8 Ways IoT Will Change IT Forever
Where the money goes, so go the jobs. Find out which areas of IT we think could face a skills gap in an IoT world.
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There has been a great deal of discussion lately surrounding the concept of how the Internet of Things (IoT) will change everything. But very little of it really dives into the nuts and bolts of how IoT could dramatically change the roles and opportunities for those of us who work within IT. Here are eight ways we think IT will change in an IoT world.
We're focusing on areas of IT that are likely to see a significant change in terms of business interest and investment dollars being spent. That said, where the money goes, so to do the jobs. So this article could be seen as a prediction of where the next big IT jobs skills gap will arise.
We created our list based on the idea that technology will never again simply be a tool we can use. Instead, it will be all around us, interacting in ways never before possible. In many ways, IoT is said to make us one with the technology, so we're using it without being us being conscious of it. To some, that sounds like a scary proposition. But to others, IoT has the potential to make our daily lives more efficient, productive and, we hope, more enjoyable.
That being said, nothing technological can be built or maintained without at least some help from us mere IT mortals. It is all a matter of figuring out what IT professionals will end up doing to help build, and ultimately, maintain an Internet of Things universe. Some IT jobs will remain largely the same. Others will change dramatically. And brand-new job roles will crop up that were never needed previously. In the end, if IoT takes off the way that many industry leaders believe it will, we're in for a major shakeup in the coming decade or so.
On the following pages, we highlight eight ways that IT will change thanks to IoT. Once you've reviewed our picks, let us know in the comments section below whether you think our IoT crystal ball is on track or if we are way off the mark.
Data flows have gone from North and South with client/server architectures to a much more East/West oriented data flow architecture as most data and calculations are performed in backend data centers and service provider clouds. The Internet of Things will once again shake up the network infrastructure world by making device-to-device and geographically-aware data flows much more prevalent. The idea will be to make data flows as efficient as possible by pushing packet-routing decisions as far out to the edge as possible. Understanding the implications of this, and designing your networks accordingly, will assure you a spot in the IoT future.
When the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) craze hit a few years back, I have to admit that I wasn't convinced it would work from both IT networking and IT security perspectives -- not to mention interoperability problems with business software and mobile devices. Despite my reservations, BYOD took off and has been fairly successful in most organizations.
Looking forward to what's coming up, we're looking to take the BYOD concept and apply it to everything from mobile phones, to watches, to medical devices, and even our neighborhood streetlamps. It's going to create a situation where different items of hardware and software are going to be expected to communicate effectively and securely all the time. It's an incredible task, and one that will keep many of us in IT employed for a very long time. Developing the applications and network infrastructure that enable all these disparate devices to play nicely (and safely) with one another will be a lucrative area for IT professionals in the IoT future.
As you can see, the current state of IT is in for quite a shift once IoT really kicks in. And because the concept is so broad, our ideas of how IT will change may be way off. But considering that IoT largely depends on hundreds of millions of devices -- most of them likely to be wireless -- we think that the areas that have been brought to light in these pages are going to have a big effect on IT professionals. Which area of IT do you think is the one to watch? Did we miss any big areas of IT that are sure to be transformed by IoT? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.
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