The Internet of Things and M2M - massive opportunities for developers

During January we are blogging, writing, demoing and webinaring about Devices and Gadgets and the need for developers to help make it all work. On Wednesday, January 22 during 3 webinars, Jim McKeeth, David I and guests will be presenting "Programming Devices and Gadgets with RAD Studio" at 6am, 11am and 5pm Pacific Time. While some of the devices and gadgets we will be using support alternate user interfaces (Google Glass, Leap Motion 3D input and Emotiv EPOC brain computer interface), others are designed to collaborate with each other on the Internet and with each other (NEST Thermostat and Z-Wave Home Automation). These devices and gadgets are part of what is called "The Internet of Things" and M2M (Machine to Machine) computing. How many devices will be connected in 2020? A recent Gartner report (November 18, 2013) says there will be more than 25 billion connected devices and "IoT product and service suppliers will generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion, mostly in services, in 2020. It will result in $1.9 trillion in global economic value-add through sales into diverse end markets." Last July, Cisco (in a blog post) predicted there will be more than 50 billion things will be connected to the Internet - "Right now, in 2013, 80 “things” per second are connecting to the internet. Next year that number will reach almost 100 per second, and by 2020, more than 250 things will connect each second."

As part of the preparation for our January webinars and activities I have been reading a lot of news, documentation and information. It is great to see that developers are at the center of the explosive growth in the "Industry of Things" and to think about the exciting opportunities you have to create next generation apps to take advantage of this M2M revolution.

Internet of Things and M2M articles and resources


Here are just a few of the many articles and reports that I've been reading.

• The Internet of Things: Dr. John Barrett at TEDxCIT - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaTIt1C5R-M


• Forecast: The Internet of Things, Worldwide - Gartner - https://www.gartner.com/doc/2625419


• Internet of Things Market Forecast - Postscapes - http://postscapes.com/internet-of-things-market-size


• The Internet of Things Consortium - http://iofthings.org/#home


• M2M and the Internet of Things: A guide - http://www.zdnet.com/m2m-and-the-internet-of-things-7000008219/


• 5 cool things you didn't know M2M could do - http://www.zdnet.com/5-cool-things-you-didnt-know-m2m-could-do-7000009274/


• Here's Why 'The Internet Of Things' Will Be Huge, And Drive Tremendous Value For People And Businesses - http://www.businessinsider.com/growth-in-the-internet-of-things-2013-10


• Intel's Intelligent Systems Overview - http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/embedded/intelligent-systems-overview.html


• The business benefits of machine to machine - http://www.zdnet.com/the-business-benefits-of-machine-to-machine-7000008924/


• From the house to the island: How M2M can cut electricity use - http://www.zdnet.com/from-the-house-to-the-island-how-m2m-can-cut-electricity-use-7000008027/


• Collaborating for the Internet of Things - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJfJj_jdk3o


• Internet of Things Handbook - Postscapes - http://postscapes.com/internet-of-things-handbook


• Welcome to the Programmable World - Wired - http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/internet-of-things/all/


• The Internet of Things - Mashable - http://mashable.com/category/internet-of-things/


• Behind the 'Internet of Things' Is Android and It's Everywhere - http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-29/behind-the-internet-of-things-is-android-and-its-everywhere


• Google to Acquire Nest - https://investor.google.com/releases/2014/0113.html


• Nest, Google and you - https://nest.com/blog/2014/01/13/nest-google-and-you/


• The battle for the home: Why Nest is really Google’s new smart home division - http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/01/the-battle-for-the-home-why-nest-is-really-googles-new-smart-home-division/


• Cisco - The Internet of Things (Everything) - http://share.cisco.com/internet-of-things.html

How many devices and gadgets do you own that are connected to the "Internet of Things"? Post your comments at the end of this blog.