6 Barriers To IoT Data Flow
Enterprises are integrating IoT devices into their ecosystems to get data that was not available previously. As with most new data sources, there may be concerns about whether the data is accessible, usable, valuable, and secure. Here are a few things to consider as your enterprise moves toward IoT.
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The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining momentum across industries as organizations strive to compete using data. Gartner estimates by 2020, 25 billion connected "things" will be in use. Whether the knowledge comes from weather monitors out in the field or wearables, companies are getting insights that were previously not possible and achieving new levels of automation. The question is whether the devices are enterprise ready.
"Enterprises adopting IoT devices have to support enterprise standards with authentication, encryption, and protocols," said Andy Beier, director of engineering at BI software vendor Domo, in an interview. "The greatest barrier to IoT data flow is that these devices are not created with an enterprise standard, making it more difficult for companies to benefit."
Even when IoT devices are built for enterprise use, there's no guarantee they'll work together. In smart commercial buildings, for example, different manufacturers are working to get their devices to communicate via APIs or an orchestration platform, but the process isn't necessarily plug-and-play or any-to-any simple yet.
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"It's still very early. We've laid the framework of individual things, and the challenge is hooking all this stuff up," said Craig Macy, CEO intelligent building platform provider Onstream, in an interview. "Devices need to interconnect and interoperate. Can the Internet help? Maybe, and maybe not."
Clearly, there are security concerns as each new device potentially exposes a new point of entry for a hacker. According to Timothy Francis, enterprise lead for cyber-insurance at Travelers Insurance, it's possible to exploit smart glasses, wireless identity authenticators, or smartwatches for purposes of intercepting signals, engaging in corporate espionage, or shutting down an e-commerce site, respectively.
"As this technology evolves and becomes more sophisticated in the way it harnesses and transmits tiny bits of data, so must the security protocols that preserve confidentiality and protect the device from being hacked directly," said Francis, in an interview.
To minimize wearable security issues, Travelers advises businesses to look for certain features in the wearables they allow or require employees to wear. Those features include custom security levels, a remote erase feature, Bluetooth encryption, encryption of critical data elements, and cloud security.
But the IoT involves far more than wearables, so consider these additional points.
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Developers use APIs to enable one-way or bi-directional communication between different types of software. Some APIs are well designed and well documented, others are not. Poor API design and documentation can frustrate efforts to get devices to talk to one another, and the flow of data may be less reliable than desired. At a higher corporate level, it's advisable to have an API strategy that is aligned with business goals.
"Companies need to be thinking clearly about API and reporting strategies in order to make these systems work together," said Domo's Andy Beier. "Right now, companies' core focus is making great products, but if their core focus doesn't include making a great API around the product's vision to allow for an ecosystem of apps and services to be built on top of it, it leaves room for competitors with an API-first strategy to come in and conquer."
IoT devices tend to generate considerable data, the value of which may not be completely understood. In order to prioritize data flows, organizations should weigh the benefits of new information flows against the potential security risks they may represent.
"The greatest [challenge] is keeping pace with the deluge of information and still finding value in the data at the same time. IoT users need to strategize and make sure they're not collecting data for the sake of collecting it," said Guy Yehiav, CEO of prescriptive analytics software vendor Profitect, in an interview.
Don't clog the pipes with junk, in other words.
IoT devices should enable users to do more things, faster and more easily than they could before. If the functionality of the device is simply redundant to what already exists, it provides little value unless speed is the only success criterion.
"In the days before IoT, we could tell if a refrigerator was broken or might break soon by physically testing it. Now, if the refrigerator is connected, it can't just alert the user that something is about to break. It should do something like order the parts you need in advance and ping the repair person for you once parts arrive," said Guy Yehiav, Profitect CEO.
The level of intelligence an IoT device provides -- or the level of security it provides -- can distinguish a product from its competitors. But in some cases the price differential may not be justified.
The growing complexity of IT infrastructures, including an expanding number of IoT devices, requires enterprises to understand the nuances of the products and services they use, so they don't inadvertently expose the company to unnecessary security risks.
"Care will need to be taken to understand the various standards and protocols that are being leveraged in an IoT installation to ensure that only secure standards and protocols cross the private to public domain boundary," said Tony Paine, CEO of industrial software vendor Kepware Technologie.
The growing complexity of IT infrastructures, including an expanding number of IoT devices, requires enterprises to understand the nuances of the products and services they use, so they don't inadvertently expose the company to unnecessary security risks.
"Care will need to be taken to understand the various standards and protocols that are being leveraged in an IoT installation to ensure that only secure standards and protocols cross the private to public domain boundary," said Tony Paine, CEO of industrial software vendor Kepware Technologie.
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