VHS or Beta

I will preface by saying that I am far from being an Internet of Things (IoT) subject matter expert, but I like new and emerging technology. I was excited when IoT finally made it to the consumer side and the rise in implementation that occurred in the consumer side. I did a lot of reading before making an investment into an IoT ecosystem for my home–having to decide amongst Zigbee, Z-wave, and Wi-Fi.

I did not know terms like emerging tech, nor that the dominant design was still up for grabs. I remember being a small kid in the 80s when the market had Beta and VHS VCRs. My brother and I saved up the money we earned from helping my dad on the weekends–he was a small business owner. My mom and dad drove us to the electronics store and there we were. My brother and I looking at the wall full of VCRs. We were too young to know the difference between Beta and VHS, so we just selected one, and we bought and brought to first VCR into our home. We were lucky that we picked a VHS.

I found myself in the same situation, but now as an adult and doing research so that I would not end up with the “Beta” of IoT. I picked Z-wave–time will tell if I did well or not, but we’re all in.

As I invested in IoT at home, I was eagerly awaiting for implementation in the commercial side. I began to read more and more about it–joining groups and following SMEs on the topic awaiting the rise of IoT in the commercial side. It’s been years (I was living in DFW) at the time, and still not much progress. Everything I read name underscored three barriers:

• Bandwith and speed to link all data together and process it
• creating technology standards so that different devices work together
• the big one–security* (credit)

Once the reality of the pandemic hit, and enterprises were adapting to this new environment and how to manage the built environment, I thought for sure that this was the time for IoT to shine. I ran across and read many articles of the benefits IoT brings to the built environment vis a vis to health and safety.

Facility Executive put out a great article about the IoT/smart buildings and the post pandemic with great content. the article mentions occupancy monitoring. This is one of the benefits I was personally waiting for. When I was with ISS some of my colleagues were piloting sensors affixed to work stations that provide real-time data about whether a work station was occupied and/or vacant. I thought of the application in 2020 and beyond. The sensors can alert an enterprise if social distancing is not observed. I know it’s a bit big brother-ish, but at the moment I’m considering the case use.

Did IoT miss an opportunity?

The same article discusses real-time data about fresh air intact via the IoT enabled HVAC systems, but I do not want to digress from my point. The three barriers that existed 6 or 7 years ago still exist today. The speed of adaptation is faster on the consumer side, and while the commercial side makes small steps (I get it–we’ve heard the stories of toasters that’ve been hacked), I can imagine a future of truly smart, IoT enabled buildings and cities.

Is there something I am missing? Let me know.