Editor’s note: The New Year has gotten off to a fast start for commercial developments across the Internet of Things business world. Technology Business Research Analyst Daniel Callahan provides an update.

HAMPTON, N.H. – TBR’s 2017 Commercial IoT Predictions special report outlines the major trends we see companies tackling in 2017. TBR believes adoption will move slower than anticipated due to customers choosing a step-by-step approach. However, certain shifts in the market, outlined in the predictions report, will enable vendors to assist customers in making faster steps.

One of the most important trends for 2017 is the general acceptance of hybrid IoT, which incorporates edge and cloud capabilities, as the de facto infrastructure for IoT deployments. This hybrid approach provides ICT vendors with another shot to anchor themselves to the IoT stack due to the necessity of edge infrastructure. Additionally, hybrid IoT provides customers a clearer path to evolving their IoT deployments, allowing them to start with a small edge deployment to tackle a specific problem and then move to a centralized cloud solution to generate organization-wide insight.

A second trend TBR sees for 2017 is a major industry shift to tying IoT solutions to artificial intelligence (AI). Vendors will craft AI to solve specific vertical or horizontal problems and incorporate it into IoT solutions to address customers’ challenges. Not only will this approach enhance the ability to filter data and turn it into insight in a timely manner, data analysis will also make it more cost-effective and democratize analysis by reducing reliance on customers’ data scientists to carry out IoT tasks.

Finally, TBR expects that during 2017 vendors will shift from vague transformational messaging to a concrete, stepwise, go-to-market message that emphasizes measurable results at each stage of implementation. Complex, confusing solutions with multiple components, large upfront investments and no guaranties are a customer pain point. Customer are seeking vendors that can support their IoT implementations, beginning with simple solutions that have a clear purpose and measurable results, with the goal to grow multiple successes into an organization-wide transformation.

(C) TBR

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