The Internet of [All] Things: A definition from Microsoft.

“The Internet of Things is the subject of hype, and of vast projections: According to McKinsey Global Institute, the Internet of Things has the potential to create an economic impact of $2.7 trillion to $6.2 trillion annually by 2025 (McKinsey Global Institute, Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy, May 2013).

“The Internet of Things is not a futuristic, aspirational technology trend. It’s here today in the devices, sensors, cloud infrastructure, and data and business intelligence tools you are already using. Rather than thinking about the Internet of Things in terms of everything–such as billions of devices and sensors–focus on what matters most to you. Instead of thinking about the massive amount of data being produced, think about how one piece of data can provide value to your business.

“Microsoft delivers a unique, integrated approach that allows enterprises to capitalize on the Internet of Things by gathering, storing and processing data. This approach extends from a broad product portfolio for a range of PCs, tablets and industry devices on the edge of enterprise networks, to developer tools, backend systems and services, and a diverse partner ecosystem.

“When connected line-of-business (LoB) assets–from sensors to industry devices–extend Windows across an enterprise’s infrastructure to the network edge, and the breadth of Microsoft’s data platform is harnessed, your business can capitalize on new intelligence and opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach.”**

Good marketing content mostly ignored because it’s in response to some other company’s statement. Cannon fodder for the media.

Hear some plain talk. For the vast majority of U.S. business owners, the question is this: “How do I weed my way through the technology industry’s media assault? I have these techy types standing in front of me speaking in tongues about how I need whatever-it-is-they-sell to survive. I hire techy types to do this for me but I don’t trust them because it costs me more every time something breaks or changes and I spend too much time wondering what it is I’m getting for my hard-earned money. Now, it’s the cloud! The Cloud? Seriously?”

Sound familiar?

The tech industry moves at lightning speed in a race with each other. Every year they come out with a boatload of “new and improved” products and fling them into the marketplace backed by tons of marketing dollars to entice the public. Tons of different devices with different agendas get hauled through the doors of your business expecting a seat at your data table. A million websites promote the latest thing claiming to ease perceived employee’s pain. This is the internet of tech things.

In response, large business imposes order with IT policies enforced by whatever department they choose, mostly the IT guys. How does the small business respond? They don’t – the internet of all tech things is imposed upon them. Most just shut out the noise and concentrate on doing the best they can with what they have and avoid change because it’s a crapshoot in time and money, forget the ROI. This is why 10-year-old virus-ridden machines are still in operation. They remain until they rust. The message is not getting through because it has to be hand carried to the business owner.

This is The-Internet-of-Business-Things.

 

**http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/internet-of-things.aspx