We have all heard visions and use-cases about the Internet of Things (IoT). Many of these take on the flavor of pots talking to kettles and capture our imagination on what IoT can do. The question of "why" we connect things in the first place becomes obvious when we think about the value of such connections to users and businesses -a value creation that requires connectingpeople, processes, data, and thingsfor the Internet of Everything (IoE). Unlocking the potential for such value means facing the reality of how we bring those four dimensions together -a complex effort that requires us to bind all types of enterprise business assets in unique ways. We'll take a quick look at how we go from the "Why IoE?" to the "How to IoE?"
While the promise of intelligent connections across these dimensions is easy to see, how we make those connections in a replicable and scalable fashion is far from easy. We are not just connecting machines to machines (M2M), people to people (P2P), or people to machines (P2M); not just enabling B2B or B2C. We need to enable all permutations of such connections for X2X connectivity. Unless we have core building blocks that enable this, an X2X world can become a spider-web of unmanageable connections that require reinventing and rearchitecting for every new type of intelligent connection.
Enabling X2X Connections
Let us take a look how we can bring these assets together; the technologies and services that are critical to enable this value creation; and how Cisco's suite of software & services for enabling IoE applications will help.
Delivering IoE Solutions requires us to have capabilities that power each of the above four quadrants as follows:
The capabilities needed for each of the above four dimensions can be implemented in the cloud, as well as, at the network edge using Cisco's Fog Computing architecture. For example, analytics can be performed at the edge to normalize and suppress the volume of data; application services can be embedded in the network and applications deployed as needed; experience capabilities can be placed closer to users for tailoring content, media, and remote expert assistance. All this allows the innovative enterprises to hyper-distribute their business operations for scale, efficiency, and mission-criticality, all leveraging the power of the network.
Many solutions exist to solve individual aspects of IoE in areas such as Big Data, M2M, things modeling & management etc. Cisco's comprehensive approach across these dimensions will enable us to unlock the potential for value from IoE.
Automation at Scale: Engage-Integrate-Analyze
We are well on our way to the next stage of the Internet -to enable automation at scale and transform the industrial landscape using technology. To enable that automation, capabilities for engagement, integration, and analytics need to be weaved together to create value.
The role that our business partners will play to complete IoE solutions is critical in realizing new business outcomes via IoE. Cisco IoE software and services suite will help accelerate the provision of such solutions by our partners.
Up Ahead: Business Systems Choreography
The last few decades saw us orchestrating resources in the infrastructure. We built composite applications by stitching disparate business applications together. IoE sets the stage for massive distributed system orchestration, like we have never done before. It will be challenging, just as it promises to be rewarding.
Pots may call kettles black, and vice versa, till they go blue and humans need not care. Industrial machines and systems can chatter with each other and make autonomous decisions. Such M2M communications will be controlled by automated means to filter the noise, register key events in business systems, and notify people only when there is a need to intervene. Choreographing the interactions between complex distributed systems and people is the place where Cisco IoE software and services suite becomes invaluable.
For more information about the IoE Software and Services that are available, visit: