CES 2014: Cisco's Internet of Everything Vision 2
Sensor-equipped objects and their networks -- what Cisco calls the Internet of Everything -- will reshape your life, Cisco CEO John Chambers says. Take a closer look.
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Cisco had an exhibit on the main floor of the International Consumer Electronics Show for the first time this year. That might seem odd, given that Cisco has spent the last few years jettisoning its consumer-oriented products, such as the Flip mini-camcorder and Linksys networking gear.
But Cisco CEO John Chambers believes his company's Internet of Everything (IoE) plan will alter the trajectory of virtually every person on the planet, consumer and professional alike. Cisco doesn't plan to sell directly to consumers, but whether it's smarter power grids, personalized retail experiences, improved industrial efficiency, or the ability to control the infrastructure of an entire building with a smartphone app, IoE will be "bigger than anything that's ever been done in high tech," Chambers promised during his CES keynote.
To make his case, the Cisco boss enlisted some non-traditional help, including a brief but amusing appearance by comedienne Sarah Silverman. But he also came armed with his customary barrage of statistics, none more eye-opening than the $19 trillion in new revenue Cisco believes IoE can generate by 2020.
Buoyed by exponential growth in our ability to capture and analyze data, new tech will "get the right data to the right device at the right time to the right person or machine to be able to make the right decision," he declared, arguing that even seemingly inane concepts like sensor-equipped garbage cans could produce billions of dollars in efficiency-based savings.
"If you look back a decade from today at the impact of the Internet of Everything, I predict you will see it will be five to 10 times more impactful than the whole Internet has been today," he said.
How is IoE supposed to revolutionize the world? In the case of smart trash bins, Chambers said embedded sensors can reduce calls to waste management by allowing officials to see how full a can is, whether hazardous materials are inside, how pickup efforts can affect traffic patterns, and even whether a given garbage can's contents might contain a particularly offensive odor. These insights might not seem ground-breaking alone, but Chamber said that together, they add up to billions in savings.
Chambers offered a range of other examples, from parking meters that adjust their rates based on demand, to TV programs that allow viewers to easily purchase items they see on the screen, to connected cars and home automation systems, and even clothes that notify the wearer when she is getting sick.
At CES, Chambers discussed some of Cisco's IoE plans for the first time, such as the company's cloud-based Videoscape TV delivery platform for service providers. But much of what he said echoed remarks he and other Cisco execs have made over the last year, during which the company showed itself to be one of the biggest proponents of connected infrastructure and the new breed of applications this infrastructure will support.
Cisco's smart grid and smart city projects have been in the works for years, but Cisco's messaging has grown bolder over the last 12 months. Last January, company execs touted IoE possibilities that seemed pulled from science fiction, such as humans who live to be hundreds of years old thanks to, among other things, personalized medicine and better collection of biometric data through wearable technology and sensor-embedded household objects.
In February, Chambers told business and government leaders visiting Cisco's San Jose, Calif., headquarters that private industry stood to gain $14.4 trillion from IoE by 2020. The $19 trillion prediction he championed at CES built on this figure, lumping in potential profits from the public sector.
"We're all in. We're making this our cornerstone of our campaign to become the number-one IT company," Chambers said. "It isn't a billion-dollar commitment. It's way, way beyond that in terms of the resources and time we're going to put behind it."
In June, Cisco released a report that claimed corporations had generated over $600 billion in IoE-related profits so far that year. The company spent 2013 offering new examples of the technology's potential, from sensor-equipped basketballs that give coaches and players real-time insight into the game, to new advances in telemedicine, to personalized retail experiences that rely on location-based analytics derived from shoppers' phones.
Despite its leaders' bullishness, Cisco has faced setbacks over the last year. Thanks to slowing sales in its traditional networking gear and weak demand from emerging markets, the company cut its sales growth outlook in December. Cisco also announced plans earlier in the year to cut 5% of its workforce as it realigns its businesses.
Still, Chambers remained self-assured at Interop New York in October, telling InformationWeek editor-in-chief Rob Preston that the company should not be underestimated. One reason for the confidence? IoE's potential is real.
Indeed, Cisco isn't the only company betting on connected devices, pervasive sensing, and smarter infrastructure. The basic concept behind IoE goes by other names, such as the industrial Internet, or the Internet of Things. Regardless of the moniker, the technology has been touted by GE as a $10 trillion to $15 trillion opportunity over the next 20 years, and Intel dedicated much of its CES presence this year to technologies that tap this vein.
Cisco's view is that IoE technically differs from the Internet of Things; IoT is composed of connected objects, while IoE encompasses the networks that must support all the data these objects generate and transmit. "Software by itself won't get the job done," Chambers said at Interop in October, arguing that IoE demands data center software and hardware that work in concert.
This distinction represents one of the main ways the company has differentiated its software-defined networking strategy from those of its competitors. Connected, location-aware applications require more bandwidth, more intelligence on the edge of the network, new considerations for security and orchestration, and more cohesive, programmable infrastructure, Cisco argues, and it held an Internet of Things World Forum in Barcelona last fall in an attempt to unify industry players around common standards. The company also recently established a business unit dedicated to advancing the concept.
How does Cisco foresee this technology changing your life? Explore our slideshow for a peek into Cisco's vision for the Internet of Everything.
Michael Endler joined InformationWeek as an associate editor in 2012. Michael graduated from Stanford in 2005 and previously worked in talent representation, as a freelance copywriter and photojournalist, and as a teacher.
Actress and comedienne Sarah Silverman made an amusing appearance, both in person and in a video, during Cisco CEO John Chambers' keynote. She sprinkled a few of her trademark obscenities into the presentation; when she dropped an f-bomb during the video, it was bleeped out, though her other choice four-letter words (as well as a seemingly off-script jab at Hollywood director Michael Bay's stress-induced breakdown during Samsung's CES presentation) ran uncensored.
But Silverman wasn't at CES just to entertain and shock; she also addressed one of IoE's major questions: Why should we trust companies with all of this personal data?
"[IoE is] measuring how much I poop?" she incredulously asked during the video, in which she conversed with a version of herself from an IoE-enabled future. But when present-day Silverman was told IoE services are less about scatological studies and more about her home automatically choosing movies, temperature, and music based on her mood, she still wasn't convinced.
"Now I'll get spam on my bathroom mirror!" she complained. "Is this even secure?"
"The network makes it secure, dummy," her future self replied.
Chamber did not specifically broach how this security will be implemented, but the video included references to users being able to opt in and out of services, and assurances that they would remain in control thereafter. Chambers reiterated the importance of this transparency, a point other Cisco leaders also have emphasized over the last year.
"You got balls, Chambers," an evidently reassured Silverman told the CEO after taking the stage. "Go out there, do your keynote thingy, and sparkle, peanut."
Cisco's CES presentation included a demonstration of its recently-announced Videoscape platform, a cloud-powered content delivery system for service providers that includes location-based data, personalized viewer recommendations, and home-automation features. Cisco says the service will allow customers to watch live and on-demand video on any device, receive contextual content and advertising on second screens, and use TV apps. If viewers see a product they like while watching a program, they can even pause the content, select and purchase the object in question through their television, and then resume the show without missing a beat.
Videoscape also is designed to allow service providers to accelerate the deployment of new features through the cloud. The technology will be used by NBC at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
Cisco demonstrated new ways in which information could be integrated into the video-watching experience. While watching a movie, for example, users could summon a 3D map of all depicted locations. CES presenters summoned a clip from The Hangover, and then, using an iPad linked to the TV, launched a map showing the Las Vegas locales that host the characters' misadventures.
While it's unclear how popular a feature like this might be with average viewers, Chambers emphasized that IoE technologies have to be simple for both IT professionals and end users. People expect access to information when, where, and how they want it, the CEO said, which means that IT must be able to easily manage services.
"Millennials don't think about the office as a physical space," Chambers noted. "They're the first generation that grew up with a screen in every aspect of their lives. We need to rethink how the phone and home are connected," he continued, adding, "Service providers will be a huge part of this."
Although some potential IoE applications are futuristic and flashy, others could make an impact in subtler ways. Smart garbage cans is one example. Connected street lighting is another.
Chambers said that 70% of the world's energy is consumed in cities, adding that 40% of total government energy spending in Europe is dedicated to street lighting. If these lights are connected to a smart network, he said, the cost could be reduced up to 80%. The lights could automatically adjust to different weather conditions, for example.
In addition to improving existing technologies, he said, connecting infrastructure to intelligent networks could mean an expansion of capabilities. Street lights, for instance, also could collect environmental data, provide public WiFi, and even use embedded sensors with cameras to help combat crime.
Another on-stage guest during Chambers' CES talk was Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility. De la Vega spoke about his company's Cisco-powered connected-home technologies, which include a number of home-automation features such as "cinema mode," which automatically adjusts lights, locks doors, and changes the thermostat when a user settles down to watch a movie.
But entertainment is only part of the appeal. De la Vega also shared a story in which a customer used AT&T technology to thwart local thieves who had been stealing packages left on his doorstep while he was at work. The customer installed a motion-triggered camera that, upon detecting activity, sent an image to his smartphone. The customer was alerted while the theft was happening, which allowed him to promptly notify the police. The thief was caught half an hour later, de la Vega said.
AT&T's de la Vega also discussed the company's connected car platform, saying users will be able to control their homes from their vehicles. "We're blazing trails here," he declared, noting that the company has already forged partnerships with Chevrolet, Audi, and Tesla.
Cisco's CES exhibit demonstrated how IoE could help people save energy and money by managing their utilities better. By providing a granular view into the services for which the customer is paying, the technology could help users identify wasteful tendencies and stick to their household budgets.
Brick-and-mortar stores will be another beneficiary of IoE, according to Cisco's CES exhibit. By connecting to shoppers' mobile devices, a merchant's network can determine where in the store consumers are lingering, and thus which signage or display is having the intended impact. It can also help the store better understand traffic patterns and staff accordingly.
Customers benefit not only from better store layouts, but also from personalized offers sent to their phone the instant they walk inside. Although some shoppers might be uneasy about opting into a system that permits retailers to track their moves, others are likely to be delighted when a store's network remembers their previous purchases and sends them coupons for related accessories.
About two-thirds of the world's population soon will live in urban areas, and IoE-enabled smart cities "are gonna make a huge difference," said Chambers. To illustrate his point, he included Barcelona deputy mayor Antoni Vives in his CES presentation. Barcelona, one of the few European cities currently running a surplus, was an early adopter of Cisco's smart cities technology, said Chambers.
Vives said Barcelona officials embraced Cisco technology because they were "upset with the quality of life of our people." He said the company is now saving billions annually on lighting and water costs, and that it has created 47,000 IoE-related jobs.
Connected parking systems are an important part of Cisco's smart cities campaign. Chambers said 30% of traffic jams involve people trying to find parking places, and that IoE has the "ability to change this dramatically." Benefits for drivers include access to real-time availability of parking spots, and, at least theoretically, less traffic. Cities gain the ability to change meter costs to match demand. They also can improve the efficiency of parking officials by gaining real-time insights into when and where citations need to be issued.
Chambers also was joined by Rick Smolan, an accomplished photographer and the CEO of Against All Odds Productions. The company recently published The Human Face of Big Data, a book and Web app that explore IoE's impact on the world. Smolan said Japan has implemented early-warning systems that detect precursors to earthquakes and shut down trains and factories seconds before one strikes. The devastation from natural disasters is still immense, Smolan said, but the system has saved the country from even greater destruction.
IoE can improve these systems at no cost simply by connecting devices, said Smolan. "Every laptop has an accelerometer, and if a computer falls, it knows it's falling," he said, describing a project in Palo Alto, Calif., that seeks to aggregate this sort of sensor data into a worldwide network. "It would be a ubiquitous, crowd-sourced, global-warning system. The foundation is already there."
Cisco sees its network programmability model as a core part of IoE, but it also recognizes that it will need more partners to bring new innovations to market. Last fall's Internet of Things World Forum was one step toward this goal, but at CES Chambers introduced another: a $100 million fund to invest in early-stage companies that are producing promising IoE technologies.
Whether Cisco will be the company to define IoE's future or not, connected devices, ubiquitous sensors, programmable networks, and big data are here to stay. Smolan claimed today's average city-dweller is exposed to more information in one day than our 15th-century ancestors absorbed in their entire lives. He also said that on the first day of a baby's life, the infant generates 70 times the amount of information stored in the Library of Congress. Technology can affordably collect and make sense of all this data for the first time, and however the specifics shake out, the implications are nothing short of profound.
Whether Cisco will be the company to define IoE's future or not, connected devices, ubiquitous sensors, programmable networks, and big data are here to stay. Smolan claimed today's average city-dweller is exposed to more information in one day than our 15th-century ancestors absorbed in their entire lives. He also said that on the first day of a baby's life, the infant generates 70 times the amount of information stored in the Library of Congress. Technology can affordably collect and make sense of all this data for the first time, and however the specifics shake out, the implications are nothing short of profound.
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