William Schmarzo

Simplifying the Internet of Things Conversation

We’ve all been in those sales meetings. The sales person kicks off the meeting by welcoming everyone and introducing the topic of discussion. Then the pre-sales expert drags everyone through their 100-slide PowerPoint deck with enough buzzwords and confusing phrases (at 9 point font, of course) to dull even the most engaged person.

I call these types of presentations the “Jabberwocky Strategy” because they remind me of one of my kids’ favorite poems, “Jabberwocky”, by Lewis Carroll:

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

It seems that the plan behind the “Jabberwocky Strategy” is to make the conversation so complicated, that the customer gets overwhelmed and has no choice but to buy from that particular vendor. Blinded by science, I guess.

Now the “Jabberwocky Strategy” is being applied to the “Internet of Things” (IoT). The IoT is already being declared the “big data killer app[1]”, so indispensable that companies cannot expect to survive without it. Much like we heard about social media three to four years ago and much like we’ll hear about embedded human sensors three to four years from now, IoT promises untold fortunes…but only if you buy your IoT products/services from me.

However, smart customers don’t act in an atmosphere of confusion and complexity; smart customers act when the conversation has been made as simple and straightforward as possible. Consequently, I want to take a very different approach. Instead of trying to overcomplicate the IoT conversation, I want to simplify it and provide a straightforward plan for how organizations can act today.

Internet of Things (IoT) Conversation
A recent article on Forbes.com titled “IoT Is The Killer App For Big Data” introduces the IoT technology “layer cake.” I like this chart as it lays out the IoT ecosystem (see Figure 1).

However, I dislike the title of the article as IoT is not an app; IoT is data. The real “Big Data Killer App” is the ability for organizations to couple new sources of data, such as social media, wearable computing and IoT, with data science to make better decisions

Making The IoT Conversation Actionable
The chart (and the article) stops short of telling me where and how I can leverage IoT. Consequently, I have added 4 steps (outlined below) to help simplify the IoT conversation and clarify what an organization needs to do to capitalize on the IoT.

Step #1: Begin with an End In Mind. Unless you make wearables and edge devices, IoT is just another data source for you. IoT is NOT an application. Much like social media and wearables data, now comes the IoT data and everyone loses their minds. But IoT is only data and having data is no guarantee of success. You have to do something with the data in order to create insight (value).

What operational or business initiatives are you trying to solve? The initiative could be machine downtime, for which you seek predictive maintenance. It could be network load balancing or capacity planning or demand forecasting. It could be any number of operational or business initiatives, but it is best to start with a targeted initiative in order to frame the rest of the conversation. Otherwise you just end up boiling the ocean and hope that something gets cooked in the process (other than your career). So let’s add Step 1 to the chart (see Figure 2).

Step 2: Identify the Decisions. The original chart states that “Layer 7” is about “transformational decision making.” However, instead of making this layer 7, I’d make it layer 2 (or step 2). You need to identify the decisions the key stakeholders need to make in support of the targeted operational initiative (see Figure 3).

By the way, decisions do not need to be transformational to deliver compelling business value. Optimizing boring decisions such as when a vehicle or jet engine needs servicing or how best to load balance the network given a spike in demand can also deliver a pretty nice ROI.

Step 3: Identify Technology and Organizational Requirements. With the targeted operational initiative and supporting decisions in hand, the rest of the IoT technology and organizational requirements quickly fall into place, including:

• Who are the stakeholders (technicians, mechanics, engineers, logistics managers, supply chain managers) impacted by the targeted operational initiative?
• What descriptive, predictive and prescriptive questions do the stakeholders need to answer in support of their key decisions?
• What additional data sources – both internal as well as external to the organization – should we consider (e.g., weather, traffic, technician notes, product specifications, field problem reports)?
• What actionable recommendations (to the decisions that they are trying to make) do you need to deliver to the stakeholders in what timeframe and in what manner?
• What data architecture and technologies do I need to support this process?

By the way, I will be covering this process in more detail at my “Developing a Big Data Business Strategy” session at Strata + Hadoop World on March 30 (see Figure 4).

Step 4: Contemplate “Right Time” As Well As “Real Time”. Not all decisions need to be made in real-time. For example, the article states:

…a company managing a fleet of delivery trucks can detect when truck parts are performing suboptimally and schedule these trucks for preventative maintenance long before the vehicle breaks down. These types of real-time decisions greatly reduce maintenance costs and improve the overall delivery performance of the fleet.

Determining and scheduling preventative maintenance is not a real-time decision. I am not going to rush a team of mechanics and parts to wherever the truck is located at the first sign that the vehicle is going to need maintenance. If I can predict that a truck is likely in need some maintenance, then I probably have a good estimate as to how soon I need to schedule that maintenance. And then I can schedule multiple maintenance activities to better reduce my maintenance costs and downtime for that truck (or wind turbine or jet engine or power generator or etc.).

Summary
The “Big Data Killer App” is the ability for organizations to couple new sources of data, such as social media, wearable computing and IoT, with data science to make better decisions. When you start aggregating all of those decisions across multiple use cases, then you have something that could be truly transformational to the business (see Figure 5).

[1] A “killer app” is any computer application that is so indispensable that it proves the core value of some larger technology. In this case, the IoT is being positioned as being that application that is so indispensable that everyone must adopt big data for their very survival.

The post Simplifying The Internet of Things Conversation appeared first on InFocus.

@ThingsExpo - The World's Largest 'Internet of Things' Event, June 7-9 2016 at New York City's Javits Center!

Secrets of Sponsors and Exhibitors ▸ Here
Secrets of Cloud Expo Speakers ▸ Here

All major researchers estimate there will be tens of billions devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, and sensors - connected to the Internet by 2020. This number will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the next several decades.

@CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo 2016 New York 
(June 7-9, 2016, Javits Center, Manhattan)

@CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo 2016 Silicon Valley
(November 1-3, 2016, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA)

With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing IoT strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @ThingsExpo, June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York City. Learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is as "IoT-Ready" as it can be.

Register for @CloudExpo/@ThingsExpo 'FREE' Before Friday! ▸ Here

Delegates to @ThingsExpo will be able to attend 14 simultaneous, information-packed education tracks.

There are over 120 breakout sessions in all, with Keynotes, General Sessions, and Power Panels adding to three days of incredibly rich presentations and content.

Join @ThingsExpo conference chair Roger Strukhoff (@IoT2040), June 7-9, 2016 in New York City, for three days of intense 'Internet of Things' discussion and focus, including Big Data's indespensable role in IoT, Smart Grids and Industrial Internet of Things, Wearables and Consumer IoT, as well as (new) IoT's use in Vertical Markets.

Your conference registration includes all 14 @CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo Tracks:

01 @CloudExpo: Enterprise Cloud Adoption
02 @CloudExpo: DevOps, Continuous Delivery and APIs
03 @CloudExpo: Mobility & Security
04 @CloudExpo: Containers & Microservices

05 @ThingsExpo: Big Data's Use in IoT & Analytics
06 @ThingsExpo: Smart Grids & Industrial 'Internet of Things'
07 @ThingsExpo: Show Me the Money! - IoT Developer Track
08 @ThingsExpo: Wearables & Consumer IoT

Hot Topics - Day 1:
09 @ThingsExpo: Vertical 'Internet of Things' Markets
10 @ThingsExpo: Identity in IoT, RTC & WebRTC

Hot Topics - Day 2:
11 @ThingsExpo: Node.js & Event-Driven Architecture
12 @ThingsExpo: Modern Data Centers

Hot Topics - Day 3:
13 @CloudExpo: Cognitive Computing / Machine Learning
14 @CloudExpo: Maker Movement

Register FREE Before Friday! ▸ Here

A General Session, November 3-5, 2015 in Silicon Valley

@CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo 2016 New York 
(June 7-9, 2016, Javits Center, Manhattan)

@CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo 2016 Silicon Valley
(November 1-3, 2016, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA)

Speaking Proposals Open
Fourth International @ThingsExpo, co-located with 18th International @CloudExpo - being held June 7-9, 2016 at the Javits Center in New York City, announces that its Call for Papers for speaking opportunities is open. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the most profound change in personal and enterprise IT since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.

Submit your speaking proposal today! ▸ Here

Sponsorship Opportunities Open
@ThingsExpo, June 7-9, 2016 at the Javits Center in New York City, is co-located with 18th Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world.

Sponsor and Exhibit at @ThingsExpo ▸ Here
Download Show Prospectus ▸ Here

Secrets of Sponsors and Exhibitors ▸ Here
Secrets of Cloud Expo Speakers ▸ Here

Show Me The Money!
How We Built and Scaled an IoT Platform and Business

In his keynote at @ThingsExpo, Chris Matthieu, Director of IoT Engineering at Citrix and co-founder and CTO of Octoblu, focused on building an IoT platform and company. He provided a behind-the-scenes look at Octoblu's platform, business, and pivots along the way (including the Citrix acquisition of Octoblu).

Download Chris Matthieu Keynote Slide Deck: ▸ Here

@ThingsExpo Named the World's Most Influential IoT Media Brand

@ThingsExpo has been named the Top Most Influential Internet of Things'Media Brand' by Onalytica in the ‘The Internet of Things Landscape 2015: Top 100 Individuals and Brands.'

Onalytica analyzed Twitter conversations around the IoT debate to uncover the most influential brands and individuals driving the conversation.

Intel and Cisco have been named the world's most influential IoT brands, followed by SYS-CON Media's global IoT event, @ThingsExpo as the world's most influential IoT media brand. [continued]

New York and Silicon Valley Sponsors and Exhibitors
During our last New York and Silicon Valley events, over 12,000 (audited) delegates registered and participated at@ThingsExpo, in the world's largest 'Internet of Things' event, colocated with @CloudExpo. Our conference delegates met with over 160 of the world's leading technology pioneers that were among the sponsors and exhibitors, including:

Our Demo Theater on the Expo Floor attracts more delegates than the entire conference of other events

Acision, Actifio, ActiveState, AgilePoint, AIC , Akana, AlertLogic, Ambernet, Amplidata, Apacer Memory America Inc., Appcore, AppDynamics, AppZero, Aria Systems, Arista Networks, Automic, Avere Systems, Axis Communications, B2CLOUD, Basic6, Bestwebdesignagencies.com, Bitium, Blue Box , BMC, BroadSoft, Brother , Bsquare, BUMI, CA, Inc., Calm.io, CenturyLink, Ciqada, CiRBA, Cisco, Cloudant, an IBM Company, Cloudian, CoalFire, CodeFutures, COLUMN Technologies, CommVault, connect2.me, Connected Data, CrashPlan/Code42, Creative Business Solutions , Cynny Italia S.r.l, Dasher, dcVAST, DEAC, Dell, DevOps.com, Distrix , DragonGlass, Dyn, Edgecast , ElasticBox, Emcien, Endstream Communications/Open Data Centers, EnterpriseDB, e-SignLive, by Silanis, Esri, Evident.io, FierceDevOps, FireHost, Genband, Gigamon, GoodData, Gridstore, Harbinger Group , IAPP, IBM, IDenticard Access Control, Imperva, IndependenceIT, Infor, InMage, Innodisk, Intelligent Systems, Isomorhpic , ITinvolve, iwNetworks, Ixia, iXsystems , Jelastic, Kintone, KOTRA , Liaison, Litmus Automation, MangoApps, Matrix.org, MediaTek Labs, MetraTech (now part of Ericsson), Microsoft, Navisite, Net Access , Nimble Storage, NuoDB, Inc., Objectivity, OMG, Open Data Centers, OpenCrowd, Optimal Design, Oracle, OutSystems, Parasoft, Peak10, Peer 1 Hosting, PluralSight, Plutora, ProfitBricks, PubNub, Quality Technology Services , Quantum, Qubell, RackWare , Rancher Labs, Red Hat, r-evolutionapp , RingStor, Robomq.io, SafeLogic, SAP, ScaleMP, Seagate, Secure Infrastructure & Services, Sematext , SendGrid , Serena Software, Sherweb, SimpleECM, Site 24x7, Smartvue Corporation, SOASTA, SoftLayer, an IBM Company, SoftwareAG, Soha, Solgenia, SPAN Systems, Spirent, StackIQ, Stateless Networks, Storpool, Stratogent, Stratoscale, Supermicro, SUSE, Tau Institute, Telecity, Telehouse, Telestax, The New York Times , The Vision Times, TierPoint, TMCnet, Transparent Cloud Computing Consortium, Tufin, Ulunsoft, Utimaco, VASCO Data Security, Veeam, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Vicom Computer Services, VictorOps, Virtustream, VITRIA Technology, Vormetric, WHOA.com, Will Jaya, Windstream, WSM - Website Movers International, Zentera Systems, Zerto.

New York City June 2015 Expo Floor

Silicon Valley November 2015 Expo Floor

@CloudExpo / @ThingsExpo Has Been a Must-Attend Event for Ericsson
This week, the team assembled in NYC for @Cloud Expo 2015 and @ThingsExpo 2015. For the past four years, this has been a must-attend event for MetraTech. We were happy to once again join industry visionaries, colleagues, customers and even competitors to share and explore the ways in which the Internet of Things (IoT) will impact our industry. Over the course of the show, we discussed the types of challenges we will collectively need to solve to capitalize on the opportunity IoT presents. [continued]

About SYS-CON Media & Events
SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com) has since 1994 been connecting technology companies and customers through a comprehensive content stream - featuring over forty focused subject areas, from Cloud Computing to Web Security - interwoven with market-leading full-scale conferences produced by SYS-CON Events. The company's internationally recognized brands include among others Cloud Expo® (@CloudExpo), Big Data Expo® (@BigDataExpo), DevOps Summit (@DevOpsSummit), @ThingsExpo® (@ThingsExpo), Containers Expo (@ContainersExpo) and Microservices Expo (@MicroservicesE).

Cloud Expo®, Big Data Expo® and @ThingsExpo® are registered trademarks of Cloud Expo, Inc., a SYS-CON Events company.