Developers And VARS Can Find Opportunities Related To The Internet Of Things
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has brought with it a number of new challenges — from security to software to management needs — but it also has created a host of new opportunities. Gartner predicts there will be upward of 25 billion devices connected to the Internet of Things by 2020, with IoT product and service suppliers expected to generate revenue in excess of $300 billion.
An article from Monster.com discusses how developers and coders are benefitting from the shift, Developer research company Evans Data Corp conducted a survey in July 2014 that revealed 17 percent of developers are already working on applications for connected devices and 23 percent more expected to begin within six months.
In addition, the Monster blog post also cites a survey by VisionMobile found more than half of mobile developers were working on projects related to the Internet of Things, and the number of developers working on IoT applications is predicted to be five times that number in five years.
To gauge opportunity for VARs, MSPs and other IT solutions providers, The VAR Guy polled readers who reported that channel partners are most likely to profit from selling infrastructure and software related to the growth of the Internet of Things. Nine out of 10 respondents in The VAR Guy’s poll said that the underlying infrastructure components such as hardware and networking solutions will be the most likely avenue to provide opportunities for solutions providers. And 73 percent believe IoT management software will be an important area of investment for solution providers.
Meanwhile, 64 percent said that data analytics will be a lucrative field as the IoT grows, since this growth will “produce a glut of user data, which companies will undoubtedly want to sort and catalogue to learn more about their end users.”
An Accenture study predicts the Industrial IoT (IIoT) will experience significant growth. The report cites Deutsche Bank Research from May 2014 stating, “More optimistic predictions of the value created by the IIoT range as high as $15 trillion of global GDP by 2030.”
The report states businesses are attracted by potential gains in operational efficiency, but point out your IT customers could see an increase in productivity as well.