that we all care and protect one another's privacy as much as we want others to protect our own.
TRP: Are enterprises and consumers racing into IoT without properly assessing the security impacts of such deployments?
VM: Yes, and I don't think it is only consumers of enterprise technology; enterprise technology companies are doing it as well. It is important for consumers of technology to properly evaluate what is being signed off on before deploying an IoT solution.
Right now there are many companies that are trying to ride the wave of IoT without considering this seriously.
TRP: When do you believe we'll see proper adoption of IoT in the enterprise, and how can CEOs prepare their organisations for this now?
VM: With awareness comes demand, and with demand comes requirements to deliver on that demand. In combination with our desire and need to react on data in a timely manner, the burden on an enterprise's existing software and hardware infrastructure will increase.
At KAAZING we are already seeing deployments of what the industry now refer to as IoT solutions in industries such as transportation and logistics to entertainment. Remember that IoT is many things to many industries with an almost infinite number of decisions to be made.
The best way to prepare is to fully understand your customer demands not just now but also in the near future, and your competitive landscape. This will tell you if you are fine with what you have or if you have to reconsider your technology choices.
TRP: Looking at 2014, what impact will IoT have on the industry?
VM: As was stated by many large enterprise companies at the Cisco IoT World Forum in Barcelona - the IoT market will not only be much bigger than anything we have ever seen in the tech industry, it will also move and change the industry faster than anything we've seen so far. The year 2014 is just the start.
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