Internet of Things Momentum Is Starting to Build

[Commentary] Sometimes the signs of change are more obvious than others. When a spokesperson for the Linux Foundation calls to talk about an open-source contribution from Microsoft into the Qualcomm-driven AllSeen Alliance that’s about bridging older industrial automation standards into the sexy new world of the Internet of Things (IoT), you know something must be happening. And so it is. These interesting bedfellows announced the release of the AllJoyn Device System Bridge (DSB), a Microsoft-created open-source addition to AllJoyn that incorporates an overall framework for bridging specialized and/or proprietary protocols into AllJoyn, and specifically includes two example “bridges.” One is designed to communicate with older building automation systems using BACnet, and the other is for connecting to existing ZWave-based smart lighting and other home automation products. This work extends Microsoft’s previously announced intention to build AllJoyn support into Windows 10. As I’ve said in the past, it’s a lot easier to talk in theory about making everything connect to everything than it is to actually do it. Then again, there is the question of whether or not that ought to be the right goal. The truth is, to make IOT really start to happen, all we need is to get enough of the right things to talk to enough of the other right things (albeit, in a secure manner). So, I’m encouraged by efforts that -- in theory, at least -- look to make it possible to try and connect more devices together.

The optimist in me hopes that developments like AllJoyn DSB can help overcome not only the technical challenges of interconnecting the currently separated islands of IOT activity, but also some of the many political challenges from intra-industry battles that have kept IOT from moving forward at a faster pace. The realist in me thinks that’s probably too idealistic. Nevertheless, the creation of physical and “metaphysical” bridges across the IOT archipelago has got to be seen as movement in the right direction.

[Bob O'Donnell is Founder and Chief Analyst at Technalysis Research LLC]