The Internet of Things industry needs to set some standards, writes Todd Greene in an article for VentureBeat. Greene highlights the development of a standardized software stack as the main hurdle to overcome.
Greene begins by highlighting the market excitement over the burgeoning IoT, with a number of high-profile institutions jumping into the game. The problem is that most of the major players are developing their IoT products custom, from top to bottom, and they’re also putting them online in a range of communication networks with variable connectivity and security capabilities. Down the line, that can lead to major issues including security holes, a reduced ability to remotely monitor device failure, and a lack of interoperability, not to mention the potential for serious privacy violations. While security experts may agree on certain kinds of security for the IoT, any security apparatus will be much easier to implement if it can be done across a standardized stack of software and component architecture.
Fortunately, as Greene points out, corporate eagerness to get ahead in the IoT field is also helping to establish some standards as specialized areas within the IoT take shape – in the smart home, for instance, or the smart car. Companies are working on similar products in these areas and don’t want to waste time building everything from scratch. A growing chain of hardware is also helping, he says, and so is a desire for strong customer support for IoT products.
Finally, there are major vertical industry standards starting to emerge, as in the case of the AllSeen Alliance. A similar group in the world of biometrics, the FIDO Alliance, has made strides in resolving a lot of these same issues in that particular industry; and in the IoT such conglomerates have the potential to do a world of good, too.
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