The Internet of Things or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the IoT

January 27, 2017
 
Ashley Rondeau

The New York Times recently published a piece on the coming Internet of Things (IoT) revolution that read like books about the Mayan calendar 5 years ago. All doom and gloom, it compared the Moche culture’s fear of 800s technology to our “fear” of IoT, and even suggests that the failure of their technology contributed to the civilization’s collapse (as an ominous warning about today’s tech). It’s even titled “The Internet of Things is Coming for Us.”
That’s pretty amazing fear mongering right there.

Should we be worried about IoT?

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Any time technology leaps forward, there are doomsayers who think this spells the end for us all. Telephones, television, Wi-Fi, Y2K; heck, people thought the Large Hadron Collider would create a black hole and literally destroy the planet. Yet we’re still here, and still coming up with new gadgets that freak people out.
The IoT is no different. Yes, there are worries about security and privacy. There are concerns from the Federal Trade Commission and uncertainty as to what policies the Trump administration will implement and/or enforce when it comes to connected devices. But those same fears reared up many times in the past with internet passwords, logging on with Facebook across different sites, facial recognition software, cloud storage, and on and on. The result? Breaches and mistakes happen, but we find, fix, and move forward.
This isn’t an issue to gloss over either. The tech industry should always worry about security and customer privacy. It would be reckless to march ahead so hackers could take your social security info from a Wi-Fi dishwasher. Luckily, tech companies like Cisco and Symantec are tackling this head on and from what we’ve seen working with IoT vendors, security is something they’ve all considered from day one.

The benefits of IoT outweigh the risks.

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Are we better off today because of the smartphone? Well, we can tailspin into arguments of the collapse of human connection and such, but it’s clear that the mobile workforce has improved our businesses and the economy. The GSMA estimates the mobile economy contributed about $2.4 trillion to the international economy in 2013, which is about 3.6% of the world’s GDP, and estimated to grow to over 5% GDP by 2020. And all that despite numerous security breaches, iCloud hacks, privacy concerns, and even cancer scares. The risks were worth the reward.
The IoT will be similarly disruptive and beneficial, again, despite the risks. IoT is estimated to generate trillions of dollars by 2025 and grow to disrupt, transform, and benefit our daily lives. Optimistic views see boons in transportation, agriculture, and medicine. We’ve been bullish on IoT for years now, and have been active participants in developing apps that have changed the status quo of enterprise-level businesses. It’s exciting to see what’s on the horizon for IoT, even with the huge pressures of making sure we deliver safe and secure software.

Education on the IoT alleviates fear.

The IoT movement is going to happen no matter how many Luddites pen op-eds for the NYT. As we’ve written in the past, it’s time to get on board or be left behind. In our next blog post, we’ll dive deeper into what the IoT means to manufacturers who embrace it, the pitfalls to avoid, and the benefits to reap. Stay tuned.
Are you scared of the coming IoT revolution?
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When Will Apple Wow Us Again?

January 19, 2017
 
Ashley Rondeau

IPhone_and_iPhone_3G_(Yutaka_Tsutano)I didn’t really “get” the iPhone until I held it in my hand when a friend let me borrow his back in late 2007. The first thing I did was bring up the dialer and just that little action was amazing: I was tapping on a flat area of glass and the tiny computer in my hand was actually responding. Much like turning on my first Macintosh computer or rotating the iPod clickwheel, a piece of technology had blown my mind.
Unfortunately, that was ten years ago and my mind hasn’t been blown by tech since. It’s been a rough decade.
By now, I’ve tried the latest smartphones, tablets, VR, 3D, game consoles, internet connected washing machines; all the magical tech that we’re all surrounded by everyday. Some devices have been quite impressive, don’t get me wrong. Modern gaming graphics get a low whistle out of me. Google Glass was a fun time while it lasted. And I even clapped when I first saw a car park itself. But I haven’t thought “oh, the world is about to change” like I did when the iPhone came out.

Is Apple a Services Company Now?

This question seems silly to say, in theory. Apple just came out with a bunch of new, cool hardware including wireless earbuds, the iPad Pro, and updated their MacBooks and Watch(es?) with new features. Soon we’ll see a home speaker powered by Siri to compete with Amazon and Google, probably a Google Glass type of wearable done better, and perhaps the much rumored iCar that none of us normals will be able to afford. But even if each of these come to fruition, will they really “wow” anyone anymore? After all, all of these things already exist in one form or another.
At the end of the day, Apple hasn’t come out with anything new that has “wowed” me like the iPhone. Fundamentally, its made a bigger iPhone to watch movies on and a smaller iPhone to wear on a wrist.
The Wall Street Journal seems to think Apple’s next big thing is its software, not its hardware, and it has a point. The article cites Tim Cook who said Apple’s “services business has nearly doubled in the past four years, on track to be the size of a Fortune 100 company….” This includes services like Apple Pay and of course the App Store. And this is the prudent, smart direction to go. With smartphone sales tapering off as the world becomes saturated with iPhones, software is where the money’s at.
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It’s a smart decision, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

I miss the old Apple.

When Steve Jobs passed, many said Apple would suffer due to the absence of his innovative foresight. That hasn’t really happened. Apple’s stock is up by over 100 percent since Cook became CEO and though revenue has dipped recently, overall its annual revenue has doubled in the last five years. As a company, it’s doing fine.
But Apple wasn’t just another company under Jobs. Perhaps due to his magic or due to the tech climate being just right, it was at the forefront of consumer tech innovation and provided us with those “wow” moments that are missing today. Now, Apple is just another boring tech giant like Dell or Microsoft or even Palm, according to former Apple engineer Bob Burrough. He said that “at Apple in 2007, organizationally it was the wild west…because the organization wasn’t the priority, the projects were the priority.” Apparently, that’s not how Apple is today, and we, the consumers, are poorer for it.
Apple has mounds of cash on hand; more than enough to weather a flop or two. I miss the old Apple that was willing to put out a Newton or LISA that flopped but paved the way for the iPhone and Macintosh. Now when Apple flops with the public, it’s because they removed a headphone jack instead of because they took a big swing at a crazy idea and missed.

Be more like Nintendo, Apple.

Nintendo had a flop recently: the Wii U. But instead of playing it safe on its next try, Nintendo decided to swing big again with the just announced Nintendo Switch. Nintendo knows they can’t risk becoming boring when they’re up against two gaming giants like Sony and Microsoft. Also, Nintendo is flush with cash due to its previous successes and can take a risk or two. Well, all this applies to Apple fifty times over (Apple has over $230 billion cash on hand) and yet, nothing amazing. No risks. No big swings.
I know Apple will do just fine. Software is great business (we should know!) and Apple heading in that direction only means a better iOS and better app platforms to build on. But if Apple could try to blow our minds with some new hardware soon, perhaps something completely unexpected, that would be pretty alright with me. Here’s hoping.
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The New Year’s Resolution for your Business: Go Mobile in 2017

January 5, 2017
 
Ashley Rondeau

We all know what our individual new year’s resolutions are: more of the good (ie. exercise, family, gaming) and less of the bad (ie. junk food, family, gaming). But what about your business’s new year’s resolution? What’s that one big thing you’ve put off all of 2016 that you know will benefit your bottom line, but just haven’t put the time and effort into implementing? If you’re like many SMBs and enterprises out there playing catch-up, it’s going mobile.
We’ve written previously about what going mobile-first means and why it’s important for your business, but we continually see companies hem and haw with taking the plunge. It’s understandable: inertia is hard to overcome, and we’ve been used to dealing with a desktop PC customer base for a long time. But the speed of technology in business is accelorating and suddenly in 2017, we’re not even talking about “mobile-first” anymore; now the conversation is turning into “mobile-always” or “mobile-only.”

Mobile is dominating ad spend, consumer spend, and time spent.

A new report came out of Global Ad Trends saying that “China has become the world’s largest mobile ad platform,” and that it is the first market in the world where the majority of its ad dollars are spent on mobile. The US isn’t far behind and ad spend is clearly shifting to mobile from traditional platforms.
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As for how consumers shop, again it’s mobile. This holiday season, more people made purchases on mobile devices than ever before: 31.3% compared to under 30% the previous year. And mobile made up 54% of eCommerce traffic compared to 51% the year before. And according to SensorTower, in-app revenue was up by 52% year-over-year:
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So it’s no surprise that people are spending more time on mobile apps than ever before as well. One report shows that Americans spend 133 minutes a day consuming media on apps. All this is to say that we are spending the majority of our time, both leisure and business, on mobile. To succeed in any business in 2017, your company needs a mobile-first strategy to reach consumers where they are. In other words, business has passed the mobile tipping point: it’s a mobile-first world and it’s the only way forward.

SMBs: Your next customer is international, and on mobile.

Jim Squires is the Director of Market Operations at Instagram, a company that knows a thing or two about mobile business. A recent interview with Squires put the spotlight on SMBs looking for their next win. From the article:

Mobile marketing has opened new doors for small businesses to connect with customers across the world. On Facebook, for instance, more than one billion people are connected to at least one business in a foreign country.”

It’s never been easier for SMBs with limited resources to reach international shoppers. With a good mobile app, SMBs can invest relatively little to enter or expand into foreign markets for the simple reason that apps are basically universal. Laptops are not prevalent in many countries, but smartphones are, and no one really needs to be taught how to tap a button on a screen. And in this way, it’s never been easier to engage with a shopper halfway around the world.

Customers crave real-time engagement with brands — as do small businesses with their customers. SMBs will continue to make strides in 2017 to connect directly with their customers, be it through calls, texts, emails, online chats and even tools such as [Facebook] Messenger.”

Enterprises: Your apps need to be better, faster, stronger.

By now, especially for enterprise-level companies, you should realize that going mobile is table-stakes in 2017 and that investing in a mobile strategy will not only make you money, but cut costs as well. If your customers are international, it’s even more important. A great recent article by Harvard Business Review highlights why reaching a country like India requires this mindset, especially now that India is poised to have “one of the largest pools of 4G users in the world.”
But it’s becoming clear that the current crop of enterprise apps are barely treading water, and not firmly placing so-called “mobile-first” companies ahead of their competition. A recent survey by Adobe showed that while app adoption is increasing and 62% of those surveyed said it’s important to have their enterprise app strategy be ahead of their competitors, 66% of those surveyed believed they were just on-par with or behind their competitors.adobe-report_driving_competitive_advantage_enterprise_apps-pdf
This is due to a number of reasons including lack of investment into mobile, lack of expertise, and a general “good enough” attitude when creating an app. But in 2017, sitting still with outdated mobile software won’t cut it. The marketplace is getting savvy, especially the consumer, and unless enterprises continue to innovate and iterate on their mobile apps, they’ll find themselves struggling to keep up.

Resolve to make 2017 your year of going mobile.

Mobile isn’t slowing down; in fact, it’s speeding up. Soon there will be chat-bots and AI and VR and agile SaaS and cloud-based IoT solutions. Now is the time to pivot your business into a mobile-first mindset; to make a firm investment into a mobile strategy that will create more opportunities for your business. It’s not an unsurmountable problem; it just need to be a priority.
Want to learn how we can help your mobile business take off? Contact us today.
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