Another chapter in my Industry Analysis series
It has dawned on me recently that an entirely new Mega Multidimensional War of Titans is developing, entirely separate and distinct from the mobile smartphone Multidimensional Mega War of Titans. In many ways this new industry war may be more strategic, larger and more valuable than the smart phone war. The emerging new battleground is the Mega Global War of the Internet of Everything. The global players in this newly developing war are well known names in high technology: ARM, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Intel, and Qualcomm, not to mention a new class of players like The Zigbee Alliance, Honeywell and a host of others. A number of small Canadian companies are also in the thick of this.
Some history
The Internet of Everything has been around for over 20 years and gone absolutely nowhere for lack of “technology convergence” and effective industry “co-opetition.” Definitional confusion has abounded, with terms like “home automation” and “machine to machine” (M2M) communication. The technology convergence issue is now resolved but not the need for “co-opetition.” Despite this, it is estimated that there are already as many as two Billion “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices already out there, though many of them do not yet work. Think of these as “sensors,” each with a microchip of some description, and some form of data communication, not all Internet compatible. The problem with what is out there is what I call “the Tower of Babbling Things.” There is no global industry consensus on how these sensors should communicate, so each competitor has gone forward to establish their own vertical proprietary markets. Layer on top of that multiple data communication protocols that do not talk to each other. The international standard bodies like IEEE and ISO have bravely declared their intent to establish coherence from chaos, but without the major players, their efforts are doomed. The result is a massive market hairball. But the market value projections are so massive (see the Business Intelligence Infographic below) that the biggest global players appear finally to be moving.
The Mega Battlefield Begins to Take Shape.
While some major players have been engaged in the Internet of Everything space for some time, others are only beginning to mobilize their forces.. Intel has this week announced the formation of new Internet of Things division, following Intel’s recent announcement of of new family of “Quark” Internet of Things microprocessors.
This is clearly a very important new technology development for all us, and is very much worth following. It will have an impact and major implications for all consumers and businesses.
Read more: The Internet of Things: the promise and the hairball
Read more: Zigbee wants to be the Bluetooth of the Internet of Things
Read more: Will the Internet of Things turn into a Tower of Babbling Things?
The Internet of Everything Outstrips the Smartphone Revolution
The Internet of Everything
Reblogged from SemiWiki.com
The IoT value proposition is similar to mobile with low power and cost being the primary drivers. Business models and ecosystem are also going to be determining factors. Do you even know what silicon is inside your mobile devices? I do, but most people don’t. Do you even care? I do, but again, you don’t. Is IoT going to be any different? Absolutely not so say good bye to the old school benchmarks and transistor one-upmanship.
Also read: Intel Quark: Synthesizable Core but you can’t have it
The first questions during the IDF Q&A were about Quark and the Intel business model. By definition a synthesizable core can be licensed and customized by the customer. ARM takes this to a deeper level by licensing the architecture and instruction set so customers have complete control over implementation. So the first question to Intel CEO Brian K. was: Will Intel license the Quark cores? The answer was, “No”. Can Quark be manufactured outside of Intel? No. Can customers synthesize Quark? No. Can Intel be successful in the IoT market with their current Quark business model? No (my incredibly biased opinion). Fortunately business models can change faster than technology so Intel still has a chance with IoT and Quark but they had better hurry.
Thanks David for sharing a unique business scenario, as usual, your speciality. Your closing lines are a good and timely piece of precious advice for Intel. I hope that Intel management will be wise enough to pay you for that appropriately.