Xively’s live webinar titled, Guide to Designing Products for the Internet of Things, focused on an increasingly important area of focus in IoT: security.
According to the webinar, 95% of executives surveyed see their business implementing at least one IoT solution within the next three years. This is in line with a trend MachNation is following closely — software transforming how businesses in all major industries deliver value with their products. As an example, the webinar discussed how companies building large machinery are now using IoT to improve management and safety. In a very different industry, connected appliances such as stoves and refrigerators deliver new features to the consumer by using small internet-enabled computers built directly into the appliance.
While the value derived from IoT solutions varies dramatically, a common theme of end-to-end security is just as relevant to companies building ore extraction equipment as to kitchen appliance manufacturers. Sensor data and actuator control instructions can reveal sensitive and highly proprietary data about manufacturing, thus making it critical that IoT devices used in manufacturing follow the sufficiently strict security practices to keep intellectual property from becoming available outside the company walls. Along the same lines, improperly secured internet-enabled home appliances such as stoves and security cameras pose both physical as well as privacy risks to the consumer.
Naturally, the webinar also stressed the importance of choosing the right IoT platform to strike the right balance between security, cost and time-to-market. MachNation agrees. Our research has shown that there are a number of players in the IoT Application Enablement Platform (AEP) space with each solution having its strengths as well as weaknesses.
MachNation recently published an IoT Application Platform ScoreCard — the industry’s first comprehensive technical look at the IoT platforms providing application enablement, device management, analytics, IoT application stores and ancillary support tools. The ScoreCard is a valuable tool for enterprises looking to deploy an IoT solution and technology vendors looking for an IoT platform partner. The ScoreCard includes thirteen leading vendors, including Xively, ranked on a set of key capabilities identified by MachNation. Buyers of IoT solutions and technology companies seeking IoT partners must understand this critical element of the technology stack and the best vendors in the ecosystem.
Security definition used from http://www.softwarearchitectures.com/qa.html