Any of us paying attention to technology know that The Internet of Things is already well underway. But, like the internet itself back in the 1990s, excitement and hyperbole could threaten its adoption due to wildly overoptimistic reporting.
Though many companies like Cisco, IBM and even consulting firm McKinsey & Co. are all touting a $14 trillion market size within a decade or so, many of us struggle with exactly where that kind of revenue will be generated with products and services.
Pew Research Internet Project just released a report called, “The Internet of Things Will Thrive by 2025: Many experts say the rise of embedded and wearable computing will bring the next revolution in digital technology.”
Some 1,606 experts responded to the following question: The evolution of embedded devices and the Internet/Cloud of Things—As billions of devices, artifacts, and accessories are networked, will the Internet of Things have widespread and beneficial effects on the everyday lives of the public by 2025?
Eighty-three percent of these experts answered “yes” and 17% answered “no.”
Pretty impressive and this space is something Minnov8 believes will be one of the most profound opportunities in technology in the next 15 years, especially as more of the product and service opportunities become clearer.
Then in this morning’s Minneapolis StarTribune, John Rash had this opinion piece that is one of the best, non-hyperbolic and solid overviews of IoT I’ve seen yet. Rash writes the Rash Report column for the ‘Strib’ and is also an editorial writer and a member of its Editorial Board. He also teaches mass media and politics at the University of Minnesota.
Two visions of the future come to mind when considering the new Pew Research Center study about “The Internet of Things.” One is the 2013 dystopian novel “The Circle,” Dave Eggers’ claustrophobic tome about a social network so insidious it becomes a societal noose.
The other is the recent retrospective of 1964’s seminal World’s Fair in New York, during the age of the space race (and “The Jetsons”), when technological transformations were thought to solve, not create, problems.
The future turned out differently than seers imagined 50 years ago, as it always does. With any luck (and common sense), the dark vision of “The Circle” won’t square with Americans seeking to preserve privacy.
And it’s likely that the future envisioned in the Pew report will defy some expectations, too.
Give it a read. It will help you view IoT as the opportunity it is and not just the hype.