The 2016 of Things

Yup.  That's right.  Another 'Year in Review' article.  Also, the first from me in a few weeks.  I'll blame the holidays and such for my spotty production coupled with some actual paying work.  The ol' Schmoid needs to feed his growing Middle School Daughter (and his own waistline).  So, without further ado, let's get to it.

The Internet

On the 'Internet' side of the Internet of Things, 2016 was a rough year.  There were hacking scandals left and right on all sides: governmental, enterprise and consumer.  It has raised awareness in regards to the need for heightened security around IoT systems as well as specific devices.  There have been countless articles written on this topic, but most of them do not offer solutions other than 'do better' or 'don't buy in yet.'  There are few recommendations on what needs to be done and fewer about how to protect existing systems.  The best we early adopters get is 'update your passwords' and 'update your firmware'.  Yet even that may not be enough anymore.  To be honest, the Schmoidster is in the same boat.  I've got nothing new on this front and that bothers me.

The only bright light on the security horizon is Blockchain.  The transaction authentication system behind Bitcoin MAY (may) be able to figure out how to authenticate system users for the IoT.  However, distributed transaction verification is different from user login, so exactly how this is going to work and whether or not it can be retrofitted into existing 'Things' (unlikely) is a bit up in the air.  I'm hopeful that this will all get figured out in 2017 and start to trickle down to the level of baby monitors and door locks.

The Things

For the 'Things,' 2016 has been both a year of explosive growth and some consolidation.  There are more and more things to connect, from the ubiquitous light switches and connected bulbs to both Virtual and Augmented Reality.  There have been more companies jumping into the game, both on the back end (ASW-IoT and Android Things) as well as a capitalist's delight of competitive end products.

On the consolidation side, 2016 has seen many of the more ridiculous connected products fall to the wayside.  Gone (or at least forgotten) are the Bluetooth toothbrushes and such.  Manufacturers are beginning to get some of their market research back and apply their resources to the products that people might buy.  This has also led to some companies backing out entirely.  Staples ditched their 'Connect' line of IoT products to concentrate on automating themselves a bit better.  Having said that, there are still a ton of IoT Kickstarters and Indiegogo offerings to entice the smarthome hobbyist with a few dollars to burn.

The Voice

The final big trend for 2016 was the rise of the home voice assistant.  Yes, Amazon launched the Echo in 2015, but it has really taken off in 2016.  Add to that the Google Home product and you have two of the major Internet powerhouses pushing into this space.  Oh, and let's not forget Siri and Cortana, both of which still need standalone homes.

The Future

2017 promises to continue these trends, though with a few twists.  The new US administration has threatened to gut Net Neutrality which may force people to rethink how and what they wish to spend their bandwidth on.  Couple that with the security issues from 2016 and there may be a softening in the consumer side of IoT.

For enterprise, though, 2017 (and on) look to be huge years for IoT.  More and more automation will make it into the workplace.  And not just factories and other hard good manufacturing.  Automating call centers and sales and fast food and shipping beyond the present semi-automated state will be a big part of the news in the coming years.

Of course, that's only what the shapes in the fog-of-the-future suggest.  It may be even stranger.

Next week, CES!! I'll be there and will post when I can.  Schmoid out.