Last week MachNation was excited to attend the two-day IoT Slam Live 2019 event in Raleigh, North Carolina. For three years running IoT Community, the organization sponsoring IoT Slam Live, has brought together industry experts, analysts and exclusive speakers to discuss the current state of the industry and the future of IoT. The event featured talks from industry thought leaders, developers and executives from companies like IBM, SAS, Microsoft, AWS and more.
Here are some of MachNation’s key takeaways from IoT Slam Live 2019:
Creating value with IoT
The two day event featured speakers with largely diverse backgrounds and schools of thought around how IoT is currently and will continue to become more ingrained in every day business practices. While the topics of discussion were broad, each one touched on the central theme of the event, strategies for leveraging IoT to advance the foundational interests of the business. It’s easy for industry insiders (us included) to get lost in the minutiae of the technology. But for business leaders, implementing an IoT solution for the sake of it adds no real value without strategy and vision. Topics discussed ranged from data analytics, automation, AI, connectivity, including a keynote by Mark Relph from AWS IoT. Having the opportunity to gain different perspectives from industry thought leaders on the diversity of practical IoT applications reminded us that while there are certainly wrong ways to implement IoT solutions, there is no one right way either.
We all win when we work together
The march of technological progress is as arduous as it is exciting. The IoT is full of the promise of unknown possibilities in the future. To get there, speakers highlighted the impact of cooperation in advancing IoT capabilities. The importance of cooperative organizations such as the Open Connectivity Foundation, World Wide Web Consortium, and Linux Foundation were featured as examples of what we can accomplish when we share knowledge. MachNation agrees, as the leading firm specialized in testing and benchmarking IoT platforms, we recently had the opportunity to evaluate vendors who have partnered with cooperative organizations and have brought products to market built on open source. As proponents of cooperative endeavors we continue to actively participate and contribute in IoT communities including the Trusted IoT Alliance (TIoTA).
IoT in the global economy
With 5G and advancements in artificial intelligence AI) expected as early as this year, many speakers addressed the global economic and social changes on the horizon for businesses and consumers. As investments continue to pour into projects with IoT as the core technology (smart cities, autonomous vehicles, industry 4.0, etc.), economies and the workforce that power them have already begun to shift. Speakers addressed the pitfalls of marginalizing a segment of the workforce whose occupations may become obsolete as a result of advancing IoT while also discussing the multitude of consumer benefits it can provide. As competition heats up among competing economies, IoT will be at the forefront of stimulating growth for next generation consumer and industrial products.
MachNation was thrilled to have attended IoT Slam Live 2019 this year and looks forward to attending again next year. A big thank you to all the speakers for sharing your thoughts and insights in this exciting time for IoT.