According to the Big Bang (News - Alert) model, cosmologists tell us that the universe began as a very small and incredibly powerful point of energy called a singularity. They also tell us that more happened in the first second of the universe than the following 13.7 billion years.
Perhaps not as dramatic as the first second of the universe, being at the beginning of something normally gives the early players an advantage. The Industrial Revolution (News - Alert) of the 19th Century changed the world, and the early adopter countries are now usually referred to as the industrialized nations. A country in this category is typically considered innovative and affluent while the others are commonly regarded as deprived and backward.
The 20th Century introduced us to the Digital Revolution (aka Information Revolution) resulting in dramatic business and societal changes. As the 21st Century opened, the IoT provided us with “the infrastructure of the information society." (This is the Internet of Things Global Standards Initiative definition.)
Personally, I think of the IoT as the Instant Everything Revolution because it allows smart objects (e.g. homes, phones, cities, etc.) to interoperate with the internet and the world of computers in real time. Just think of all of the advertisements demonstrating how people in automobiles can turn on their house lights, control the HVAC settings, or arm/disarm a security system.
The IoT Evolution Revolution is already upon us, so the first time slot is not available. However, the recent IoT Evolution Expo in Fort Lauderdale demonstrated both the growth and excitement of the IoT market, plus the fact that it is far from mature. Time still remains for vendors and resellers to jump on board the IoT train. Think of the VoIP industry, which was in its infancy at the turn of the 21st Century. Yet, as this magazine clearly demonstrates in every issue, new innovations and products are constantly being introduced. Also analogous to the early VoIP market, the general public does not yet have the technical knowledge to fully understand the interoperability of all the IoT devices and services, yet they acknowledge a need for them. This presents resellers and vendors with the perfect platform to provide educational services to prospective customers plus introduce their catalog of IoT devices and services.
Max Schroeder (News - Alert) is vice president emeritus of FaxCore Inc. (www.faxcore.com) and co-chair of the SIP Forum Fax-over-IP Task Group (www.sipforum.org).