Telecommunication and IoT Communities Partner to Push Smart Buildings

Telecommunication and IoT Communities Partner to Push Smart Buildings

n the move towards smart cities, the setting of standards for how sensors communicate with one another is vital to accessing IoT’s true potential. (Image courtesy of JCT 600 under CC0)

In moving from theory to real-world applications, developers and manufacturers of Internet of Things (IoT) devices are discovering clever ways to insert their knowledge into cities, homes and offices. Be it prototyping through digital twins, improving maps with mobile eyes, or reducing traffic deaths, new partnerships aim to saturate cities with IoT with the proposed goal of bettering consumers’ lives every day.Despite the competitive markets in which they find themselves, industry leaders have discovered that collaboration often benefits everyone—for example,by defining standards.

Last week, another budding relationship between two industry powerhouses was born out of the signing of a memorandum of understanding.The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the Internet of Things Community (IoT Community) plan to “accelerate the digital transformations of the Internet of Things,” by this new agreement.

The TIA is the leading association representing the global community of manufacturers and suppliers of communications networks. While the IoT Community is the world's first to market and the largest CXOs (CEOs, CFOs, etc.) community of senior business leaders and IoT practitioners. To speed up IoT-powered transformations, the two organizations aim to further development and progress toward smart buildings via an exchange of expertise.

“The IoT and IIoT 'edge' and the associated opportunities and challenges are top of mind with today's corporations and end users,” said Nancy Shemwell—chief operating officer of the IoT Community.“Ensuring a smooth and secure implementation of these mass evolving technologies is key.”

Smart Buildings

According to research from IoT Analytics, there will be roughly a total of 19.4 billion connected devices in the world during 2019, with 43 percent of them classified as IoT. By 2025, the former is expected to grow to 34.2 billion connected devices, 63 percent being IoT-enabled. This 2.6X increase in IoT devices over six years eases the path for IoT and IIoT to challenge today’s standards in asset tracking, fleet management, intelligent remote monitoring, quality assurance, marketing, retail and healthcare.

While the number of unconnected devices is expected to stay relatively the same over the next six years, analysts are expecting an increase in IoT-connected devices by a factor of 2.6 over the same period of time. (Image courtesy of IoT Analytics Research)

Mechanical or electrical equipment being controlled by digital frameworks has existed for decades. Climate control, quality assurance, and security are just some of many examples. However, it is often the case that these systems are closed, unable to communicate with one another—prime cases that are ready for IoT revolution.

Smart buildings move beyond the separation of systems in a building by connecting as many of the digital frameworks to the IoT as is possible. Through their leveraging of new breakthroughs in sensors and telecommunications technologies, smart buildings allow any connected equipment to speak to one another and exchange their harvested data. In real time,those data may be analyzed and decided upon through the implementation of central and edge processing.

"Harnessing the power of the IoT is essential for the successful development of smart buildings and eventually smart cities," said Harry Smeenk, TIA's Senior Vice President of Technology Programs.

Connecting Internet of Things’ Developers like IoT Connects Devices

Sharing harvested data among competitors promotes the discovery of solutions quicker than any one company can find those solutions themselves. It seems that the necessity of teamwork—like that of IoT itself—assumes the potential in harnessing the power of IoT cannot be had without connecting previously disconnected systems together. However, instead of connecting devices to one another, progress necessitates connection between industry leaders like we’ve never seen before.

Luckily, 2019’s first month has welcomed budding relationships between the industry’s best of the best. Siemens with Konecranes, Mobileye with Ordnance Survey, and VectorZero with Metamoto, to name a few. These critical collaborations free industry leaders to seek new solutions and move beyond today’s roadblocks—such as consumer hesitancy, technological ceilings, or government legislation.

The purpose of this memorandum of understanding between TIA and the IoT Community doesn’t stray from this philosophy on collaboration. According to Smeenk, "TIA looks forward to working with the IoT Community to enhance the development of the Internet of Things and enable the digital transformation of smart cities and smart buildings.”

Shemwell, too, is excited about their companies’ futures together. “Capitalizing on the capabilities of both organizations and their unique areas of thought leadership is of tremendous value to the overall industry.”