Internet Of Things: Ready For Mainstream?

/**/ /**/

First it was cloud, then BYOD -- now, the biggest buzzword being thrown around the channel is the Internet of Things. Smart devices and cloud enablement are connecting homes, workspaces and offices, but just how entrenched is the trend in IT? Has the opportunity around Internet of Things come to fruition yet?

The jury is still out among solution providers. Some say it’s actually nothing new.

"I think the concepts of the Internet of Things have kind of been around for a while," said MightyOaks CEO Elder Matias. "It's just they're moving out of niche areas into the mainstream."

Others are personally intrigued, but their customers are less so. "I don't think it's made a lot of inroads with the customer base yet," said John Hill, president and CEO of Tech Sage.

"I don't think anyone's coming up and saying, 'Hey Brian, I'm really looking for this Internet of Things.' But if I think of it just to myself, you know if I think about my car, one of those FitBit tracking devices, you know, the stuff on my cellphone, all sorts of different components, it's really coming together,’ said Fusiontek Principal Brian Miller.

And yet, among those naysayers, there are solution providers who have already bought into the trend.

"I've got probably five or six random devices that are already connected to my home network," said Eric Rockwell, president and CIO of CentrexIT. "So I think it's already creeping into everyone's daily lives."

"If you're ignoring it now, you're going to be left behind," said Chris Timmons of ASysTech.

PUBLISHED SEPT. 10, 2014