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IoT INNOVATION SEPT 2016 | #3
The Connected Car Is bringing changes to the automotive industry /13
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Will The IoT Really Take A Century To Roll Out? The current number of estimated IoT devices in the world varies between 6.4 - 17.6 billion, despite companies predicting much bigger numbers what’s holding back the IoT? / 16
The Medical Internet of Things (MIoT)
The impact of the IoT is being felt across a huge number of industries. We look at how connected devices have shaped a new niche in the market- the Medical Internet of Things / 22
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ISSUE 3
EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome to the 3rd Edition of IoT Innovation
The Internet of Things has shaken up a huge number of industries by creating an independent niche in the market - constantly evolving, and offering new features for consumers. Probably one of the most impressive innovations in the IoT has been seen in the automotive sector, with the introduction of connected and driverless cars. Tesla, Google and Uber are just a few examples of companies innovating with driverless technology, with other manufacturers catching up fast. Later in this issue, Elliot Pannaman will look at how the IoT will revolutionize transport, including examples of advanced safety features and effective collaboration between the IoT and supply chain. Despite these opportunities, though, the IoT world is also facing many challenges. Security is the main one, with cyber attacks a major obstacle holding the IoT back from mass distribution. A
PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that 70% of connected IoT devices in use today lack fundamental security safeguards. Problems prevail in the wearable sector and manufacturers need to find ways to protect data before the potential of the IoT can be truly exploited. Charlie Sammonds expands on the issue, suggesting that security and efficiency are up to manufacturers, but consumers also need to be aware of possible risks. Connected devices are now present in pretty much every industry, including healthcare. In the socalled Medical Internet of Things (MIoT), safety and efficiency are of paramount importance and there must be a line carefully trodden to ensure that connected devices benefit patients and don’t cause harm. So how can healthcare organizations use the IoT to get ahead? Bhoopathi Rapolu talks about ways MIoT can be effectively
implemented by using the cloud, democratizing data, and creating partnerships - and how this should see the MIoT market explode, enabling healthcare to be more efficient. There have been billions of connected devices deployed across the world, yet growth has still not been as fast as many believed it would be, with IBM having predicted at least a trillion devices by 2015. There are still challenges for the IoT to overcome, and it will be interesting to see how the industry is going to fight for its place in the market and continue evolving. As always, if you have any comment on the magazine or are interested in submitting an article please contact me at anastasia@theiegroup.com Anastasia Anokhina managing editor
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Develop a Cohesive Enterprise Data Strategy December 7 & 8 2016 | New York
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contents 7 | THE SOCIOLOGY OF IOT: A PRIMER ON SMART ‘THINGS’
We go back to the origin of smart devices to see how the IoT world has evolved 10 | THE IOT IS GOING TO REVOLUTIONIZE TRANSPORT
Elliot Pannaman discusses the advantages of self-driving cars over conventional transport 13 | THE CONNECTED CAR IS BRINGING CHANGES TO THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
Nowadays it’s not horsepower that makes your car stand out, but the level of connectivity your vehicle has to offer 16 | WILL THE IOT REALLY TAKE A CENTURY TO ROLL OUT?
Estimating the current number of IoT devices in the world varies between 6.4 - 17.6 billion, despite companies predicting much bigger numbers - what’s holding back the IoT?
18 | COUNTLESS SECURITY CONCERNS WILL HOLD BACK THE IOT
The cyber vulnerability of IoT devices remains the main thing that holds them back, yet spotting gaps in the tech’s security is not getting easier 20 | IIOT: THE ARMS RACE HAS BEGUN
The IoT can make our lives more comfortable, but it’s the IIoT that is truly going to disrupt multiple industries - from the automotive sector to oil refineries 22 | THE MEDICAL INTERNET OF THINGS (MIOT): HOW CAN HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS USE IT TO GET AHEAD?
The impact of IoT is being felt across a huge number of industries. We look at how connected devices have shaped a new niche in the market- the Medical Internet of Things WRITE FOR US
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| assistant editor charlie sammonds | creative director | contributors roy asterley, johnny delgagio, elliot pannaman, bhoopathi
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rapolu, mitchell klein, jake hissitt
What did the doorbell say to the thermostat? /6
The SociologyOf IoT: A Primer On smart 'Things' Mitchell Klein , Executive Director , The Z-Wave Alliance
What is the origin of smart device standards and what’s their place in the evolving IoT? What did the doorbell say to the thermostat? The question sounds like a preschooler’s joke, but for the companies involved in the Internet of Things, queries like these are serious business. Long before anyone can know what two (or two hundred) smart objects might usefully say to each other at any given time, more elemental questions need to be asked. How do inanimate objects talk to each other in the first place? The ‘things’ in IoT use numerous digital languages and dialects to send and receive information, and take action. The choice of these different standards is sometimes determined by geographical region, just like human language. In other cases, they’re selected for specific applications or advantages. Some standards have been optimized for powerful, continual streams of wireless data - think watching a Netflix movie on your tablet. Others have been designed for extreme energy efficiency and enjoy a long battery life. Some standards can move data between your ear and your smartphone - others will move it from room to room in a building. Creating reliable user experiences out of this digital Babel is no easy feat. Unlike older technology format wars, there can be no all-encompassing winner to the IoT platform question. There are already too many disparate applications and interests at stake for any one technology to conquer every corner of the market. Instead of trying to create a one size fits all standard for IoT and the smart home, organizations
that seek to collaborate and integrate the technology layer that makes objects smart, will ultimately be the ones to harmonize the IoT’s ‘things.’ The Sound Of Two Objects Speaking Communication of any kind works through a medium. Wireless smart home devices use radio waves conceptually speaking, there isn’t all that much difference between your local Top 40 radio station and a smart home hub. Why did so many protocols evolve? In addition to commercial incentives, each was originally designed for an imagined use case. As an example, Wi-Fi was introduced to provide a continuous flow of data that could move through walls and connect computers to broadband without cables. Bluetooth was built for a short-range data transfers, such as between a headset to a phone. Both technologies arrived with caveats that weren’t terribly relevant before the IoT. For example, Wi-Fi uses too much energy to be practical for batteryoperated devices, and Bluetooth /7
was designed for point-to-point connections between two relatively proximate objects, and not a building full of wireless devices. Subsequent technologies that evolved using the 2.4 GHz band, such as ZigBee, introduced smart products that spoke specialized dialects within those frequencies. Other technologies, like Z-Wave, opted to create a generalized society for wireless objects called an ecosystem, stressing crossbrand interoperability as a primary goal. Z-Wave, which uses the lesscrowded 900 MHz, opted for an open set of descriptors and rules that would allow many objects of different types from any manufacturer to speak a common language. As a result of its decision to mandate interoperability, Z-Wave has so far been able to develop the largest ecosystem of smart home products (the originally intended niche) in the IoT, and has essentially created what is now the do-it-yourself smart home market. What Devices Need To Know Beyond hearing the same radio waves, smart objects also need to comprehend each other’s functionalities in order to do things together and create value. The answer lies in creating further characterizations for objects that let one type of device understand the capabilities (and limitations) of other devices they are communicating within a network. Smart object characterizations go further than just an IP address; they comprise an identity, a role, and a core set of talents. These qualities are described through an ascending series of intelligence ‘layers’ that organize the abilities, and ultimately the roles, of smart objects. The topmost layer of device communication is called the ‘application layer.’ This most sophisticated level is where the objects get a specific identity; what they are, and what actions they are capable of taking.
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This top-level curriculum includes ‘device classes’ and ‘command classes.’ The former names the type of object (identity -- what the ‘thing’ is), while the latter is a set of options and capabilities (abilities -- what the ‘thing’ can do). Many device classes have long been established for common smart objects, such as switches, sensors, motors, and dimmers. Relevant command classes are also well established, ranging from simple binary actions (turn on/off) to multi-device status requests, such as ‘what are your current settings?’ With clever new IoT products and services mushrooming so quickly in a fastgrowing sector, manufacturers and service providers will need to continue their own learning, so that they can be as smart as their devices. Who Gets To Decide? In any market as potentially large as the IoT, there are bound to be major parties that can sway the commercial landscape. In the case of smart objects, the major stakeholders come from diverse backgrounds. Competition not only arrives from digital powerhouses like Apple, Samsung, and Google, but from multi-service operators (MSOs) like AT&T; cable TV (CATV) operators like Time Warner- even retailers like Amazon, which recently introduced its own branded smart home system. Ultimately, it will be up to the consumer to decide which platforms and products best fit their needs. The winners in IoT will be those who deliver a valuable consumer experience and show how connected things might actually make their lives better. Smart objects aren’t really all that smart, unless they can do things that matter. Given that there are many thousands of smart devices deployed in the IoT already, it will be interesting to see how future smart objects continue to evolve-toward insularity or openness. The IoT itself crosses borders. We’ll soon see if its resident objects and technologies that drive them, will do the same.
Some standards can move data between your ear and your smartphone; others will move it from room to room in a building
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the iot is going to revolutionize transport Elliot Pannaman, Head of Big Data
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One of these elements is going to be in how it is used in transport across the world. We take a look at some of the most important elements that it will affect.
We have seen with the use of RFID tracking labels that it is possible to track exactly where items are at any time, their state, and whether they are being adequately stored. For instance, a manufacturer would be able to see that an item is being transported at the wrong temperature and damaging it, or potentially causing quality issues for the end user. We have seen the potential that this kind of technology has with work done by Johnnie Walker, who have created a proof of concept for their application to help preventing counterfeiting and theft in transit.
Self-Driving Cars
Quicker and Safer Journeys
Google has been the most visible protagonist behind the development of a self-driving car, but we are increasingly seeing companies like Nissan, Ford, and Volvo experimenting with the technology. The whole process is being driven by the IoT, from collision avoidance to suspension settings in different driving conditions.
The use of the IoT in transport could also have a profound impact on the amount of time journeys take.
THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) has not become an overnight success story, but what we are increasingly seeing, it is being used for more and more things. From smart thermostats to oil pipeline maintenance, it is having a profound impact on the world and we are going to see it slowly permeating through even more of our lives.
The ability of sensors to measure and make micro-adjustments is at the core of the self-driving revolution and it is something that is going to become commonplace on our roads. Kevin Ashton, the founder of MIT's Auto-ID Center, even believes that by 2030, everybody will have self-driving cars. However, the use of the IoT needs to be properly managed and mistakes like we have seen with the Jeep Cherokee, where brakes and steering could be controlled from outside the car, eradicated. Supply Chain Efficiency Whilst self-driving cars will be useful for moving people from one place to another, transporting goods makes up a significant amount of road use, with 15.5 million lorries operating in the US alone. The IoT has the potential to impact this transport of goods considerably, offering increased traceability, security, and safety for goods whilst in transit.
At present, journeys can take significantly longer due to congestion, with the US commuters reportedly spending 42 hours every year stuck in traffic. Through using the IoT and planning smart routes, and avoiding a human error that causes congestion, this number will be considerably reduced. Much is caused by innocuous things like driving too close to the person in front, driving too fast or being in the wrong lane at junctions. Using sensor-driven technologies, these would not longer be an issue and there will be fewer holdups and decreased journey times. However, elements that impact journey time also have implications in road safety. The most accurate study to date on road traffic accidents, the Tri-Level Study of the Causes of Traffic Accidents published in 1979, showed that 90-93% of all accidents occurred due to human error. So far, during tests of over 1 million miles, Google's self-driving car fleet has only had one accident that it caused, and even that was a 2mph brush against the side of a bus. Over 3000 deaths per year are caused on the roads due to human error, given the evidence so far, this number would be hugely reduced.
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Improved Public Transport The use of the IoT is not just going to benefit cars and lorries, it will have a significant impact on all forms of public transport too. We have already seen this in many cities, with London utilizing smart public transport better than almost any city in the world. TFL, the company responsible for organizing public transport in the UK’s-capital introduced their Oyster Card system in 2003, which not only made using public transport considerably easier, (it is simply just pressing a card against a card reader, rather than buying a ticket) but allowed them to collect a huge amount of information about journeys being taken on their network. It allows journey times, congestion, common routes, and hundreds of more useful data points to be analyzed, and acted upon. It meant that the system could cope with the additional 2 million people in 2012, closures of key infrastructure points, such as Putney Bridge and redevelopment work at stations like London Bridge. Through analyzing data from individuals, it also became possible to send out personalized emails outlining disruption to routes they often take.
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3000 per year are caused on the roads due to human error, given the evidence so far, this number would be hugely reduced x
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Johnny DelGagio, IoT Evangelist
The Connected Car Is Bringing Changes To The Automotive Industry / 13
THE SO-CALLED 'connected car' is slowly becoming the default for the modern era. Gone are the days when we focus all our attention on 'horsepower.' Get ready to look into how much 'computer power' a car has. In case you were wondering, each of these connected cars has an average power of 20 personal computers and can process 25 gigabytes of data in an hour. Gartner predicts that over a quarter of a billion connected cars will be on the road by 2020. European analysts at the global firm McKinsey & Company believe that the demand for connective devices and services will rise to â‚Ź170 billion by 2020. Connected cars offer drivers added comfort and convenience inside the car, but also increased safety. A great deal of time is being spent in developing connected cars that can communicate with other cars to avoid accidents and sense various phenomena on the road.
Tracking consumer purchases of software upgrades and various other features will become more important for manufacturers and dealers in the future
These cars, of course, play a gamechanging role in the automotive industry and even in the insurance industry. In this article, we will take a look at a few factors for companies to think about with the rise of the connected car so that we can create a more integrated automotive industry that puts the customer's preferences and privacy first. Checking Data as a Strategy Since connected cars have Internet capabilities, software updates can be undertaken at any time. The important thing for dealerships to understand in the future is how to use a customer's purchasing habits to their advantage. In an age where most software updates will be done away from a dealership's office, dealerships need to be aware of what consumers want from their connected car experience. This will mean that tracking consumer purchases of software upgrades and various other features will become more important for manufacturers and dealers in the future. Quality of Data There are so much bandwidth and data available to connected cars, but the real issue for the future of connected cars' growth, however, will not come from just haphazardly throwing in more data capabilities. Data analysts will be needed to go through different algorithms to both improve and refine the data that is used by connected cars to travel on the roads of tomorrow. The Connected Car Incorporates All Modern Industries The connected car is so powerful because it integrates so many companies, from suppliers to dealers, from mobile and telecom companies to technology innovators. In an age where technological innovation is happening daily, the connected car stands at the centre of it all. Industry leaders could use the connected car
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as a symbol for how all players of the automotive industry in the age of the Internet of Things should work together. Privacy Concerns Privacy is one of the major issues consumers have with connected cars. In a global survey by McKinsey & Company, consumers around the world expressed grave concerns about their car being hacked. It will be increasingly important for companies to ensure all the data that can be extracted from connected cars will be safe and secure. The key to success in this area will be transparency between the company's capabilities and privacy procedures. Companies may have to change their auto protection insurance policies to include sections on privacy issues. The connected car comes with great promises, but also threat. The greatest threat comes to those working as older equipment manufacturers. Telecommunications companies and software providers are now infiltrating the automotive sector. People are increasingly demanding Internet connectivity and mobile accessibility above everything else in their automotive experience. Those that work in the traditional automotive industry will have to make significant changes in how they relate to their, customers. and in what products and services they offer. While these innovations can lead to changes in how we experience driving, carmakers and dealers will increasingly have to deal with mobile partners to give customers of the future what they want from connected cars.
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Jake Hissitt, IoT Writer
will the iot really take a century to roll out?
IN A RECENT ARTICLE in the Economic Times, entrepreneur and academic Kevin Ashton wrote that complete roll out of the Internet of Things (IoT) would take until the end of the century, noting that, ‘The Internet of Things will take a century to roll out completely. We are just 16 years in, with a long way to go and a long way gone.’ Given estimates by analysts, such as Gartner around the number of connected devices by 2020, you could be forgiven for thinking that this timeline is overly conservative, to say the least. Ericsson’s former CEO, Hans Vestburg said in
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2010 that there would be 50 billion connected devices by 2020, a prediction oft repeated since, and even dramatically exceeded in 2012, when IBM went so far as to forecast a frankly astounding - and in hindsight, clearly ridiculous - 1 trillion connected devices by 2015. There are also a number of notable IoT projects that would suggest Ashton’s prediction to be wrong. The Netherlands, for example, has recently beaten its nearest rival South Korea in the race to build a national IoT network. Dutch telecoms company KPN recently switched on its IoT network, covering the entire
country and connecting tens of millions of embedded devices. US mobile operators are also now adding IoT connections to their networks at a faster rate than they are cell phones, cars in particular. Even Africa, notoriously behind when it comes to implementing new technologies, is set to see IoT reach mainstream adoption during the next two to five years, according to Gartner. As much as these projects seem to indicate growth at a pace far in excess of Ashton’s prediction, it’s also true to say that the estimates are wildly high and such projects do not necessarily indicate a widespread adoption. Indeed, the whole project itself may well not be feasible as things stand. The current number of connected devices out there varies between Gartner’s estimate of 6.4 billion, (excluding smartphones, tablets, and computers) and IHS’s estimate of 17.6 billion (which includes all devices) - some way off the 1 trillion IBM predicted, though, still nothing to be sneezed at. Ericsson had almost halved its prediction for the number of connected devices from 50 billion by 2020 to 28 billion by 2021, and other firms have gone for roughly the same number, Gartner being among the lowest at 20.8 billion by 2020. There are a number of other issues that could hold back IoT. Firstly, the limitations of WiFi, currently needed to provide the ‘connected’ element of connected devices. A connected toaster without WiFi is just something that makes your bread crispy, not something that does it from outside the house. WiFi is an incredible resource, but it’s limited, because it relies on radio waves. The radio spectrum is a limited resource, which means that, as more devices become connected, everyone is sharing the same amount of bandwidth, which will likely severely limit the speed of IoT. It also uses far too much energy, and supporting billions of people and devices set to connect to the Internet over the next decade, will be hugely damaging to the planet if we’re forced to rely on WiFi.
Such a slowdown is not necessarily a bad thing. There are many fears around the security of connected devices, with critics arguing that designers, in their rush to ride the wave of IoT hype, have made protecting the wealth of data that the devices will produce a secondary concern. Technology does, however, evolve, and it will evolve to cater for IoT in terms of both connectivity and security. Given the hype around IoT, and the number of companies, and designers getting on board - Morgan Stanley’s AlphaWise survey in May 2016, found that 90% of designers said they are adding connectivity for IoT, while IoT M&A activity increased 28% year—on-year in Q2 - it may currently be difficult to envisage IoT not being fully integrated into society within the next decade. However, given the barriers and the real pace of growth at the moment, Ashton’s prediction may not be as ridiculous as it first appears.
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Countless Security Concerns Will Hold Back The IoT Charlie Sammonds, Assistant Editor
Conversations around the impending Internet of Things (IoT) revolution tend to go one of two ways. The more technologically receptive see the possibilities as exciting and await the future of self-stocking fridges and smartjackets with glee. The smart home, the smart city - the future is connected and the effect this will have on our lives is tremendous. Others, though, look at the IoT and see a plethora of security and privacy issues, almost all of which are well-founded. Mobile phones faced - and continue to face - similar reservations when they became connected, and the wearable technology adorning people’s wrists is simply further behind on the acceptance arc. The problems facing wearables in particular, though, are so wide-ranging as to be daunting for those looking to safeguard their customers from hacking and potential fraud. Each functionality of a smartwatch, for example, has the potential to be exploited and it is the job of the developer to, in a sense,
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Spotting the gaps in the tech’s security is difficult, though, and it is early adopters that run the risk of falling victim to a new type of crime
predict crimes before they happen. Spotting the gaps in the tech’s security is difficult, though, and it is early adopters that run the risk of falling victim to a new type of crime. TechCrunch uses the example of a smartwatch being hacked, its motion sensing data being extracted and this data then being used to determine the user’s PIN number. A team from the Stevens Institute of Technology ‘combined wearable sensor data harvested from more than 5,000 key entry traces made by 20 adults with an algorithm they created to infer key entry sequences based on analyzing hand movements.’ The process is complex but the results are astounding, with the team able to establish a user’s PIN with 80% first-time accuracy, and more than 90% accuracy after three attempts. This technique could extend to typing done on a keyboard, the implications of which are great. Simple solutions like the user using their other hand to type their PIN would work, but the forgetful and the uninformed would still be targeted. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that 70% of connected IoT devices in use today lack fundamental security safeguards. Fresh concerns seem to surface weekly, from the hacking of driverless cars to many fitness bands possessing hopeless in-built security. The reason for this is that, by its very nature, the IoT has multiple points of vulnerability - the product, its communication channels, stored data inside the device, its data aggregation platform, embedded software and the data centres used to analyse the sensor data. Each key IoT developer will have security at the heart of their strategy for this reason, but plugging the gaps, one feels, will be something of a thankless task.
watch their user. A smart car could tell a hacker both how many members of a family have left their home and the exact distance away from the property they are. Articles around the topic tend to read with an air of the luddite, and simply listing the potential security concerns may seem reductive. In reality, though, there are simply so many potential exploitations that users are right to be concerned, and manufacturers have a responsibility to be. Striking the balance between security and efficiency is a job for these manufacturers, but consumers should be aware of the risks and buy products with security in mind. Senior director of marketing at Arcsoft, Caroline Tien-Spalding, said: ‘Before you buy a connected device, do your research. How is your data protected and encrypted? Where is it stored? Does it include an option for a public stream?’ There are a number of methods consumers can use to safeguard themselves from attacks, and before turning your home into a vision of the future, it is well worth taking preventative measures to avoid any sensitive information being hacked. The IoT is an exciting development in both personal and public technology - as with any new technology, though, the dangers should be just as large a part of the conversation as the potential.
The smart home, with all its potential functionalities, is rife with opportunities for invasion of privacy or compromising data extraction. A connected door, for example, could be hacked and could monitor when a person enters or leaves their home or, worse still, be opened remotely. Child monitors and smart TVs could / 19
Roy Asterley, IoT Writer
IIoT: The Arms Race Has Begun
WHENEVER I HAVE TRIED to explain the complexities of the Internet of Things (IoT) to people in the past, it has always been difficult to fully convey the impact it will have. Pointing out that a thermostat can automatically adjust temperature, a fridge can order its own food or light switches can turn themselves off are great inventions, but are unlikely to change the world. It has always been within the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) that the true impact is going to be felt. We have previously discussed how it is going to have an impact on mining, oil refinery and the automotive sector, but the reality is that these are all simply case studies and the true impact that it will have is almost impossible to quantify. However, one thing that is certain is that those aiming to become the leaders in the industry are ramping up the arms race, and 2016 has been the year when acceleration has begun in earnest. Investment is huge because the growth in the area is expected to be significant, with a yearly growth rate of 15% predicted until 2021. This will see 2.5 billion devices connected to
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the IIoT compared to 1.2 billion in 2015, creating a predicted market of between $123 billion and $151 billion. This is essentially an unexploited market with no clear favourites to become the big players, meaning that many companies are making their opening moves to maximize their chances. One company who seem to have a slight edge at the moment is GE, who has been making headlines through their investment in the area. Firstly it has invested in a 'digital foundry' in Shanghai, designed to help spread the IIOT throughout the largest manufacturing nation in the world. Given that the country now has the largest number of 'things' connected to one another, it seems like a strong move. GE is looking to gain a foothold in the market valued at $193 billion last year but is likely to expand to $361 billion by 2020, according to IDC Research. China itself is also set to make the most of this change given
that an Accenture report predicted that through adopting IIoT China could increase its GDP $736 billion by 2030. One main drive of this is attempting to persuade companies to use its Predix, its IIoT specific software, which has already had some large clients, including China Eastern Airlines and China Telecom sign up. To further push this along, they are partnering with both Huawei and Microsoft in an attempt to push themselves further into pole position in the industry. The Huawei partnership seems to concentrate on the actual connection of devices through the development of new connection techniques, which they have been working on in their open narrowband IoT lab, started alongside Vodafone in Newbury, UK. It has had some success so far and has some promising results through connecting low-powered devices through the narrowband technology, creating the potential to connect a larger number and variety of devices to a central network. Microsoft's partnership focusses on integrating the GE Predix system onto the Microsoft Azure cloud for businesses. Given that Microsoft already has a significant historical advantage in adoption of its software in the industrial space, it will be a huge coup for GE and a major boost in pushing its services towards a larger number of businesses. However, GE is not the only company making moves in the market, with SoftBank making a surprising move for ARM, the British chip maker. The sale itself may well be more a smart business decision as opposed to development, although this remains to be seen. This is because ARM has a huge 80% market share in 32-bit micro-controllers in industrial and medical applications, and 50% in microprocessors. With the IIoT market set to grow 15% year-onyear, and these elements being central to the connectivity of devices, it may be a strong money-making
decision. However, there has been some considerable backlash amongst employees at the company, with many employees and UK citizens begging shareholders to block the $24 billion deal. This is partly because of the importance of the company to the UK economy and future development of tech within the country. The other being that SoftBank is reported to already have a significant debt ($100 billion in November 2015, according to Bloomberg) and many are wary of whether it can stay afloat with the many acquisitions made in the past 2 years. Regardless of whether this deal goes through or not, it’s clear that there is a huge push for IIoT across the globe with GE, in particular, making real inroads into what will be a significant growth industry. Given the huge potential the industry has and the partners already working with GE, it is clear that others who are looking at the potential growth of the industry will soon be making moves to make sure they also get a slice of the IIoT cake.
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The Medical Internet of Things (MIOT): how can healthcare organizations use it to get ahead? Bhoopathi Rapolu, Head of Analytics EMEA, Cyient THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) has emerged as something of a phenomenon in the last few years. The concept has become so popular that its impact is being felt across a huge number of industries, and healthcare is no exception. Five years ago, the medical device connectivity market was largely insignificant, but is now expected to grow at a CAGR of 38% over the next five years by adopting the capabilities of the IoT. With this in mind, here are five recommendations for healthcare organizations to ensure they fully embrace the power of the IoT: Embrace the cloud Today, the cloud has become the default platform for digital innovation, and the IoT is no different. IT departments have often been accused of holding innovation back in the past, yet nowadays it’s hard to find a single fast-growing health app which utilizes in-house IT departments and ignores independent cloud platforms. / 22
The latter is favored not just for its scalability and cost advantages, but also for promoting rapid adoption amongst like-minded pioneers and entrepreneurial communities. This has allowed them to pitch in with new value-added services, which has led to the value of the network within the IoT ecosystem increasing exponentially.
Open solutions up to all relevant stakeholders
Extract secondary and tertiary value from data
It is vital that IoT medical equipment, applications or solutions are designed in a way that democratizes data they generate – thus, allowing all the relevant stakeholders to join the party. This should be done by creating open architectures which allow stakeholders to freely interact with the product in question, permitting them to record the number of people who interact with it, and making the information surrounding the use of that equipment completely open. This allows entrepreneurs and other leaders to open up innovation to numerous stakeholders within healthcare organizations including patients, doctors, service engineers, dealers and others.
Many people exercise unevenly, distributing more weight on one leg than the other, which can lead to injuries. Wouldn’t it be beneficial if your shoes could warn you about your unhealthy exercise habits, so that you can do something about it and avoid an injury? Second, surely a running shoe manufacturer would benefit from knowing how their products are being used, how often, and where most wear and tear occurs so that they develop better shoes? What’s more, the data that these devices generate will only help to improve their quality, as this intelligence is added back into devices and other healthcare applications. This could help create a cycle of improvement, which is undoubtedly a positive development and could see the MIoT market really explode into life.
Don’t rule out remote monitoring From tracking hospital assets and patients with real-time location systems and radio-frequency identification to remotely monitoring hospital equipment, the global healthcare sector is in for a dramatic change. Soon, patients won’t need to visit doctors for a blood-pressure reading-machines will be able to automatically take their readings and inform both them and their doctor if any anomalies arise. Compare that to your bank notifying you when your account is overdrawn, and it doesn’t seem such a crazy suggestion. Collaborate with unlikely partners We are living in an age of knowledge spillovers, where innovation within one firm/sector often has the unintended effect of stimulating growth within a neighboring sector or rival firm. These spillovers make spectacular innovations possible, as firms begin to identify seemingly unrelated players collaborating with them to create value. For example, Ford is working with the healthcare industry on a solution that would notify a nearby hospital if a person suffers a heart attack in their car, and can send an ambulance before the person is even aware they are having one.
By following these recommendations, firms can give themselves a definitive head-start in the race to the Medical Internet of Things. It’s clear that connected medical devices will soon become commonplace within the healthcare sector, and that they will form part of an enriched and broad MIoT. Furthermore, with this exponential increase in both connected medical devices and the continual improvements being made in processing data showing no sign of abating, imagination is the only remaining hurdle to overcome if developers are to bring the next big app to market, and bring to the world the healthcare of tomorrow.
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