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IoT INNOVATION MAR 2016 | #1
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Big Data & The IoT Are Closer Than Ever
Be Careful Not To Overhype The IoT
Big Data has given way to the IoT as the most hyped tech development of our time, but the two will be codependent if either is to flourish | 6
The IoT is certainly an exciting prospect, but inflated expectations have seen new techs find it impossible to avoid disappointment in the past | 21
Internet of Things Summit
San Francisco April 21 & 22, 2016
Speakers Include
+ 1 415 692 5426 rasterley@theiegroup.com www.theinnovationenterprise.com
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ISSUE 1
EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome to the 1st Edition of the Internet of Things Magazine
Welcome to the first edition of our Internet of Things magazine, the latest in our series of publications created to share ideas, encourage discussion and promote innovation. The term ‘Internet of Things,’ (IoT) may have been first coined in 1999, but it is only in the last few years that its potential capabilities and implications have started coming into focus. Currently at the very peak of its hype cycle, the technology is still in its infancy, and if its applications can even come close to matching expectations, the coming years could see tremendous advancements in the field.
by 2018, there is a danger that the industry could become flooded by a wave of unfiltered data. Pedro Yiakoumi takes a look at the need for symbiosis between Big Data and the IoT, and the advantages of the IoT’s relatively protracted development. What is not yet entirely clear is quite how the potential value of the IoT is to be extracted. Technology creating what could be $6 trillion of new value, the nimblest of companies could see an immediate return, and innovative methods of extracting value will bear fruit; something about an early bird comes to mind.
Put simply, the virtually endless opportunities made possible by the IoT are not yet fully understood, but the technology has the capability to make ‘smart connections’ with everything from cars and fridges to wearable devices and even the ground we walk on.
As for burgeoning IoT locations, the tech currently has a few hubs dotted around the world, but San Francisco and Singapore are emerging as perhaps the most exciting, and Elaine Li has taken a look at the Asian city-state set to dominate advancements in the coming years.
However, with 21 billion connected devices potentially producing data
And before we get too excited about the possibilities of the IoT, Laura
Denham has warned of the dangers of over-hyping the tech. 2016 may not be the year every household appliance begins transmitting data, but the leaps and bounds should, regardless, be appreciated for what they are. In addition to these, I look at how the NFL is grappling with the potential capabilities of the IoT and pushing the boundaries of what the tech could mean for sport.
Charlie Sammonds managing editor
As always, if you have any comment on the magazine or you want to submit an article, please contact me at csammonds@theiegroup.com.
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Smart Cities Innovation Summit
San Francisco October 19 & 20, 2016
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contents 6 | BIG DATA & THE IOT ARE CLOSER THAN EVER
18 | IOT IS HAVING MAJOR IMPACTS IN THE NFL
Big Data has given way to the IoT as the most hyped tech development of our time, but the two will be codependent if either is to flourish
With sports at the forefront of the push to effectively harness both Big Data and the IoT, is the NFL set to lead the way?
9 | HOW TO MONETIZE THE IOT
The potentially multi-trillion dollar industry is ripe for commercialisation, and extracting value from the IoT could be more straightforward than you think 12 | SINGAPORE, THE ASIAN IOT HUB
San Fransisco may lay claim to the title of the most IoT-progressive city, but developments in Singapore are arguably unrivalled 15 | IOT SECURITY CONCERNS TO BE AWARE OF IN 2016
With 21 billion devices expected to be connected by 2018, gadget security is set to become a major concern in the world of IoT
21 | BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERHYPE THE IOT
The IoT is certainly an exciting prospect, but inflated expectations have seen new techs find it impossible to avoid disappointment in the past
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WRITE FOR US
Do you want to contribute to our next issue? Contact: ghill@theiegroup.com for details
| assistant editor james ovenden | creative director chelsea carpenter | contributors pedro yiakoumi, matthew griffin, elaine li, managing editor charlie sammonds xander schofield, laura denham
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Big Data and the IoT are closer than ever The success of both will come down to the symbiotic relationship between them
Pedro Yiakoumi IoT Commentator
The Gartner Hype Cycle graph - depicting the typical rise, fall and readjustment of expectation regarding a particular technology - placed the Internet of Things as the tech advancement that had the most expectation surrounding it in July 2014. This is not surprising, given that it gives us the potential to connect almost any device in the world to one another and could open countless opportunities for innovation. It currently sits right at the top of the ‘peak of inflated expectations’, whilst Big Data finds itself on the cusp of the ‘trough of disillusionment’. Although this shows that there is currently more excitement around the IoT, the truth is that it just means that Big Data is further along the scale towards the ‘plateau of productivity’. However the two are intertwined and, in many ways, will need one another in the future to operate effectively. Therefore, although the development of the Internet of Things is slower than Big Data,
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the latter’s acceleration ahead is necessary for the overall productivity of them both further down the line. For the Internet of Things to work to its full potential, there needs to be the capability for the information being processed and stored effectively and on a huge scale. It has been predicted by Cisco that 21 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2018, each creating data that needs to be stored and analyzed effectively. This is no small task and one that could render the IoT useless in the future, or at least seriously impede its growth.
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21 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2018, each creating data that needs to be stored and analyzed effectively
At present we are not seeing tidal waves of data being created by the IoT, but that is to be expected from a relatively new technology; the increased data will come with wider adoption. The amount of data being created by the billions of extra devices being connected is going to require a new approach to storing and analyzing data, something that will come with new developments in Big Data.
more powerful from the usefulness that this huge influx of data will bring and the potential power of the IoT will rely on this data produced being stored and analyzed. The two are intrinsically linked and when they both reach the plateau of productivity on Gartners Hype Cycle, we are likely to see this relationship become both stronger and more reliant on one another.
For instance, when we consider at the same graph, we can see that the next technology along from Big Data is In-Memory Database Management systems. These are a part of the modern Big Data landscape and are something that we have previously discussed, but with the importance of speedy access and storage, it is going to be one of the cornerstones of future mass data storage. The success of both will come down to the symbiotic relationship between them. Big Data will grow
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Internet of Things Summit
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How to monetize the Internet of Things Over the next ten years the Internet of Everything will, according to leading analysts, create between $6 trillion and $33 trillion of new value. The term Internet of Everything encompasses at least six other multi-trillion dollar mega-trends as shown below. Matthew Griffin Futurist at 311 Institute
The key word in this phrase that you need to pay special attention to is the word ‘New’, because unlike other trends that simply replace existing ones, the Internet of Everything gives every organization an opportunity to create new value that didn’t exist before. The world is full of hundreds of billions of dumb devices all waiting to be connected. The chair you’re sitting on? Dumb. The table you’re sitting at? Dumb. The floor you’re standing on? Dumb. The food you’re eating? Dumb and yes even food in the future will be smart but that’s a topic for another time.
Value is in the eye of the beholder Value is an interesting word, in part because different people quantify it in different ways, but also because it’s fluid in nature and changes over time. Business leaders however, whose mission it is to ensure the future prosperity of their organization, will more often than not define it in business terms. They will consequently measure the value of something by the degree it helps them reduce business costs and risks and by the degree that it can help them grow revenues.
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10 When analysts around the world decided to quantify the value of the Internet of Everything they used a traditional empirical measure – money. If the Internet of Everything will create at least $6 trillion of new value, how can you capture some of it and translate it into something that helps your organization become more prosperous? Commercially, the value generated by the Internet of Everything falls into one of two pots – its ability to radically improve the operational efficiency of your organization and its ability to help you build new revenue streams while complimenting old ones. In other words, it’ll help you reduce costs and grow income. So how do you find and extract the value from these smart devices and apply it to your business? Information has a lifecycle and, like any lifecycle there’s a beginning, a middle and an end, but ironically we need to begin at the end - with the results you want to achieve.
If the Internet of Everything will create at least $6 Trillion of new value, how can you capture some of it and translate it into something that helps your organization become more prosperous?
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Start at the end
Find the right data to combine
As established earlier, business leaders focus on only three key forces – cost, risk and revenue and this is where we’ll begin our journey. Choose the force you want to move the dial on and be specific about the results you’d like to achieve. Not only will being specific help focus your thoughts, but it will give you goals to aim for. However, if this is your first outing then don’t beat yourself up if you over shoot or under shoot your goals. In my example, I’m going to use the Internet of Everything to reduce global food prices and create a new revenue stream for my agricultural business, so no pressure. I want to discover a new revenue stream for my business that will help me add 5% to my top line, improve customer loyalty and differentiate me against my competition. Sound familiar?
By now you should all know that information has more value when it’s combined with other data streams. Choosing the right streams to combine is going to be one of the most challenging problems you’ll face, so now you’ve established your goal criteria your next task is to select the right streams to combine. For this you need to have a clear understanding of the streams available to your organization. In other words, you need to know what sensors you have in your estate and be able to quantify what they can measure and know where they are. At this point it’s probably worth noting that this is where many organizations today fall down, because very few organizations audit sensors and ergo have no way to understand what information is available to them. If, for example, I asked you what sensors you had, where they were and what data they captured, would you be able to give me an accurate answer? Probably not, but once you have this information it should be easy enough for you to understand the function, capability and position of particular sensors in your organization’s ecosystem and begin innovating a new revenue stream or, alternatively, working out how you can leverage the data from them to reduce operational costs and risks.
For those wondering why I’ve chosen to try to discover a new revenue stream, it’s because in my experience it’s the harder of the three forces to influence – reducing cost and risk is relatively easy but discovering a new mass market revenue stream requires creative thinking, so assemble the right team of experts and be prepared to think outside of the box. Let’s begin.
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The Internet of Everything presents every organization with an unparalleled opportunity to reinvent itself and the relationship with its customers
Save the planet and reduce the cost of bread Moving on to my example, a GPS sensor in a tractor has a specific function - it will allow you to monitor the vehicles location. Similarly, a spectrographic sensor has a specific function - it will help you measure the absorption, emission and scattering of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) of an object. In isolation neither of these two sensors sound particularly interesting, but with the right perspective, knowledge and foresight, the right team will realize that combining the data streams from even just these two sensors will allow farmers to increase their crop yields by an average of 20%. At the same time it will help them reduce the amount of herbicides they use, reducing their impact on the environment. If you’re wondering how we can achieve these results using just two sensors, the answer is simple. Using GPS you can record your tractors movements around a winter wheat field, meanwhile spectrographic sensors embedded in the crop sprayers mechanical booms use hyper-spectral analysis to determine the EMR biosignature of all of the plants it’s passing over. To a layman all of this will probably still mean nothing, and if you don’t have the right team of experts in place then you’ll have just scored an own goal and missed a golden opportunity. Subsequently I can’t stress enough how important it is that you have the right subject matter experts in your team because a spectographer will be able to tell you that every plant has a different biosignature. Now, armed with this new information, your team can create a system that allows the sprayer to differentiate weeds from winter wheat plants so when - and only when - the sprayer detects a weed, it’ll spray it with the right amount of herbicide with pin point accuracy, reducing waste, maximizing yields and inevitably growing top line.
Now bank it At this time congratulations are in order – well done, you’ve just helped increase global food production. But how do you turn this into a value your business can bank? Well, as we’ve already seen you’ve just used the Internet of Everything to create new value and, once you’ve quantified it and proven it works, you need to develop a go-to market plan. In this case, for example, you could sell the insights that the information from your agricultural machinery has just gathered back to the farmers as a service – after all, not only have they just reduced the amount of herbicide they have to buy and know which areas of their land are more prone to weed outbreaks, but they’ve also got 20% more winter wheat to sell. So now when we look back at our goals of achieving better customer loyalty, differentiating our organization and improving our top line, have we succeeded? Well this was only an example but perhaps we did… however, what might be more interesting to you is the fact that the Internet of Everything doesn’t just give your organization the opportunity to identify a few new revenue streams but many. There are billions and billions of new uses cases waiting to be discovered and the only way you are going to increase the prosperity of your business is to get out there and work on finding them. Good luck!
In Summary The Internet of Everything presents every organization with an unparalleled opportunity to reinvent itself and the relationship with its customers. Realizing the benefits relies on your ability to both understand the sensors in your estate and assemble the right team.
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Singapore, The Asian IoT Hub Elaine Li International Events Director
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a concept that is quickly gaining traction in the business world, with its potential capabilities creating excitement for many industries. At present, the true power it has is not widely understood, but with the work being done by several countries and organizations, the imminent impact is becoming clearer. Although there are several cities who may claim to be leading the way in IoT, particularly the San Francisco Bay Area, few have come close to what Singapore is currently attempting. The city-state currently has some of the most exciting projects surrounding the IoT, spanning largely from the support of the new technology by the city’s government. From attempts to attract the leading companies in the space to operate
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in the city, through to adopting it in the day-to-day running of the city, their attempts are showing Singapore to be a genuine leader in the space. One of the most recent developments has been Dell opening their ‘Internet of Things Lab’ in the city, partnered with Intel. The idea behind the new lab is to help connect intelligent devices, speeding up the connection of legacy systems and analyzing
13 data for usable information. Glen Burrows, regional general manager and managing director at Dell, pointed to the reasons for choosing to base the lab in Singapore: ‘With a strong connectivity infrastructure and the government’s vision to create a Smart Nation, Singapore is the ideal choice for the location of our first IoT Lab in the region.’ The relationship with the government must be acknowledged as a factor in the development of Singapore’s IoT capabilities, with sensible approaches being taken, rather than being hesitant or gung-ho with their implementation. Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, for instance, said that ‘open and interoperable standards are the crucial next step in unlocking the potential of IoT.’ This approach will allow the city to grow its IoT capabilities in the correct way, rather than simply jumping in head first.
Through intelligent implementation, government support and company investment, the future of connected technologies within the city is looking good
companies to the city, has put Singapore in a strong position as leaders of the IoT across the APAC, and also other global leaders. Through intelligent implementation, government support and company investment, the future of connected technologies within the city is looking good, and the world will look to how the city reacts in the coming years for an indication of how to implement similar ideas themselves.
One of the ways they are doing this is through introducing it on a trial basis in a district of the city, the Jurong Lake District. Here they have installed over 1000 sensors across the area and what they refer to as ‘Above-Ground-Boxes’ to house them and transmit the data. The importance of these boxes is in their high speed connectivity, allowing the massive amount of information being created by the sensors to be transferred quickly to centralized controllers. They are also attempting to create autonomous public transport systems within the city, with Carlo Ratti, a smart city researcher, telling Wired that ‘the mobility demand of a city such as Singapore could be met with 30 per cent of its existing vehicles.’ The government are looking at autonomous vehicles to achieve this, with the IoT being a key component in controlling their movements and optimizing how they operate. The introduction of schemes like these, plus attracting IoT-focused
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Chief Data Officer Summit
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IoT Security Concerns to be Aware of in 2016 It will likely only take one horror movie where the villain hacks a person’s home and home appliances, for public opinion to start to shift
Xander Schofield Big Data Author
The Internet of Things has been spoken of as the next big thing for the past few years. Already, a number of household appliances are capable of connecting to the internet and making your life easier. Yet there remain some security concerns early on, because it will likely only take one horror movie where the villain hacks a person’s home and home appliances, for public opinion to start to shift. To avoid that, many firms have decided to use state of the art smartphone software that allows only the owner of the physically connected object to connect securely and program or change whatever the object is. If you have iot innovation
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With cars, although there has been extensive testing to ensure that vehicles cannot be controlled, hackers have shown that they can access some systems on some models with a live internet connection
a coffee pot that is connected and you want to reset the timer for it, for example, you can do so using a secure application. For those who say that smartphones and tablets are just as vulnerable to hacking attempts, looking at the success of smartphone controlled door locks would suggest otherwise, as there have been few reports of people who have had their door locks hacked and reprogrammed to let burglars in while they are away. Interestingly enough, when the iPod first came and before the iPhone appeared, there were several thefts of iPods because they were so popular. Today, it is not that common for thieves to do the easy thing and steal someone’s smartphone so that they might access their IoT connected devices; it is far too easy for the owner to shut down any type of service before a thief can get too far. On the other hand, owners of smartphones that have a monthly payment and no contract may find that it is difficult to shut that actual prepaid time down if their phone is stolen, making it easier for those who still do have a contract to use its privileges to protect their IoT devices. Cars have been another area where some manufacturers have allowed owners to use their cellphones to start the engine, allowing it to warm up on a cold day before they get into the car, for example. With cars, although there has been extensive testing to ensure that vehicles cannot be controlled, hackers have shown that they can access some systems on some models with a live internet connection. It is therefore critical for manufacturers to extensively test to avoid malicious attacks. Lastly, cheap internet-capable sensors are now available that act like security devices when coupled with a sound or laser system. The primary problem with this type of system is not that they can be
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hacked, but that they are being exploited to set up perimeters for gangs in urban areas throughout the United States. They couple well with cameras and remote card readers to pull IDs and pop up names on a screen. If you add directed sound, as most retail establishments in Southern California have had added, it can allow you to track people throughout the store and talk with them individually, something that has proven to be a creepy experience for some shoppers and a source of liability for the venue. For this type of problem, store managers and mall managers need to be observant and demand that security keep logs of their use of directed sound in the building. That way they can review any incidents and detect systems that are not their own in the building.
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IoT is having major impacts in the NFL Before the players took to the field, a small RFID chip - about the size of a quarter - was attached to their shoulder pads. This is an entirely new project for the NFL
Charlie Sammonds Managing Editor
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According to a recent Bloomberg poll, football has officially replaced baseball as America’s favourite pastime. It’s not just the country’s biggest sport either, it’s now ‘the biggest anything’, with the top 20 mostwatched programmes in the United States all Super Bowl games. 2016’s ‘Golden Super Bowl’ was suitably huge, attracting only slightly fewer viewers - an average 111.9 million on TV alone - than last year’s New England Patriots triumph (114.4 million). The incredible popularity has been caused, in part, by the increasing sophistication of TV broadcasts, which have made match analysis more extensive, ultimately enhancing the whole viewing experience for fans, as well as those tuning in primarily for the spectacle. The start of this year’s football season had all the hallmarks of those recently gone by; over the top firework displays and thousands of well-drilled cheerleaders dancing with robotic precision at the drop of a hat. But before the players took to the field, a small RFID chip - about the size of a quarter - was attached to their shoulder pads. This is an entirely new project for the NFL, allowing analysts and coaches to measure the distance a player has travelled, their average speed, and also their exact position on the field at any given moment. Football is a data rich sport, and that’s one of the main reasons why its fantasy leagues have been such a resounding success. But the introduction of RFID tags should add another layer to the data that’s already at the disposal of fans, broadcasters and coaches. The NFL’s main ambition with the project is to improve instant replays, in what they call ‘Next Generation Replays’. A video posted online by the NFL served as an impressive teaser of
the technology’s capabilities, but the bad news is that unless you own an Xbox One or a device updated with Windows 10, they’re going to be unavailable. Microsoft’s been a major sponsor of the NFL for some time, so it makes sense that they’d incorporate such restrictions. Fans are also promised a better experience when they attend matches. Matt Swensson, Senior Director of Emerging Products and Technology at the NFL stated: ‘At the Pro Bowl last year, we had a display up that showed what players were on the field. By putting up what players were on the field in real time, it really gave fans more information.’ In a similar vein to the digital transformation partnerships announced in 2015 by soccer teams Chelsea and Manchester United, NFL are stepping up their digital capabilities. Many fans will rarely - if ever - set foot in their team’s stadium, though, so concentrating on improving the experience of fans who buy tickets to watch live games tends to take a backseat to initiatives reaching those watching on TV and online. Therefore, expect most of the data attained from the RFID tags to be used to drive instant replays and TV broadcasts, more than, say, live boards at a match. If RFID tags can engage fans even further, the viewing figures of not only the Super Bowl but the more run-of-the-mill NFL games should continue their rise. With greater analysis and a more comprehensive wealth of statistics comes greater engagement with the sport, and NFL are set to lead the way.
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Inform. Inspire. Innovate Looking to find new ideas within the IoT or want to share your own?
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THE TRUTH IS THAT ALTHOUGH 2016 IS LIKELY TO SEE AN INCREASED USE OF THE TECHNOLOGY, IT IS AS LIKELY TO BE KNOWN AS ‘THE YEAR OF THE IOT’ AS 1995 WOULD HAVE BEEN ‘THE YEAR OF THE INTERNET’
Be Careful not to overhype the IoT Laura Denham Big Data Evangelist
The Internet of Things is not a new idea and many people around the world are aware of it. However, although the concept is well known, it is not even close to reaching its full potential. There are some who claim that 2016 is going to be the year of Internet of Things, but I beg to differ. The truth is that although 2016 is likely to see an increased use of the technology, it is as likely to be known as 'the year of the IoT' as 1995 would have been 'the year of the internet'. Sure, there is going to be significant growth in the area, but will this be the year it exploded or just be another year that it grew? iot innovation
22 I would argue that it will be the latter, mainly because the vast number of people who will end up using it will not fully grasp its hold over their daily lives. When they get a new app on their phone that harnesses the power of the IoT, the brilliance of the app will be discussed, not the way that it was created through a complex data infrastructure. It is the same way that people think that broadband is great, but not being too concerned about the cables that allow for the increased bandwidth. For the growth of the Internet of Things to occur, there needs to be a significant increase in the number of devices that can use it and, in order for the number of devices to increase, they need to have a practical use. Therefore 2016 is likely to be part of the formative years during which these wider uses are found. It is the equivalent of the period when the internet was initially created, at the time when being able to connect computers together seemed like a relatively small development; it was only when the implications of these connections became obvious that its true power of it became clear to people.
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A similar thing is currently happening with the Internet of Things, and although 2016 will certainly see this understanding increase amongst the general population, until they are actively using it all the time, it will not reach its potential. This probably won't happen in 2016, but what we may see are the foundations of this being laid and perhaps the increase of technologies being used to harness it. It is undoubtedly an exciting time for the Internet of Things, but through hyping up a year in which it will hopefully explode or similar, all that happens is that people, industries and investors get frustrated when presumed monumental success is not achieved. This potentially damages future success. It has been the case with technologies in the past that overhyping simply damages it in the long run, if 'the year of IoT' follows suit in 2016, the disappointment in the failed hype of big data may be felt once more.
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