Given this anticipated heterogeneity across the IoT, we are due some further
consideration of interoperability between entities within an environment, and
across the IoT at large. While some have advocated the need for, and made some
early progress towards, universal interoperability and open standards in the IoT,
the extent to which it’s possible is largely dependent on how – and how rapidly –
the IoT evolves [7]. The National Intelligence Council (NIC) outlines four possible
scenarios for this evolution: Fast Burn, Slowly But Surely, Connected Niches, and
Ambient Interaction [8]. Of all of the scenarios, Slowly But Surely, which predicts
pervasiveness in 2035, is the only scenario that permits universal interoperability.
However, our projections for entity population growth and the vertical nature of
extant stakeholders are much more indicative of the Connected Niches scenario,
in which interoperability is challenged by reluctance of industries to cooperate.
Interoperability struggles present a challenge to accountability and manageability.
As the number of system stakeholders increases, accountability for preventing,
identifying, and resolving security issues will be more distributed. Similarly, the
channels and methods for interaction will grow more voluminous and complex.