ARM, IBM and Freescale in new IoT partnership

In the quest to get mindshare of the maker movement, ARM and IBM yesterday announced an Internet of Things starter kit based on an ARM Cortex M4 powered board, connected to the IBM BlueMix cloud service. ARM’s aim, similar to a previous initiative by Intel covered on this site is to help migrate the IoT enthusiasts who may be the founders of the next big thing away from Arduino towards ARM-based development platforms that can then be easily productised. Intel’s Edison-based development … Read more…

IoT Network Sigfox secures $115 additional funding

Sigfox, the low-power wide area network being deployed by Arqiva in the UK secured a new round of funding to drive its international expansion. As discussed in a previous post, Sigfox allows devices to remain in contact with a network for several years using normal AA-style batteries, and represents a much lower cost alternative to cellular networks for applications such as metering. This makes it quite interesting that NTT Docomo, Telefonica and SK Telecom are amongst its investors, clearing seeking to … Read more…

50 Smart City Applications

Libelium, a manufacturer of sensors and connected devices provides a useful list of case studies and applications for smart sensors, covering urban applications, environmental monitoring, water management, smart grid and energy distribution, security applications, retail, logistics, industrial control and agriculture. Top 50 Internet of Things Applications – Ranking | Libelium    

The Internet of Things – A conceptual model

Earlier this week, we saw how TechCrunch attempted to model the Internet of Things ecosystem. In this post I propose an alternative model, albeit one quite similar in structure . I will not attempt to reproduce in comparable detail the vast number of companies and organisations involved, but will simply provide a representation on how the overall model can be represented. In common with many other models, I too split the connected things ecosystem into industry verticals and horizontal enablers. … Read more…

Mapping the IOT Ecosystem – 612 companies at a time

One of the most ambitious attempts to pull together the key players in the IoT space can be found in TechCrunch, courtesy of Matt Turck of FirstMark Capital. Originally compiled in 2013, their ecosystem is divided into verticals, enablers and building blocks. Like any attempt to make sense of such a complex web of players, it is imperfect – see ARM, Amazon and Sony grouped rather randomly into a ‘Corporates’ bucket. What is startling is that this version has increased … Read more…

CES 2015 – Internet of Things goes Mainstream

Reviewing the various round-ups on what was big at CES, most agree that the Internet of Things was pretty high up the agenda of the companies attending, and was the underlying theme for the event. Not that this is a reliable predictor – don’t forget that 2012 was the year that supposed saw 3D TV come of age. The Absentees It is perhaps worth starting with a reminder of the notable absentees, Apple, Google and Microsoft, the three industry’s largest platform and … Read more…

CES 2015 – Blackberry’s Three-Pronged IoT Strategy

In the first of a series of posts on noteworthy announcements at this year’s CES, we look at what Blackberry have been talking about. In November, we discussed the prospects of Project Ion, Blackberry’s umbrella Internet of Things play, where we talked up the applicability of Blackberry’s core expertise in embedded systems, mobile messaging and security to the world of connected ‘things’. Well, this week, John Chen, Blackberry’s CEO has been filling in the gaps, and it has been getting … Read more…

2015 in Tech – Crystal ball gazing

Tech Trends for 2015 Now that we’re into the new year, it is worthwhile to have a look at what industry-watchers and analysts are forecasting as being important and significant in 2015. Here is a summary of what some of what is being said regarding 2015 Technology Trends. Gartner – Top 10 ICT Trends Gartner, the IT research firm focuses on three themes: the merging of the real and virtual worlds, the advent of intelligence everywhere, and the technology impact … Read more…

Business Models for the Internet of Things

I unsuccessfully tried to avoid calling this blog “Business Models for the Internet of Things” as there is no shortage of web articles on this topic. A recent Harvard Business Review online issue on the Internet of Things has triggered a fair deal of debate on whether IoT radically changes business models or to what extent unlocks new value. Like all technologies in the hyped ramp-up phase, it is often difficult to separate fact from fiction, and prediction from fanciful guesswork. Here I … Read more…

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