Prasun Kumar, chief marketing officer of Binatone, has shared five trends that will dominate the Internet of Things (IoT) space in 2016.
Internet of Things (IoT) is fast changing from fantasy to reality. The transition of IoT from embedded M2M sensors to the smartphone-powered home controls and industrial robots was astonishingly faster. The IoT ecosystem expanded significantly in 2015 bringing new concepts and technologies on board, notwithstanding the multitude of challenges associated with it. As we look forward to 2016 there is new wave of optimism surrounding key industry verticals.
Here’s a glimpse at five major trends that are likely to dominate IoT space in 2016
# Healthcare, homecare and automotive to drive IoT market
Healthcare, Homecare and Automotive are the three major segments maturing faster than others in terms of IoT adoption.
Healthcare: IoT helps accelerate healthcare delivery through innovations in hardware and software. Health monitoring systems powered by smaller, faster CPUs are fast becoming the trend. However, data analytics and data security are becoming major concerns in implementing IoT in healthcare. Codifying standards that will ensure safe handling of patient data and facilitate secure connectivity among these devices will be the top priorities for 2016.
Emotional Home: Over the past couple of years, we saw how smart homes evolved around concepts like security and energy efficiency. Building on this trend, the industry is moving to an IoT enabled Emotional Home that delivers round-the-clock surveillance and security at home. Worldwide, there will be massive adoption of surveillance systems under custom categories like home monitors, baby monitors, elderly monitors and pet monitors.
Connected Cars: Connected car has been here for a decade delivering real-time traffic alerts, streaming music and providing location assistance to drivers. However automakers have not been able to differentiate IoT as a real sales factor mainly because of the higher costs. Currently connected cars fall under luxury category; however trends indicate that price of connected cars will drop significantly in the next few years, making them affordable to an average buyer. Another trend calling the industry’s attention is the growing partnership between automakers and IoT software vendors. As new features get added to connected car systems, more industry partnerships are expected.
# IoT moving to Cloud
As with other computing technologies of today, IoT systems are slowly moving to Cloud. In 2016, we will see more IoT applications running in the Cloud interacting with multiple devices without utilizing the storage resources of the users. IoT Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) is emerging as an extension of general PaaS delivering backend services and infrastructure support to applications. IoT Cloud will enable key functionalities such as connectivity, integration, security, analytics, simulation and management of connected devices.
# Data analytics will emerge as new market segment in IoT
Data analytics drives the business value in IoT. The data flowing across millions of connected devices needs to be captured in real time, processed and sent to the smart devices based on the conditions prescribed on line-of-business systems. Challenging applications require faster integration and near real time analytics of less than 1 second query response time. IoT analytics also has to deal with different kinds of data sources. With data analytics proving a winning value proposition, the industry will focus on creating a dedicated IoT big data segment. Businesses will see increased ROI with the implementation of efficient data analytics technologies.
# IoT Monetization efforts will take off
With IoT projected to reach 212 billion units installed by 2020, providers are keen to draw value from the ubiquitous IoT connectivity chain. Many IoT app providers have already launched killer IoT apps targeting big markets and started monetizing through a number of strategies. Partnerships between hardware providers and app companies will accelerate the monetization efforts in the coming days. Since the market is not matured yet, players can go to market quicker but they need to devise a long-term monetization strategy that will succeed even when the market matures. To stay ahead of competition, providers also need to analyze customer needs and adjust their monetization strategy accordingly.
# Security to differentiate IoT product offerings
The alarm bells on IoT security have captured the attention of industry stakeholders. With cyber security landscape growing complex, the demand for securing smart homes, power grids, health monitors, connected cars, etc., become more pertinent. As a result, security is likely to emerge as a key differentiator in IoT product offerings. Chipsets with advanced security features will capture the market in the coming months. Also, device manufacturers, network providers and app developers, who can differentiate their products with advanced security functionalities, will gain a competitive advantage in the flourishing market.
To sum up, Internet of Things is set for the next level of transformation – to create a network of Information of Everything. However, future says there is no dearth for innovation.
By Prasun Kumar, chief marketing officer of Binatone
editor@infotechlead.com
