As social interactions and workflows get more data-driven and smarter, digital devices increasingly communicate, new horizons are surfacing in this era of digital transformation. This is the new type of Internet that is engaging attention, called IoT, it is here to stay and will trend through 2016. Whether it is building new infrastructures or using new tools to manage the increasing data volumes, IoT is positioned to challenge and be at the center of disruptive IT trends. As this paradigm shift unfolds, unique trends are emerging and market equations are changing—this forms the core of our discussion as dig deeper into IoT 2016, the way it is positioned and how it might unfold.

Understand IoT in its Entirety

IoT is not a single entity—it is conceptual, palpable and achievable. It has a tendency to be dictated by devices, where managing, monitoring, and monetization are vital. IoT does not represent an isolated architect either, often supported by applications/services that make it immensely versatile. Next-gen, emerging mechanisms like Software-Defined Application Services is an example of applications being weaved into emerging IoT—it is infinite, with endless possibilities.

Internet of Things does not represent a single technology but a technical concept, a way of working that helps businesses assess businesses better, interpret real-time data, create learning tools and empower decision-makers with more clarity. From LTE to NFV, from SDN to VoLTE, these are a part of transformative trends in this digital transition.

Service providers are trying to chart out more solutions to ensure how they can manage more connected devices, greater data collaboration demands, create more automations, and create enterprise level solutions for BYOD challenges. As IoT data traffic rises, organizations need ready to deploy solutions to ensure they don't lose control over data or risk latency challenging their product-to-market workflow.

IoT is Trending, Transformative but NOT perfect…not yet!

IoT comes attached with its own sets of merits and demerits. At no time, industry experts can vouch for absolute security in this ecosystem. Privacy, security of devices, BYOD threats, authentication, governance and regulatory compliance will continue to put doubts. However, evolving IoT is focusing on resolving such critical issues. IoT might be progressive but it needs to evolve to justify its potential. Enhanced efficiencies need to be delivered, infrastructure requirements to become IoT effective need to be toned down to ensure that enterprises don’t lag in the ongoing digital transformation.

IoT is somewhat of a multi-layered concept that involves various stages of action. The cloud makes this easier. It is not obsessed with managing just increasing volumes of data. It also delivers capabilities to make sense of data, channelize and interpret it, prioritize data traffic and optimize any integrated, on-premise applications.

The cloud presents an easier way to stay updated, future-ready and profitable in this constantly evolving landscape. This should come without significant costs for ensuring network efficiency or interoperability and sans any compromises on security. Equally important, internal workloads and service levels delivered to subscribers should be optimized for better performance.

What Brings Together Cloud and IoT?

We would like to discuss the basics of IoT before taking the discussion ahead. For starters, IoT includes actuators, IT architects, automation systems, sensors, and devices. IoT is biased towards devices that consumer, engage with and share data. This includes different applications, from processing healthcare data, financial transactions, sharing sales presentations to analyzing collated business data. The cloud has proved to be a blessing for IoT ecosystems because when coalesced, it enables massive amounts of data to the shared, saved, and secured no matter what type of device the IoT environment brings with it. Machine-to-Machine (M2M) or inter-device interactions become easier when you have your data on the cloud. The cloud represents a single/cohesive solution for IoT requirements with minimal dependency on hardware.

Understanding the Cloud - IoT Connection

Expansion of data centers is an unstoppable industry trend. Service providers are finding it hard to cope with newly emerging applications and maintaining constant IoT application rollouts. Cloud comes to the rescue as it offers flexibility to the service providers to render IoT services with more control. Amalgamation of cloud with IoT resources requires connectivity between data center and cloud—commonly referred to as the Cloud Bridge.

Cloud is an IoT enabler—it offers less complexity in handling IoT ‘Data Blending’. It is expected that over 90% of IoT data in 2016 will be accommodated on service provider platforms

According to latest IDC reports, enterprise applications seem double in volume every four years. This scenario presents a significant cost deterrent, particularly if IoT devices pose risk related to access and identity. A versatile IT infrastructure can manage your requirements and eliminate your concerns and the cloud makes this possible. Whether you want to automate device-based interactions, use of smart grids, data collating processes or learning systems, public clouds make developing, testing and deploying application of IoT technologies easier.

Cloud Bridge provides a secure link for two networks to connect. Bridging eliminates the issues associated with network topology.

There are no perfect IT architectures to address all prospective and emerging IoT demands but the cloud provides the most scalable and affordable option. Among emerging IT trends is stimulation for adopting IPv6. Typical IT networking infrastructures require significant planning but the cloud eases the entire process, including creating protocols. Workload traffic management and data access monitoring are some of the other IoT requirements for which the cloud has the answers.

Emergence of SDAS-enabled software solutions are helping to create such enterprise-centric, more elastic IoT systems.

Cloud technology enables operational scalability, addresses on-demand application, and makes it easier to integrate with diverse software, hardware, and other components to upgrade the enterprise-grade ecosystem.

Predicting with Conviction: IoT Readiness will Trend in 2016

Cloud-enabled IoT applications can be opted in diverse sizes—depending upon specific business requirements. 3-tier design is the most popular version of this. It comprises Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) too, where each tier has dedicated server presence. This dynamic mechanism drives a synchronized association of cloud and IoT, empowering enterprises. Service providers can maneuver any glitch or technical default occurring with enhanced clarity and can continue to render their services—creating an affordable, seamless delivery model.

In the contemporary scenario, hybrid data centers are managing workloads that were once in the ambit of in-house.

The industry, workflow complexity & hierarchy, size of data to be managed—all of these play a significant role in determining how the cloud can make IoT systems more relevant. Cloud service providers are on their toes, trying to create a more versatile infrastructure that is IoT ready and IoT compatible.

Emerging cloud platforms are trying to simplify deployment and optimization of IoT delivery services. With these cloud virtues, institutions can ramp-up their IoT application service rates, driving faster deployment of new applications. Some solutions in this niche, like SDAS, seem to be creating a global appeal in this niche, helping enterprises scaling-up existing IoT applications when the need arises, regardless of the on-premise infrastructure’s restrictions.

With 2016 in the drive, a holistic mechanism that provides cloud users, application providers and network operators a dynamic framework to enhance productivity and security along with raising overall performance and reliability levels, should be at the epicenter of a quick-changing digital environment.