IoT burst into the public imagination in a big way in 2016. But despite all the fanfare and press, it was eclipsed in 2017 by “sexier” trends such as AI, bitcoin, and blockchain.
According to VC investor and IoT evangelist Matt Turck, “The Internet of Things (IoT) was supposed to be huge by now…(t)he reality is that the various parts of the IoT ecosystem are not evolving at the same speed.”
IoT devices have surpassed mobile devices in sheer number, but IoT has not become bigger for the simple reason that IoT ecosystem challenges have not been completely resolved yet.
Turck mentioned that security has been a huge issue, as well as the failure of IoT startups. Even simple technical issues that should be fairly simple, such as connecting your Smart Home devices to the internet, are causing problems, according to a recent article by IoT expert Stacey Higginbotham.
In this blog post series, we address the main IoT ecosystem challenges we see and are aware of, both those faced by IoT technology companies as well as their customers and end users, as IoT finally explodes into the mainstream.
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Chapter 1: 5 Challenges in Supporting IoT DevicesThe growth of the IoT (Internet-of-Things) ecosystem in our homes, cars, offices and lives in general, presents important challenges to all of us. This includes not only the consumers who purchase and use the devices, but also the designers and manufacturers who are bringing them to life. The former face challenges related to security, connectivity, maturity of the technology, and the learning curve, among others. The tech companies have to cope with challenges in ease-of-use, compatibility, product quality, delivery of the best customer experience, and scalability of that experience to potentially millions of users. This article looks to set the tone for this last set of tech company challenges, to be further discussed in other articles of the series. Read More |
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Chapter 2: The Complete Guide to Securing your Smart HomeIn this new era of IoT and smart connected devices, one of the main challenges consumer are facing has to do with the security of their smart home, as they connect an increasing number of devices to their networks (smart locks, smart cameras, garage doors, smart hubs, etc.). In this comprehensive guide, we give you the step by step instructions you can take to lock-down your smart home and feel secure as your ecosystem of internet and inter-connected “things" grows. Read More |
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Chapter 3: 8 Barriers to Consumer IoT AdoptionThese are exciting times. Technology is rapidly changing the way we do almost everything, even the simplest tasks of our daily lives. It started with music – the iPod -, then the smart phone and mobile apps, and it’s now moved on to a multitude of connected devices, both in the industrial and consumer space. This is very exciting, yet very difficult for most of us to cope with. My purpose here is to reflect on a few of these challenges and barriers to both our understanding of what these technologies are, what they do, and also how far they might go. Read More |
