The Internet of Things is set to explore in the near future. But what is holding back this technological market at present?

1. IoT IN INDUSTRY
What’s Stopping The Industrial
IoT Explosion in 2018?
Challenge Advisory
CHALLENGE SOLUTIONSTRATEGY
CHALLENGE
ADVISORY
©Copyright Challenge Advisory 2018

2. IoT IN INDUSTRY
WHAT’S STOPPING
THE INDUSTRIAL IoT
EXPLOSION IN 2018?
What’s stopping the industrial IoT explosion in 2018?
Industry 4.0 and the resultant mechanisation of
many workplace practices is putting
unprecedented pressure on digital
infrastructure across virtually all market
sectors. Stakeholders are increasingly aware of
the benefits that technological solutions can
have to their business in terms of operational
efficiencies and effectiveness. However, at
present, the growth and advancement of
functioning technologies has not been matched
by the networks, software and systems needed
to appropriately manage and control them.
For industry, the Internet of Things (IoT) is the
answer. IoT networks and connected devices
are seen as the vehicle to enable the levels of
interoperability between businesses, people
and technology that are needed to compete in
an increasingly ‘techno-centric’ world. Market
predictions reflect this, with forecasts stating
that we will have 34% more connected ‘things’
being used in 2018 than recorded in 2017.
Longer-range forecasts predict that by 2020,
endpoint spending in relation to IoT will reach
around $3 trillion USD, with over 1 trillion IoT
devices being used within the next 20 years.
However, there are high-risk issues with the
current structure of IoT networks and
connected devices. In essence, this relates to
the centralised architecture that many current
systems rely on to translate communications,
share data, and record high-value performance
information from employed IoT devices.
CHALLENGE SOLUTIONSTRATEGY
CHALLENGE
ADVISORY
© Copyright Challenge Advisory 2018
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3. What’s stopping the industrial IoT explosion in 2018?
For a small and controlled group of devices, this
architectural format may appear to be a very
suitable solution to management issues. Users
will be able to access and control their
technology from one single point, enabling
quicker and easier adaptations to operational
practices. However, there are limitations to this
infrastructure in terms of scalability. As you
incorporate additional and more diversified
interconnected devices onto a system, the
hardware and computer power needed to
appropriately manage the system will also
increase. This may well lead to the running of
networks becoming fiscally unrealistic for
users, negatively shifting the cost-benefit of IoT
connectivity.
Following on from the increased number of
devices being used, it must also be noted that
many edge devices are resource-constrained.
By this, it is meant that they have limited
computational and storage capabilities, which
in turn then limits the security measures that
can be designed into them. For IoT networks,
limitations in these devices translate into weak
/ entry points in networks that are vulnerable to
access from unauthorised parties. Just think
back to 2016’s Dyn attacks which affected the
internet giants of Twitter, Reddit and PayPal
among many others: these were made possible
by infecting thousands of unsecured edge IoT
devices with malicious code to create a botnet.
At the centre of many conversations in relation
to design issues with current designs of
centralised architecture, is the fact that their
very nature exposes a single point of access to
all devices connected to a system, or as it is
known across industry, a ‘single-point-of-
failure’. Unfortunately, by so heavily relying
upon a ‘central’ point, when failures do occur at
this location, attackers are often able to access
huge amounts of private information with
relative ease. We only have to think back to the
very public 2017 Equifax breach to see the
impact that such failures in system security can
have.
The challenge moving forward, is discovering a
better and more secure way to manage IoT
devices, whilst also decentralising connected
technologies and information on a distributed
ledger, as commonly done on blockchains. IoT
users need to be able to rest easy with the
knowledge that not only is the digital
infrastructure they have in place scalable to
support increasing integration of
smart-devices, but that this growth is secure
with appropriate features and controls in place
to manage access points.
We are currently working with an exciting
organisation who have developed a direct
solution for the challenges listed above. If you
would like to find out more about them, and IoT
solution in general, please email
agilbert@challenge.org or get in touch with us
on our website: www.challenge.org
CHALLENGE SOLUTIONSTRATEGY
CHALLENGE
ADVISORY
© Copyright Challenge Advisory 2018
02
WE WILL HAVE 34% MORE
CONNECTED ‘THINGS’ BEING USED
IN 2018 THAN RECORDED IN 2017
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To follow this piece, we will be releasing more information on a range of providers in this space
who are truly disrupting the market with their solution. Stay tuned for this release soon...