Top tech trends for 2015 by Gartner

The mega trend Internet of things (IoT) has emerged as the commonly accepted trends among the businesses today and this will explode the business arena in 2015. By connecting to the internet billions of everyday devices ranging from fitness bracelets to industrial equipment the IoT merges the physical and online worlds to host new opportunities and challenges for companies.

According to Goldman Sach the IoT is making sense as the next mega trend for 2015. It is the third wave in the development of the internet. It’s here in the devices, sensors, cloud infrastructure, data and business intelligence tools which have been used tremendously today.

One such example of embracing this technology is the Cisco Smart City, as a blueprint for the future of smart and connected communities. The Cisco Smart City emphasized on the future of work, education, healthcare and the electronic delivery of citizen services.

Using the Internet of Everything, Cisco showcased how connected education, connected healthcare, smart buildings, connected transport and smart parking can transform the way cities and communities are designed, built and renewed to ensure economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Challenges

The companies of all sizes are linking objects as diverse as smart phones, cars, and household appliances to industry sensors. According to IDC, the installed base of the IoT will be approximately 212 billion things globally by the end of 2020. This equates to approximately 27 things for every person that will need to be secured and managed. While this connectivity brings convenience and opens a world of opportunities it also creates unprecedented security challenges in data privacy, safety, governance and trust.

McAfee has addressed these challenges by providing long-term assured functionality and other core security capabilities for the vast array of current and future IoT use cases.To effectively secure these IP connected devices requires that security be designed in and not an afterthought.  A comprehensive IoT strategy includes:

• A secure and holistic solution for information rich environments across multiple environments and devices
• Assurance that devices are operating as intended by the manufacturer and have not been corrupted
• Life cycle security across the device, network, and data center
• Support for industry standards and device interoperability
• Ability to solve Information Technology/Cloud services challenges in connecting legacy and new systems to new and future services
• Provide technology to assure individual privacy

Driving Business Opportunities

According to CompTIA report, the number of devices connected to the Internet will grow from 14.4 billion in 2014 to more than 50 billion by 2020. Of course, many of those will connect into cloud services in fashion or another, which could provide cloud services providers with a number of new opportunities beyond what they have today.

Simultaneously, we are likely to see the emergence of many new firms focused on specific aspects of these systems, such as devices and data analysis. The true value of IoT will come from the combination and connectivity of all pieces.”

The real question is how IT companies will make money. Here’s what IT executives believe such organizations are most likely to profit from:

• Device companies – 45 percent
• Data analytics/big data companies – 43 percent
• Companies skilled at tying services together using APIs – 35 percent
• IT solutions providers – 30 percent
• Telecom carriers and cable companies – 26 percent
• Networking equipment/software companies – 25 percent
• Sensor/chip companies – 23 percent
• Platform and ecosystem providers – 15 percent

For many in the cloud channel, the foundation is already in place to take advantage of the future opportunities that will come from IoT. For those who haven’t yet aligned, now may be the time to think it over.