solve. synergise. surpass. the beginner's guide to internet … · 2018-03-03 · healthcare...

Solve. Synergise. Surpass.SG Analytics

www.sganalytics.com

SG ANALYTICS’ WHITE PAPER

Business Consulting

THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO INTERNET OF THINGS

By Vikram Gupta & Krishna BamezaiApril 26, 2017

Investment Research | Analytics | Market Research | Technology

http://sganalytics.com/?utm_medium=content_marketing&utm_source=whitepaper


2

www.sganalytics.comThe Beginner's Guide to Internet of Things by Vikram Gupta & Krishna Bamezai

Business ConsultingSG ANALYTICS’ WHITE PAPER

IN PURSUIT OF BASICS

The Internet of Things (IoT) has taken the technology landscape by storm. IoT is steadily becoming an intrinsic part of our daily lives, as it is fundamentally changing the way we interact.

The market scenario has also undergone a change, where enterprises are looking to hop on the ‘automation bandwagon’ in pursuit of business excellence.

There are ample evidences of widespread IoT adoption across the globe. Increasing connectivity has powered the optimization of processes by introducing data-driven decision abilities for human activities. The number of connected devices is growing at a healthy clip of 15%, and is expected to reach USD 30 billion in 2020 and USD 75 billion by 2025.

The Internet of Things is based on the fundamentals of sensors that explore the ability to collect and analyze real-time data, which has the potential to transform our lives. All kinds of devices including wearables, smartphones, healthcare equipments and vehicles today can connect with the internet. Such connectivity has enabled such devices to create, share and analyze data without the intervention of humans.

In fact, sensors are helping businesses make the most out of their physical assets. From tracking progress of logistics to monitoring robots on the manufacturing floor, sensors provide essential data to the base. It isn’t just data – sensors are enhancing the efficiency of the machinery, improving lifeline, and helping in being more effective.

With the ongoing development in the IoT, there are enormous opportunities to creating sustainable value. The proliferation of sensors and superfine analytics capabilities are creating a range of scenarios for the future of the IoT. For those, who are able to imagine possibilities beyond the incremental – the stage is set for the IoT.


3

www.sganalytics.comThe Beginner's Guide to Internet of Things by Vikram Gupta & Krishna Bamezai

Business ConsultingSG ANALYTICS’ WHITE PAPER

Table of content

1. What is IoT? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

2. IoT Infrastructure and Communications --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 IoT Communications ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 Communication models ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6 Technology and Protocols ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 Communication/Transport Protocols --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

3. How IoT Works? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9 Sensors ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9 Gateway --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9 Cloud ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

4. IoT Value Chain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Device -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Application -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Platform ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 System Integrators ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Medium ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10

5. Benefits and Challenges --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 115.1. From customer’s point of view ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 5.1.1. Benefits for Consumers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 5.1.2. Challenges for Consumers ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12

5.2. From industry’s point of view --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 5.2.1. Benefits for Businesses --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 5.2.2. Challenges for Businesses ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15

6. Applications of IoT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Media, Marketing and Advertising --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Environmental Monitoring ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 Building/Housing Applications -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Healthcare Applications ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Consumer Applications ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

7. Maturity From Experiments to Industrialization -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18

8. Security Concerns over IoT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19

9. What the Future Holds for IoT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

10. Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21


www.sganalytics.com

4Business ConsultingSG ANALYTICS’ WHITE PAPER

The Beginner's Guide to Internet of Things by Vikram Gupta & Krishna Bamezai

1. What is IoT?

The IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, digital machines, objects, animals or humans that are provided with unique identifiers and equipped with the ability to transfer data via a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

Why ‘Things’ in IoT? A thing in IoT can refer to either a person with a heart monitoring device implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile with built-in sensors to alert the driver when the tire pressure is low, or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data via a network. ‘Things’ also applies to components of machines – the jet engine of an airplane or the main hydraulic pump of an excavator.Simply put, the IoT is a concept of connecting any device with the internet, or with other devices. This includes everything ranging from cell phones to coffee machines, and headphones to wearables.

Example:You logout of your office swiping the access card, and the sensor sends a message to your car parked below, which has already started and the navigation system has already mapped the route to your home alerting you about the traffic on different possible routes.

A little about the history: Despite all the attention that the IoT has attracted in the recent past, its conceptualization dates back to the 1980s.

2010’s

2000’s

90’s

80’s

2011:IPV6

Internet Protocol Version 6.0

2000:Wi-Fi became commercially

available, first smart refrigerator

1993:First smart

phone shown to public

1973:First hand held

mobile sold, first RFID tag patented

1969:Arpanet

(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)

2014:“Year of the

Internet of Things” by Venture Beat

2005:UN first talked about IoT in an

ITU report

1994:First wearable - Forget Me Not,

bule tooth invented

1974:Beginnings of

TCP/IP

1970:First smart

car-the Stanford cart

2008-2009:The Internet of

Things was “Born”

1995:The Internet

goes commercial with Amazon and Echobay

2010:1.84 connected

devices per person for the first time

1998:First internet

enabled house-INTEGER

Millenium House

1999:‘Internet of

Things’ term coined by Kevin

Ashton

70’s


www.sganalytics.com



IoT has evolved. Today, it is a convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices and the internet. This convergence has helped break the silo walls between operational technologies (OT) and information technology (IT), thus paving the way for analyzing unstructured machine-generated data for insights that will drive improvements.

The IoT is made up of a collection of dissimilar, purpose-built networks of disparate industries held together by security, analytics and management structures.

In contemporary times, cars have multiple networks to control engine functions, safety features, communication systems; residential and commercial buildings have control systems for heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC). The IoT connects all these individual networks with security, analytics, and management capabilities to make a powerful tool, which is able to assist people to ease their day-to-day operations.

Education

Business

1. Individual networks

2. Connected together

3. With security, analytics, and management

OF

Transport

Home

Earth

Other

Energy

Avoiding Confusion

Multiple connected devices exchange data that drives insights and actions within the IoT networks. These connections between devices, that facilitate autonomous interaction among them, are collectively termed as M2M.

It is critical to realize that although M2M is one of the underlying factors that enable the implementation of the IoT, there are major differences as shown below:

Devices communicate using IP Networks, Incorporating with varying communication protocols

Data delivery is relayd through a middle layer hosted in the cloud

In the majority of cases, devices require an active internetconnection

Unlimited integration options, but requires a solution thatcan manage all of the communications

M2M IoT

Point-to-point communication usually embedded within gardware at the customer site

Many devices use cellular or wired networks

Devices do not necessarily rely on an internet connection

Limited integration options, as devices must have corresponding communication standards


www.sganalytics.com



2. IoT Infrastructure and CommunicationsThe IoT has emerged as an intrinsic part of the industrial landscape in less than a decade. However, many technologies have been instrumental in making this concept a reality. The infrastructure of the IoT comprises such technologies and protocols, which have progressively improved since its conceptualization.

The costs of enabling hardware have gone down over the last decade. The design improvements have been remarkable, too. The communications encompass a larger population worldwide compared to a decade ago and the bandwidth costs have decreased 97% at the same time. On the software front, the data processing costs have reduced thanks to the emergence of big data tools and infrastructure over the past few years.

End-user level IOT - Software

It’s an amalgamation of software and hardware solutions to interconnect ‘things’, and make the ‘objects’ communicate with each other

IOT - Communication

These are protocols that allow devices and servers to interact with each other

IOT - Hardware

It runs key tasks & functions, and detection to support-specific objectives and actions.

Applications Technology

Tethered

Short range/high bandwidth

low range/low bandwidth

low range/high bandwidth

Middleware Database

Network/DeviceMgmt

Processing/Analytics

Other softwarecomponents

Short range/low bandwidth

Actuators

Communicationhardware Processor

Device operating

system

Other hardware

Sensors

Consumer IoT

Presentation/Visualization Session protocols Hardware components

System Hardware Network/Transport Protocols Hardware development tools

Hardware Software Communication Security

SECURITY

IoT Platforms

Data link protocols

Home

Cloud vs Local

Backend Hardware

Lifestyle Health

Mobility Other

Retail Healthcare

Energy

Industrial

Building & Cities Services

Other

Business IoT

IoT CommunicationsIoT communication is a crucial component of the IoT infrastructure, enabling devices to interact with each other and exchange data for analysis and actionable insights. M2M is one of the prerequisite technologies that enable the implementation of the IoT in a consumer or business environment. In short, IoT communications enable devices to perform automated actions.

Communication modelsThe IoT communication models enable an operational view of the methods in which objects connect and communicate among themselves. The below diagram presents the framework for device communication and explains the key characteristics of each model in the framework.


www.sganalytics.com



Back-End Data-Sharing

Provides the ability to export and analyze data from smart objects that allow the company to easily access and analyze cloud-stored data, which has been produced by an entire spectrum of devices in the building.This kind of architecture facilitates data portability needs such as consolidation and analysis of energy consumption and utility data production on the premises.

Device to DeviceTwo or more devices communicate directly via IP networks/ internet/ or use protocols such as Bluetooth, 40 Z-Wave, 41 or ZigBee42, rather than an application server. Example: A home automation system, where devices normally send small amounts of information and adhere to a fixed protocol.

Device-to-Gateway Device connects to the cloud via an application layer gateway (ALG) service. An application software operating on a local gateway device acts as an intermediary between device and cloud, providing security, data/ protocol translation, etc. Example: A smartphone running an app to communicate with a device and relay data to a cloud. This model is used where the smart objects require interoperability with non-IP devices and for integrating IPv6-only devices.

Device-to-CloudDevices connect directly to an internet cloud service like an application service provider, via an IP network; to exchange data and control message traffic. Cloud allows data analysis, remote control via mobile devices and software updation. Example: Nest Thermostat and SmartTV. In this model, the capabilities of the devices are extended beyond their native features. Interoperability challenges still exist in this model

Source: Internet Architecture Board (IAB)1

Light Switch

Wireless Network

Light Bulb Manufacturer A

Bluetooth, Z-Wave, ZigBee

Manufacturer B

Application ServiceProvider

Device with Temperature Sensor

Device with CarbonMonoxide Sensor

CoAP, DTLS,UDP, IPv5

HTTP, TLS,TCP, IPv6

Local Gateway

Device withCarbon Monoxide

Sensor

Device with Temperature

Sensor

Application Service Provider

IPv4/IPv6

CoAP, DTLS,UDP, IPv5

HTTP, TLS,TCP, IPv6

Layer 1 Protocol Bluetooth Smart802.11 (Wi-Fi)

802.15.4 (LR-WPAN)

ProtocolStack

Application Service

Provider #1

Light Sensor

Application Service

Provider #2

Application Service

Provider #3

CoAP orHTTP

ProtocolStack

HTTPS, Oauth 2.0,

JSON

IoT Communication Model


www.sganalytics.com



Technology and ProtocolsThe IoT’s ability to sustain real-time connectivity for ‘things’ ranges from a single device to an array of cross platform embedded technologies and cloud computing systems. In all this complexity, the thread that connects all the dots together and makes seamless operation a reality is communication technology and protocols.

Infrastructure

ex:6LowPAN, IPv4/IPv6, RPL

ex: EPC, uCode, IPv6, URIs

ex: Wifi, Bluetooth,

LPWAN

ex: Physical Web, mDNS, DNS-SD

ex: MQTT, CoAP, AMQP, Websocket,

Node

ex: TR-069, OMA-DM

ex: JSON-LD, Web Thing Model

ex: Alljoyn, IoTivity, Weave,

Homekit

Identification Data Protocols Semantic DiscoveryCommunication

/TransportDevice

ManagementMulti-layer

Frameworks

Protocols

Communication/Transport ProtocolsCommunication/transport protocols allow communication to take place between devices by connecting them together.These protocols can be divided into different segments based on the physical location of the connected devices as shown below:

70%

Mon, 15 June 2015

3:06 PM

Type to search...

4G

01

Wide Area Network - 802.20

InterPlanetary Network

WAN

Metropolitan Area Network - 802.16MAN

Local Area Network - 802.11LAN

Personal Area Network - 802.15PAN

POWERLINEETHERNETPRINTED

BLUETOOTH

WiFi

DASH 7

LTE Advanced

WEIGHTLESSWIMAX

LICENSE-FREE SPECTRUM

Cellular 4G / LTE3G - GPS / GPRS

2G / GSM / EDGE, CDMA, EVDO

UWBZ-WAVE

ZIGBEE

6LoWPAN

NFCANT

RFID

IPv4 IPv6 UDP DTLS RPL Telnet MQTT DDS CoAP XMPP HTTP SOCKETS REST API

Source: Postscapes


www.sganalytics.com



3. How IoT Works?

The IoT infrastructure uses programming and communication components to capture information, send it for analysis, and initiate actions in light of the insights generated. An ordinary IoT application will work in a strategic approach, as outlined below.

How IoT Works

Environment

Sensor EmbeddedHardware

InternetPeople

Actuators

SensorsSensor is a transducer, which accumulates differed data. The IOT sensors are called nodes that gather data and transmit to the outside world through communication protocols. Some examples of communication protocols are BLE, ZigBee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi or wired communication systems. These nodes forward information to a device called Gateway.

GatewayGateway is like a scaffold that associates IOT devices that communicate by means of particular protocols, store and parse data, and afterwards transmit them to cloud servers for processing and analytics. It abstracts the communication medium, and secures the channel using hardware and software level encryption. Gateways usually run real-time operation systems (RTOS) or a form of Linux to drive their systems.

CloudCloud computing offers a platform to sustain massive and unpredictable data by providing flexible computing power, storage space and networking. Data collected through the IoT can be analyzed on cloud platforms to extract insights and usage patterns of machines and humans. This information is transmitted to users for monitoring and managing their devices (ranging from room thermostats to jet engines & assembly lines) remotely. The apps at the users’ end transfer the vital information to the hand-held devices & facilitate sending commands to smart devices. This flow of communication can be bi-directional depending on the need for actuation of any object.


www.sganalytics.com



4. IoT Value Chain

The IoT includes all connected devices that collect, send and analyze data captured from the surroundings using embedded sensors, processors, communication hardware and cloud. These elements lead to the industry players participating in the IoT implementation process, with responsibilities segmented at every level of the infrastructure. The IoT value chain includes key segments – device providers, platform and application providers (sometimes referred as Middleware), systems integrators and medium/operators:

DeviceIncludes middleware such as sensors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded systems, gateway devices and allied materials such as amplifiers, batteries, step down converters, fixtures, etc. that are characterized by real-time computing, low maintenance, low power consumption and high availability.

Application Small players in the value chain, who cannot enter into partnerships. This makes them perfect acquisition targets of bigger IoT players, who want to attain a bigger share of the value chain. Only a handful of industry-specific application providers are likely to operate independently.

Platform The middleware market can be segmented into System Integrators and Professional Services based on the types of service provided to end users. It bonds the hardware, connectivity, service providers and vertical applications to make industry-specific IoT solutions. There exist different types of IoT platforms such as connectivity/M2M platform (concentrated on connecting the devices via telecom networks/SIM cards), hardware-specific IoT platform (proprietary platforms developed by device vendors, e.g. Nest) and Pure IoT platforms (platforms specifically designed for IoT keeping the scale, standards and specific requirements in mind).

System IntegratorsSystem integrators help make individual components of IoT work in the best possible way for the customer. These integrators play a vital part in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IoT middleware market presents considerable opportunities for system integrators due to the increasing adoption of connected devices. The optimal strategy for the system integrators is to identify their niche and forge partnerships with bigger platform players.

MediumOperators form a critical component of the value chain as they provide connectivity. Network providers that can connect majority of the devices will win not only the network value but also are best positioned to acquire downstream value. Device makers and operators need to partner with platform providers and vice versa to ensure that they are not left out of the IoT ecosystem.

Every player in the value chain is equally important for the implementation of IoT but due to differences in the individual industry dynamics and overlapping business functions, the future prospects of each player in the segment and the segment as a whole may tilt the balance in favour of one value chain segment.


www.sganalytics.com



5. Benefits and Challenges

Effective implementation of the IoT will surely change the rules for the future – anything, and almost everything that can be connected, is going to be ‘connected.’ But why is everyone keen on connecting almost everything that rapidly increases interactions? Let us delve deep into this.

The man, who just left home to buy bread from a bakery, wonders how the bakery salesman already knew about his requirements. That’s how the IoT works. In fact, the salesman was informed about the refrigerator status. The IoT process does not stop here. Based on data about the man's habits, the bakery further sends out a signal to the butcher apprising him about the man’s penchant for chicken. The next signal was conveyed to the produce store for tomato and lettuce. Finally, the man reaches home and parks his vehicle – the air-conditioning system is automatically switched on at his house as it is a hot day. Everything connected – analyzed – acted.

There are various examples for what a ‘fully connected world’ might appear or what the potential value of the IoT might be. The IoT is clearly advantageous and is poised to make our lives easy and also save a lot of our time. On a broader scale, the IoT can be applied to almost everything, which will help understand and improve how we live.

We are hearing success stories about the adoption of the IoT in our day-to-day lives ranging from domestic appliances to entire manufacturing factories. Investors and venture capitalists are excited about the IoT and start-ups are coming up with innovative products and solutions.

5.1. From consumer’s point of viewBusinesses with a customer-centric approach view the IoT as a huge opportunity to extract value out of their infrastructure and products/services. Consumers are attracting a lot of attention due to their data generating capabilities. The way in which the technology is applied and companies are rolling out services to the market, along with the vast amounts of data being collected by the IoT devices, raise pertinent questions about how one can best protect consumers in an increasingly connected environment. These connected systems blur the boundaries within an environment in which consumers can exercise choice and control.

5.1.1. Benefits for ConsumersAs consumers rapidly adopt IoT devices that add convenience to their lives, they are helping create immense data that is helping power innovation and deliver societal benefits. Our societies leap into the digital life by adopting IoT devices which are beneficial in the following ways:

Responsive servicesExtensive data from a variety of sources means that services can now observe, learn, anticipate and respond to individual needs. As more and more devices enter the IoT network, the incoming information increases resulting in a more efficient allocation of resources.

Shorter feedback loops

With real-time knowledge of consumer usage, companies can quickly learn about the consumer experience of products or services and consequently identify faults and make necessary adjustments.

Saving time and money

Automating tasks such as reading energy meters, checking the expiry of food & medicines, or reordering supplies based on individual needs, can save time. Interconnections between devices and aggregation of information help reduce complexities currently faced by consumers.


www.sganalytics.com



Better experiencesConsumer experiences such as cooking can turn into a more enjoyable experience through the IoT, by linking ingredients to recipe suggestions, similar to the way an e-reader enables instant access to dictionaries etc.

Decision-making support

Consumers will be able to act on the information gained via the IoT systems, or outsource that task to business services, which can merge consumer intent information.

Solving offline safety and security issues

The IoT systems can improve existing security methodologies for vulnerable threats. For example, the digital keys can allow or limit access, and geolocation tags can help resolve the threat of losing important objects.

Verify behavior or events

With the availability of real time information tasks such as billing for supplies like energy or water, providing a healthy lifestyle to an insurer, checking an appliance status, or knowing about the origins of any product will become much more accurate, cheaper and faster. The verification processes will enable lesser customer distress, resulting in increased confidence.

Remote control The IoT will enable users to enjoy control over their home or other appliances from any remote location. For example, checking security systems or granting access to approved parties to switch lights on or off.

5.1.2. Challenges for ConsumersEven if someone personally does not suffer the consequences of sub-par security of the IoT devices, connected appliances may unwittingly cooperate with vulnerable threats. We list the following challenges that a consumer might face due to a plethora of different IoT standards, protocols and security blind spots:

Lack of transparency and clarity

Increasing connectedness and expanding range of device functions, has blurred the boundaries of product functionality, making it complicated to ascertain if the device is working as it is supposed to work.

Complex liability and responsibility chains

With multiple providers in the value chain, the interconnected environment leads to a consumer experience that is complex, slow and perceived as annoying at times. Owing to the multiple partner ecosystem of the IoT, determining the liable party, which can either be ISP, payment facilitator, intermediary or the product itself, can become a tedious task in case of any malfunction.

Data collection and use

The IoT enables objects to aggregate, merge and communicate data among themselves or to an external partner without any human intervention, making privacy risks more relevant than ever before. The service provides, with their disclosure and consent model, can collect information that on its own is irrelevant to their services but such information in conjunction with other information can reveal sensitive personal information about users.

SecurityThe IoT, with its numerous interconnections, has vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers, e.g., power outage can compromise the entire home security system. According to a HP report, 7 out of 10 IoT devices are vulnerable to attacks by hackers.

Licensed Ownership

Often, there are many conditions related to the use, repair and subsequent diposal of products, even after outright purchase, e.g., limitations on warranties when repairing products outside the brand value chain. Also, key components of a product come under different usage terms or in other words are licensed rather than sold to the buyer, changing the meaning of product ownership in the IoT.


www.sganalytics.com



Wider reach for DRM in the Internet of Things

Digital Rights Management (DRM) covers a range of issues related to the use and reuse of proprietary hardware and copyrighted work. The IoT has led to an increase in the number of hybrid products having proprietary software, expanding the reach of DRM. This has the potential to impact the way consumers use goods in their daily lives.

InteroperabilityLicensing agreements have given providers the ability to lock people in their ecosystem, with customers not allowed to look for other options in terms of services and solutions. This also limits the creativity of providers relying on a central platform for providing independent added services.

Portability

Even if there is a possibility to switch the provider, many limitations on retaining or transferring content between providers exists due to the outdated frameworks that do not value data as much. Also in order to extract maximum business advantage of being first movers, providers aim to limit interoperability creating higher chances for consumers to be locked in.

Preference to connect

With increasing penetration of the IoT in everyday life, consumers are bound to be a participant rather than having a choice to opt out. The IoT is quickly establishing itself as an integral part of every system such that opting out is becoming a choice for which a premium price needs to be paid.

18%

21%

37%

24%

Decided to quit or terminate an IoT device or service till they were assured of safety

Are not concerned about securitybreaches such as hacker attacks

Decided to be more cautiouswhen using IoT device

and services

Decided to postponepurchasing an IoT device

How consumers reacted to security risks associated with IoT devices?Almost 42% consumers postponed or dropped their buying decision.

Source: Accenture

5.2. From industry’s point of viewThe IoT has the potential to generate immense value for businesses that are beyond operational cost-savings. The IoT service providers have enormous unexplored opportunities to offer compelling IoT solutions. The prospects for businesses lie in their ability to collect, analyze and synthesize with disparate real time data. These opportunities might play out across enterprises, preparing businesses to create sustainable value.

Technological barriers are receding with evolving analytics capabilities. Given the proliferation of connected devices, enterprises have immense opportunities in the IoT ecosystem. However, significant obstacles still persist. Business executives are concerned over interoperability and security threats.


www.sganalytics.com



5.2.1. Benefits for BusinessesThe IoT has emerged as a historical turning point for commercial setups. IoT is helping businesses transform their consumer relationships in the digital era. By adding capabilities to the business environment, the IoT is making seismic shifts in unlocking business opportunities and economic impact. Businesses are leveraging the IoT to create value in the following ways:

Improving Operational Efficiency and Productivity

As per the American Society for Quality (ASQ), manufacturing companies that have digitized their processes are 82% better in efficiency, having 49% lesser product defects and 45% higher customer satisfaction. Connecting manufacturing devices and aggregating the data produced is enabling manufacturers to shrink overhead costs, save resources, enhance profits and optimize operational efficiency, resulting in optimized inventory control, supply chain management and energy management.

Creating new business opportunities

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is triggering a change in industrial processes like never before by expanding the limits and sustaining multiple ecosystems. These forces are driving the need for platforms that can manage this complexity by coordinating devices and services seamlessly.Companies implementing open platform that supports multiple devices in diverse ecosystem can boost the capabilities to participate in other industries’ markets, attracting new customers and multiplying revenue opportunities.

Enhancing product innovation process

The availability of data generated by products, operating environment and corporate assets coupled with analytics provides a significant competitive edge, enabling organizations to develop new capabilities, add value to product lines, trigger innovation, improve customer satisfaction, and build & broaden business models. Exploring ways to exploit the intelligence and interconnectedness offered by IoT products has become a major focus area for companies around the globe.

Enhancing worker safety

Shocking stats from ILO throw light on this burning issue with 151 workers facing a work-related accident every 15 seconds. Every year 321,000 people die due to work related accidents. Advances in the IoT technology makes workers more aware of their environment by monitoring their surroundings to avoid injury from overexertion, heavy machinery, etc., as well as analyze historical data to tap into the vast potential for better managing health, wellness and safety, and transforming the way of working.

Ability to sell product as a service (PaaS)

Sensor-based products constantly feed information about product and condition to manufacturers, enabling them to leverage the data for an array of purposes, from delivering proactive and preventive maintenance to creating totally new service-oriented business models. PaaS allows manufacturers to offer their products as integrated product and service offerings that deliver value as the product is in use as well.

Better understanding of customer demand

As organizations learn to leverage the IoT, data related to consumers’ physical and emotional attitude towards brands can be utilized for improving customer perception and interaction, culminating in increased individualization. IoT sensors can act as communication channels between customers and brands as well as support rewards through connected promotion and entertainment platforms. This allows organizations to improve consumer experience throughout the customer life cycle.


www.sganalytics.com



5.2.2. Challenges for BusinessesThe IoT is becoming a more intimate part of our lives as businesses try to increase the connectivity by integrating the technology in sensible objects or elements. However, some businesses fail to meet the data security standards and IoT devices result in unanticipated results, triggering surprise, and harm. Following are the main challenges which businesses must address to ensure sustainable growth:

Security

Security is the most critical issue that enterprises are facing in implementing internet connected industrial systems. Industrial attacks are becoming increasingly common, with malware such as BlackEnergy being found in multiple SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) systems. The challenge is considerable and new industry practices must be developed and adopted to counter this threat.

Device ManagementWith the IIoT estimated to comprise of billions of devices, effective management, and provisioning of those devices will become a prerequisite. Limited or no re-configurability of intelligent devices is a limiting factor in implementing large distributed systems and realizing a flexible and dynamic IIoT.

Breaking down silos

The ability to access and analyze vast amounts of data to obtain maximum value is a primary objective of the IIoT. For that, breaking down data, organizational and system silos will be a requirement. Accenture in its industrial insights report considers system barriers between departments to be a top challenge in the IIoT implementation. A big chunk of their time is consumed by accessing, cleansing, manipulating, and consolidating machine data prior to data scientists examining the resulting datasets to create predictive models.

Standardization

The ability to share information and support interaction between diverse devices is an integral condition for a true IIoT implementation. Due to proprietary interfaces and equipment designs in the IIoT, bridging these devices will require some form of standardization. Another challenge will be to consolidate and coordinate various initiatives underway to create such standards.

Adopting data-centric design

The IoT has transformed every object into a data source. The beginning of the IIoT will necessitate that industrial equipment developers change their mindsets about what their devices can do. They will still need to perform their physical functions, but will also need a new focus on generating and receiving data.

Data diversity

Maintaining a common format and creating relationships are necessary to facilitate analytics. The vast variety of applications, devices and implementations inside the IIoT ecosystem will produce massively heterogeneous sets of data. This is not limited to variations in the format and interpretation of data (Fahrenheit vs Celsius, for instance), but also includes the frequency, quality and timing of data.


www.sganalytics.com



6. Applications of IoT

Although the Internet of Things is in the nascent stage of adoption, it is being rapidly embraced, and the portfolio of applications is expanding. As the IoT technology proliferates, the impact will be seen in many areas such as resource productivity, intelligent operations, and infrastructure management.

According to an online quantitative research conducted in countries such as Germany, Japan, the UK and the US, the IoT is indeed improving the day-to-day human lifestyle. The survey revealed that security and energy-focused applications are among the most prominent domestic IoT applications, while smart meters have emerged as the most adopted connected devices.

The widespread adoption indicates forthcoming smart ecosystems and intelligently reacting environments. For instance, electric utility operators, who have adopted the IoT, are creating smart grids to gauge usage and optimize network real time performance. With the help of smart grids, electric utility operators can spot a system failure and act proactively even before consumers report the issues. The IoT applications are also revolutionizing human lives by monitoring their natural environment. For example, Sensors are being used to collect, monitor and analyze seismic readings under the earth’s crust. Finally, the high-speed wireless data networks, which are integrated with IoT devices, are paving the way for a range of useful applications.

The following IoT applications show what the technology is truly capable of:

Media, Marketing and Advertising• Marketing and Content Delivery: The existing technology collects specific data to produce measurements and

related models over a period of time, but these data often lack depth and accuracy. The IoT improves this by observing human behaviors and analyzing differently, providing more reliable metrics and models.

• Improved Advertising: The IoT promises personalized advertising rather than a single size strategy. The IoT turns noisy advertising into a precisely relevant experience, making advertising more functional and useful for people.

Environmental Monitoring• Air and Water Pollution: The IoT helps cut down on human labor and allows frequent sampling by improving the

range of monitoring and binding responses.

• Extreme Weather: The advancements in IoT deliver more structured data, improved accuracy, and flexibility. Such data allows an early detection and early response to prevent loss of life and property.

• Commercial Farming: The IoT helps reduce human intervention, by automating farming analysis and monitoring. The IoT through analysis of rich data collections helps optimize standard processes to a large extent.

• Intelligent Product Enhancements: The IoT helps rapidly reduce product launch risks by providing more reliable and detailed information. The information is sourced from consumers rather than from assorted sources.

• Product Safety: The IoT helps avoid dangerous product distribution. The high level of visibility and IoT integration can help proactively respond to any potential issues.

• Dynamic Response to Market Demands: The IoT ensures finer details are managed effectively rather than through human evaluations. An IoT system can better assess and control the supply chain (with most products), irrespective of whether demand is high or low.


www.sganalytics.com



Building/Housing Applications• Environment and Conditioning: The IoT helps improve the design of structures through accurate and synthesized

data. It delivers meaningful insights on engineering aspects of construction, including material performance and structure precision.

• Health and Safety: Given the existing construction solution issues such as poor performing materials and design flaws that result in a poor foundation, the IoT offers reliable solutions that help observe flaws precisely and prevent them.

• Productivity and Quality of Life: The IoT enhances housing comfort by facilitating faster and easier customization features. The IoT personalizes spaces to create an optimized environment such as a smart office or kitchen prepared for a specific individual.

Healthcare Applications• Research: The IoT opens the door to immense meaningful insights through real-time data analysis. It is helping

with enriched data, which is relevant to research methodologies. These analysis support healthcare by providing practical data, which helps researchers gather data without manufactured scenarios.

• Care: With the IoT, healthcare professionals use analyzed data, which offers a window into blind spots leading to precise actions.

• Medical Information Distribution: The distribution of accurate and real-time patient data is a major healthcare challenge. The IoT devices help healthcare practitioners have access to patient data in a less intrusive way, adding to the granular care of patients.

• Emergency Care: The IoT enables powerful emergency support services and helps analyze emergency situations from remote locations. It also gives providers with access to patient data prior to arrival, resulting in proactive actions and improved care.

• Devices: The IoT improves the potential of the existing technology by closing the gaps between healthcare equipments and processes. It helps create logical systems by revealing the data patterns in healthcare devices.

Consumer Applications• Home: The IoT is enabling smart homes by integrating technology, furnishings and humans. Irrespective of

the examples discussed previously, connectivity and sensor data analysis are paving the way for a proactive environment across smart homes. The IoT helps collate and analyze data from appliances in homes to develop structured data models. Such structured data sets are used for automation and customization in homes.

• Work: A smart workplace combines automation and personalization that enriches the environment with smart tools. The IoT learns about workforce, nature of jobs, and the approach or working style. This helps deliver an optimized environment resulting in improved workforce efficiency.

With all these applications, the IoT has finally started taking off. We are still in the nascent stage of IoT adoption. However, there is little doubt that the IoT is set for a long haul among businesses. Given the optimistic predictions, it is worth thinking – what’s the best way to drive the IoT from experimentation to industrialization?


www.sganalytics.com



7. Maturity From Experiments to Industrialization

With increased implementation of the IoT across industries in contemporary times, it can be safely said that the IoT ecosystem has passed the experimental stage and has reached commercial maturity. Businesses are striving to keep IoT implementations central to their business functions, thus resulting in reduced human intervention. On the basis of the execution of projects in the IoT sphere, we can classify the IoT implementation in the following levels:

PC PC PC PC

PC

PC

PC

PC PC

Measurements Automation

We are hereStages in Adoption

Hum

an E

ffort

Business Innovation Anytime Anywhere

PC

Source: AtoS

First Level: The first level is indicated by assessing the implementation process. Automation is dedicated to capturing data exclusively without any focus on utilizing it in any process. For example, smart meters.

Second Level: This step builds on the data captured in the previous level by utilizing it for automating business processes, ensuring better operational decisions. For instance, smart meter informing consumers about their consumption patterns.

Third Level: This level takes the IoT to the next stage by incorporating it into their product offerings. This involves a collaborative environment across the value chain with industry players developing intelligence to improve their individual offerings and the overall customer experience.

Fourth Level: At the highest level, organizations leverage cloud computing to enable the IoT anywhere and anytime. Scalable cloud computing platforms hold data and services that can be accessed on the go using the IP network, with location and infrastructure not seen by the user.

The identification of appropriate business cases is required for moving up the value chain, for which the IoT has to be implemented and the implementation has to be justified by assessing the return on investment.


www.sganalytics.com



8. Security Concerns over IoTThe internet is the most essential element for effective use of the IoT. As the catalysts of the IoT, be it a business or an individual, there must be a huge amount of confidence in the security, stability, resilience and reliability of internet enabled services. With improved security in the IoT ecosystem, the inclination toward accepting a connected lifestyle will also increase going forward.

As connected devices increase in today’s hyper connected age, more and more people are becoming internet-reliant for their day-to-day activities. A device malfunction or a poor design can cause security vulnerabilities that might result in catastrophic damages. What makes it worse is that in this connected ecosystem, one poorly secured connected device can compromise the security and resilience of the internet across many levels. For example, a SmartTV infected with malware might send numerous spam e-mails to recipients worldwide via an owner’s internet connection. Perhaps, it’s possible to switch off a SmartTV, but the same cannot be said about critical applications such as smart meters or implanted pacemaker. Therefore, the security of the IoT ecosystem assumes paramount importance as it can have an adverse impact on a wide scale.

Field-Upgradeability

Shard Responsibility

Regulation

Device Obsolescence Good Design Practices.

Cost vs. Security Trade-Offs.

Standards and Metrics

Data Confidentiality, authenticationand Access Control

IoT Security Questions

The security of IoT devices is not a simple proposition of two states – Secure and Unsecure. Rather, it can be visualized as a spectrum of possible states ranging from highly secure to totally unsecure devices. Manufacturers have to constantly adapt to the ever-evolving threats in the IoT ecosystem. The accuracy of risk assessment and management decides the overall security levels of a device.

The major factors that influence any security assessment are the magnitude of risks, threats, costs, and the resource intensiveness of implementing defence mechanisms. For example, a medical implant or a traffic signal is a high risk prospect, making them eligible for high cost security implementations. In contrast, a person might not be inclined toward spending much on purchasing a smartTV with a robust defence design.


www.sganalytics.com



9. What the Future Holds for IoT

With all the hype around IoT, innovators seem to ignore the important role of migrating data and taking advantage of big data tools. In the same vein, value can’t be derived from immense output data until it is structured.

As IoT is evolving into a mainstream technology, we see favorable regulatory push from various governments and regulatory bodies. The world is becoming a connected hub with devices communicating with each other, providing intelligent and actionable information. The capability to utilize connectivity and give smart solutions makes IoT desirable in every aspect of human existence –business or personal. This can lead to many important applications. For an instance, there can be ingestible pills enabling internal human health monitoring. GPS and cellular connection enable the devices to be operated remotely, from anywhere on the globe.

Attaining competitive advantage and intelligence is in the process of transition, thanks to the disruption brought about by IoT. C-suite executives of major corporations assert that IoT is going to play a vital role in their organizations, helping them to enter new markets, cut costs, and transform business models and strategies. Technologies offering garments with wellbeing tracking capabilities have also arrived, e.g , OMsignal smartwear.

There is still a lot to be done in the fields of 3D printing, robotics, and brain to computer interfacing. However, some areas are evolving at a rapid pace such as the disruption of Google glass and smart-watch. The path from human to human interaction toward machine to machine and finally reaching matter-to-matter communication suddenly seems a possibility in the near future.

PwC’s 6th Annual Digital IQ survey of nearly 1,500 business and technology executives suggests that the IoT movement is underway and it is expected to become a multi-trillion dollar industry in near future. As is with every big disruption in the past, the first movers are poised to make the most of the benefits offered by IoT in businesses. As a result, bigger chunks in the budgets are allocated toward implementing IoT in industries such as automotive, energy and power, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare. This has pushed more investments into the semiconductor industry, sensors being the primary enablers of IoT.

95%Expect thier company to be using the

IoT in three years’ time

63%Believe that companies slow tointegrate the IoT will fall behind

the competition

58%

45%

Would like to see government doingmore to promote development and

adoption of the IoT

Believe adopting the IoT willmake their company moreenvironmentally friendly

What business and technology executives think about IoT?

Source: PwC


www.sganalytics.com



Editorial: Suhrid Barua, Devi Prasad Swain, Dustin Lichey

Graphics: Ninad Kadake, Vineeth CL, Satish Shinde

10. ConclusionThe combined disruption of innovative technological platforms and IoT is poised to redefine our lives. The endeavour is to connect people with inanimate things irrespective of their locations. Today, most developers are not able to imagine the potential of the IoT. At one end of the scale, the IoT will change the way we interact. At the other, it will radically shift the domestic and commercial landscapes. The IoT offers promising opportunities to trim costs, improve customer experience, and pursue new business opportunities. Although the impact of the IoT may not be seen overnight. However, it will penetrate our lives much faster than what we can imagine or expect.

For businesses, it is not worth waiting for the tsunami of disruption to reach their operational shores. Indeed, time is ripe for corporate honchos to realize and act with a strategic dialogue and a far-sighted, proactive approach. The IoT’s irresistible force is going to sweep those away, who are not ready to realize that the revolution has already arrived.

Hang tight as we enter an era in which “connected things” will be as smart, if not smarter than their owners and they will know “Everything”.

About the Authors

VIKRAM GUPTA Vikram is a Business Consultant at SG Analytics. He holds a bachelor's degree in electronics and communication design from MNNIT Allahabad.

KRISHNA BAMEZAI Krishna Bamezai is an Analyst at SG Analytics, working for the telecom research and forecasting team. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Master’s degree in Marketing.

The authors would like to thank the editorial and graphics teams for their support and expertise in creating this white paper.


www.sganalytics.com



For more information

What we do ? At SG Analytics, we help our clients understand the strengths of diverse markets and how to exploit opportunities. As businesses need to access current, accurate, and actionable inputs for strategic decision-making in a dynamic environment, we at SG Analytics provide global clients with strategic insights, which help them achieve their business objectives keeping costs under control. We provide market entry strategies, feasibility studies, competitive intelligence, and country analysis, as well as create investment memorandums and support mergers & acquisitions. Our actionable insights add value to a business throughout its lifecycle.

SG AnalyticsBusiness Consulting

United States United Kingdom Switzerland India

Contact us Visit us

Solve. Synergise. Surpass.


http://sganalytics.com/contact-us/?utm_medium=content_marketing&utm_source=whitepaper



solve. synergise. surpass. the beginner's guide to internet … · 2018-03-03 · healthcare...

Documents