Building the Infrastructure for the IoT

There are no shortages of new technologies that arrived on the scene over the past few years – ranging from self-driving cars to 3-D printing to cryptocurrency (bitcoin).

Some of these promise to make the world a better place without providing any real business case or justification for its use. Others seem to receive a huge amount of hype and give the ongoing promise that they will go main stream in another three-to-five years.

You can argue that the Internet of Things (IoT) falls in this category. After all, it almost took over the top spot as the most hyped technology in Gartner’s Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2015. Industry experts are predicting a staggering number of IoT devices will be on the network by 2020 with predictions ranging from 21 billion to 50 billion to 200 billion.

Even more impressive than the sheer number of IoT devices are predictions around the economic impact that the IoT can bring. McKinsey estimates that by 2025, IoT will add between $4 trillion and $11 trillion to the economy each year.

For these devices to truly bring value, they must be connected to the network. This connectivity will take many forms, including wired Ethernet, WiFi, LTE, Bluetooth and more. Enabling these technologies within the building requires proper planning and design and attention to the relevant industry standards.

To learn more about how to plan for the IoT, join me for an educational lunch session on Tuesday, February 2 at the 2016 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition on “Building the Infrastructure for the IoT.” The luncheon will start at 12:30 p.m. EST in the Sebastian Room 1-2.

I look forward to seeing you there.