How the Internet of Things could affect your business

There’s been a lot written about the Internet of Things (IoT), but as far as your business, its needs and prospects are concerned, it boils down to five areas that may change or benefit your organisation. They are represented by the five key connection points along the IoT chain, between the things and your business. Some companies will be able to address only one, while a few will span the whole chain to potentially dominate the IoT market. Allied to this are key enabling technologies like cloud computing, network security and mobility, all of which will play a key part in the IoT’s success.

Each company needs to ask itself where they fit in, and what technology they need to focus on, or partner with others to offer a solution or business advantage. Here are the five areas you should consider:

Thing-centric usage, where the thing has most of the processing and data. Providers of these will either be massive vendors selling billions or niche makers (perhaps start-ups) selling to enthusiasts, a small market or a particular industry.

Gateway-centric, where the thing remains a relatively dumb device with a gateway device in the field acting as the primary control point. Internet and mobile service providers will play a key role here, helping to link devices.

Smartphone-centric usage is where the user’s smartphone acts as a hub for a range of IoT devices and objects. The Apple Watch and other wearables are likely starting points for most consumers, but businesses will find increasing numbers of them providing data that a company can use to add value or sell products alongside. Developing apps that can access that data is one area that some companies could exploit.

Cloud-centric usage, where most businesses will find value through a cloud service working as the major point of interest. This can be either providing live dashboard information based on data from the things (smart traffic systems, for example) or providing reports, analysis and predictions. Most cloud players are preparing to adopt IoT, but service sellers could create all kinds of products in this market.

Finally, an enterprise-centric focus is where most large and vertical businesses will see value from the IoT, as they control or use the IoT that is anchored to their existing IT systems.

Any one of these areas is currently rife with potential for technology companies to break into this growing market. It could be an idea from a tiny player that is just as relevant as something put out there by the likes of BlackBerry, for IoT security or Nest, provider of IoT home gadgets.

 

How the Internet of Things could affect your business

Windows Redstone will follow Windows 10

Microsoft is being exceptionally busy when it comes to Windows at the moment, on PCs and mobiles. It is pushing the Windows 10 release as hard as it can through the technical preview, with a summer launch now almost upon us. It is taking this hectic-paced approach to try to move straggling (and struggling) users on from Windows XP, as well as Windows 7 and Windows 8. With most business users and enterprises firmly sticking with Windows 7, it will take something major to move them on.

Which is why Windows Redstone is making the news now. Once Windows 10 is out the door, with its many consumer-centric features, the company needs to concentrate on keeping enterprise users happy. Windows Redstone (named after an ore found in the game Minecraft, which the company recently acquired) will be a major update to Windows 10 and will be released in 2016. Incorporating many features that haven’t made the launch, it will also be the perfect time for Microsoft to push Windows 10 and Redstone to enterprises, who traditionally only upgrade to the latest version of Windows when the first major update arrives.

Expect greater integration with Microsoft’s business features, like SharePoint and Azure cloud services, and more enterprise-friendly features for the likes of Skype and OneDrive, as Microsoft positions itself as the business platform of the big data era. It could also be part of the move to Windows being provided as a service, just as most cloud offerings are. That would allow Microsoft to sell subscription-based Windows licenses rather than the traditional up-front fee, which would generate more stable revenue over the longer term.

Small and medium sized businesses need to be aware of these trends now, as Microsoft tries to move on from selling one license every three or four years. Instead, they can sell subscriptions to a range of services and apps at cheaper monthly rates that will make it easier for small businesses with little cash (allowing those using BYOD schemes to use hardware at minimal cost) to get started while larger companies can spread the up-front costs over a longer period.

Windows Redstone will follow Windows 10