The "Internet of Things" is set to be a key area of interest for information-technology buyers and sellers next year.
"The explosion of IoT activity over the next few years will be driven by the nexus of low-cost sensors, cloud computing, advanced data analytics and mobility," Andrew Milroy, vice president of ICT practice at Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific, said yesterday.
Plenty of opportunities will emerge as more and more data is generated by machines (things) than human beings, such as to analyse and use big data; store data and source application functionality in/from the cloud; create, manage and support applications that enable the operation and management of IoT implementations; and provide high-speed connectivity between objects and the people who work with them and use them.
The IoT will create much more data than is generated by people, the global growth consultancy believes. Powerful analytical tools will allow this additional data to be optimised, potentially allowing organisations to increase efficiency and effectiveness, innovate and transform the way they do business - and generate revenue. As organisations prioritise big data and seek to improve evidence-based decision-making, demand for these tools will increase.
New cloud opportunities will be driven by the IoT, as most organisations in mature economies need to justify not using cloud computing as opposed to on-premise alternatives. Cloud-computing opportunities will multiply as the IoT becomes more widespread, Frost & Sullivan said.
For instance, data generated by low-cost sensors will be stored and analysed in the cloud. Applications that drive the functionality of sensors and other mobile devices will be hosted and developed in the cloud.
Smartphone
With smartphone penetration passing 50 per cent in many economies, businesses are constantly finding ways to engage customers directly on these devices. With the IoT, mobile applications will be developed in the cloud for deployment on any device or sensor.
Platforms allowing this app development will become more widely used and leading technology vendors, such as Salesforce.com, Microsoft, VMWare, Amazon and Google, will battle for dominance, the consultancy forecasts.
A professional services market centred on development and management of apps will become increasingly significant in 2014.
Apps will become the primary form of engagement with organisations as people will increasingly look to apps that allow them to interact with their bank, airline, favourite retailer or restaurant. While apps may enable and enhance that interaction, high-speed networks will need to be deployed to enable this heavy use of increasingly sophisticated apps. From an IoT perspective, these networks will be necessary to efficiently transmit growing volumes of data between sensors and devices.
The biggest revenue opportunity today for an IoT ecosystem is within the transport and logistics industries, Frost & Sullivan says. The deployment of low-cost, Internet protocol-enabled sensors within "things" that move products around as well as within the products themselves creates huge opportunities beyond supply chain optimisation.
For example, the Airbus A380 has components fitted with sensors to monitor wear and tear in real time. This continually generated data allows Airbus to maintain a dynamic maintenance process and optimise performance.
From a technology perspective, this requires a huge amount of storage and application functionality, as well as data analysis. Cloud computing, big-data technologies and lower-cost sensors are expected to have a positive impact on aircraft manufacturers and airlines.