Whispers of the Internet of Things (IoT) have been evolving into serious discussions of innovation among startups and big-name companies alike. Although this latest technology trend is catching momentum and is poised to be the next big thing, it is still somewhat misunderstood. To shed light on the topic, the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) recently hosted a panel of IoT industry experts from Microsoft, Ombitron, UIEvolution, Optimum Energy, and Avanade –businesses from various tech industry sectors that are all tapping into the IoT. If you happened to miss us this time, below you’ll find a recap of our top four key takeaways:

1. IoT: The Latest Buzzword – Today, IoT is the new buzzword, but this technology is not very new. Paul Hammann, CEO of Ombitron, provided a bit of a history lesson, comparing the first use of this concept to the machine-to-machine technology seen in Edison’s automatic telegraph of 1869. Hammann feels that the timing is ripe for IoT, with increasing momentum behind the movement driven by consumers who have grown bored of the smartphones and tablets and are ready for some new technology to believe in. They are in the right mindset to trust in a better, smarter and more reliable tomorrow with the use of IoT.
2. Big Names Make IoT a Big Deal – Once a start-up dominated business, in the last year IoT has also become an interest for names like Dell, HP and Microsoft, as well as consumer brands such as Coke and Nike who have already started using this technology. Involvement from these significant players suggests continued growth for IoT, which all the panelists agreed would eventually have an impact on businesses across the board either directly or indirectly.
3. Lack of a Common Platform – There is, however, one major outstanding issue facing the IoT industry. Those businesses and corporations directly responsible for the evolution of technology have been developing cutting-edge IoT products independently. Soon upwards of 50 billion devices will be interacting with users, but not each other. Tharun Tharian, a global marketing lead, used the analogy of a basketball player wearing a t-shirt, shoes, and basketball all connected to the IoT to describe this disconnect. The shoes would give the user feedback on stance, the shirt on heart rate, and the ball would provide dribble analysis. A player could use these items throughout a game to collect data, but would still have to analyze these independent snippets of information to improve his or her game, because today, none of these products sync together. In the future, that same basketball player will be given precision feedback based on the interactions of all devices–actionable information he or she can use to improve their game. A universal common platform or “language” for these devices is the next big step we’ll likely see in the hype cycle of IoT innovation.
4. Regulations and Standardization – Due to the relatively new nature of IoT, policies, regulations, and standards bodies cannot keep up. The rules are constantly changing as the technology advances, which translates into a grey area for businesses developing new products. Chris Ruff, CEO of UIEvolution, discussed the complicated nature of trying to implement IoT into business sectors like automotive and finance, which are riddled with regulations, without hitting roadblocks.

The panel discussion made it clear that IoT technology is just getting started. As we all remember, just a few short years ago cloud was the hot topic, and then big data. In the beginning, both were criticized and misunderstood, but the smart companies kept on capitalizing. IoT is the next revolution on the horizon and it is only a matter of time before we see the Internet of Things become as commonplace as the internet itself.