The Internet of Things
(IoT)—the practice of capturing, analysing, and acting on data generated by
networked objects and machines—is among the hottest technology topics in
Kenyan
businesses today. While a growing number of companies are creating business
value with IoT applications, the technology is still in its early days. Two
trends will dramatically expand IoT possibilities in the enterprise,
multiplying practical applications while potentially lowering costs (a prayer
of every Kenyan with vision 2030 mind set):
1. The emergence of
new wireless communications networks designed specifically for IoT
applications, which can lower the cost and extend the reach of connected
applications all over our 47 counties.
2. The arrival of
“edge computing” IT infrastructure, which facilitates analysing and acting on
IoT sensor data close to the source, making applications more responsive to
rapidly changing local conditions while avoiding communications bottlenecks.
By lowering IoT
solutions’ costs, extending their reach, and increasing their responsiveness,
these two trends have the potential to significantly expand the kinds of
solutions that will be viable for businesses to deploy. While these trends are
important, they are not revolutionary. Rather, they can be seen as part of the
continuing technological evolution that is bringing the Internet of Things ever
closer to ubiquity.
The IoT is already a
large and growing market
The global IoT market
is poised to grow briskly, from about 4.9 billion connected devices in 2015 to
a projected 21 billion by 2020. IoT technology is projected to support 235 trillion
Ksh in services spending in 2017-2019, a majority of that on professional
services to design, install, and operate IoT systems.
Methods of connecting
IoT devices can be classified as short-range or long-range. Short-range
technologies such as Bluetooth, Zigbee(not so widely known amongst Kenyan living
outside major cities), and Wi-Fi are the dominant choices for IoT connectivity
today but are not well suited for every application due to their power
requirements and their need for a local hub to connect to, which can be costly
or difficult—in consumer applications—for end users to configure. Many other
applications require long-range connectivity. Cellular currently dominates the
wireless long-range market.
DEDICATED LOW-POWER
IOT NETWORKS GAIN STEAM
A new kind of network,
designed specifically to support IoT applications, is spreading across the
globe. These networks are known by the generic term low-power wide-area
networks (LPWA) and tend to have the following characteristics:
Low power consumption
by endpoints with extended battery life—often more than 10 years
Wide area connectivity
and higher penetration in dense areas like North Eastern areas
Low-cost chipsets and
lower cost of network build compared to cellular technology
Lower connectivity
costs
Lower throughput
capacity compared to cellular networks
These characteristics
are well suited for a range of applications in numerous sectors such as
agriculture, construction, consumer electronics, health care, environmental,
manufacturing, oil and gas, retail and vending, safety and security, smart
cities, and utilities.
We can anticipate a
growing number of enterprises to invest in such applications once appropriate
networks are in place. These networks could be hugely important for the further
development of IoT technology: Kariuki Samwel is forecasting that LPWA network
connections will number more than 3 billion devices by 2023, exceeding cellular
machine-to-machine connections, becoming the dominant wide-area IoT
connectivity technology, and generating connectivity revenues in excess of 100
billion Ksh. We are already seeing clear signs of the build out of these
networks: More than a dozen companies, backed by significant investment, are
building them, employing diverse technologies. Safaricom is one company that is
on the fore front on implementing such technology.
Growing adoption of
dedicated IoT network-based applications
As dedicated IoT
networks spread, they are likely to encourage the adoption of IoT applications
where high connectivity costs and higher power consumption of cellular end
devices or other limitations of cellular have thus far deterred deployments. A
clear example is the areas of Turkana and far end in Mandera. Early signs of
this include new product introductions and planned deployments in a number of
areas like for example the digital kplc token unit and the 4G infrastructure
laid by safaricom. Indeed, as Kenyans we expect the build out of LPWA to be an
important driver of the growth of IoT technology.
These technology
trends will make a broader range of IoT applications both feasible and
valuable. Leaders who have considered and then shelved plans for an IoT project
may want to revisit the business case: Improved economics and improved
performance may tip the balance in favour of proceeding. Others who have not
seriously evaluated the IoT’s potential for their business may find this is a
good time to explore.(Free advice for my country fellow men).
These trends have
implications for IT leaders as well. In recent years, many enterprises have
focused on creating centralized cloud-based data processing and analytics
systems. Edge analytics is a fundamentally different approach: In operations
where the volume of data generated is high, and speed and responsiveness to
local conditions is critical, localized analytics may deliver significant
business benefits. A balanced approach, taking advantage of edge analytics and
cloud analytics where each is appropriate, is essential.
Taken together,
low-cost, low-power IoT networks and edge analytics solutions have the
potential to improve the performance and economics of IoT solutions and are
likely to hasten enterprises’ adoption of applications. Business and technology
leaders may want to review their plans for IoT initiatives with these important
trends in mind.
Prepared
by: Samwel Kariuki
Date: 22nd August 2016
