The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) will continue into 2020 and beyond. We have now reached the point of no return, says Ian Marsden, founder and CTO of Eseye. The world relies heavily on connected devices and continued innovation in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and voice-controlled devices is powering further growth.
From connected coffee vending machines, warehouse picking robots and city lighting, to smart speakers, lawnmowers and displays, IoT is increasingly becoming part of our daily lives across factories, shops, homes and offices. It’s even influencing significant behavioural changes.
The recent launch of Facebook’s Portal, is a great example of disruptive plug-and-play technology that is connecting people, utilising existing devices and changing the way we communicate. It may not succeed in gaining mass adoption, but what’s clear is that the way technology is integrated into our lives is evolving significantly, with ease of use front and centre.
All great news for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and, indeed, any firm that produces or sells connected items. It’s good news for the rest of us, really, since IoT promises a much easier and more efficient customer experience both at work and home – and it’s a promise that’s already becoming a reality.
If only developing, deploying and managing IoT devices from a business perspective was straightforward, however. Currently, it’s not. And that’s the challenge that manufacturers will have to overcome if they’re going to enjoy the full benefits of the next great technological disruptor and reap the profits accordingly.
Businesses are intimidated by devices that don’t work out of the box
The importance of making any IoT device user-friendly, straight out of the box, cannot be overstated.
This is the holy grail of IoT product design. People are averse to using and buying connected devices that require the organisation to install, connect or configure the device in any but the simplest terms. We may live in a technological age but it’s common for the tech-fluent designers of IoT products to massively over-estimate the confidence and capability of customers to set up their devices, and subsequently under-estimate the cost this then entails.
Even where devices’ only requirement is to be removed from the box, plugged into a power source and connected to Wi-Fi, problems frequently arise.
Many of the current generation of IoT devices run over Wi-Fi, mostly for perceived cost reasons. Firstly, the hardware itself is cheaper. Secondly, the bill for the internet connection becomes the user’s problem, rather than the device manufacturer’s. But that’s an outdated point of view.
On a basic level, the first issue is with reliability of connectivity. What if the Wi-Fi signal isn’t strong enough to reach the point at which it’s needed? What if the signal is intermittent or inadequate?
What if data security is paramount (bearing in mind that Wi-Fi is much easier to hack than a mobile connection and the security is not under the control of the device manufacturer), but the device is speaking to a cloud service and so data has to leave the site somehow?
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by Anasia D'mello, Khareem Sudlow
