December 29, 2014
Volume XLX, Issue 11
Michael Elliott Is On-Camera Host of DCIA's IoT Marathon
 Michael Elliott will serve as the principal on-camera host of the DCIA's Internet of Things (IoT) Marathon webcast being produced during the upcoming 2015 International CES.
Michael is an accomplished industry communications and business development executive with over 20 years of enterprise technology experience.
He most recently served as Dell's Cloud Evangelist, working as a thought leader in formulating cross-business cloud marketing strategies, and representing Dell's cloud portfolio and vision at client meetings, media briefings, and industry conferences. Specializing in cloud infrastructure, virtualization, and high performance computing, Michael traveled extensively consulting with clients on their data center designs and speaking at industry events.
In his capacity as Cloud Evangelist for the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA), Michael continues to consult with companies globally on their marketing strategies with a focus on cloud solutions deployment and sales growth.
In addition to being an accomplished presenter, Michael is also a writer and authors a blog.
He started his career as a mainframe programmer for General Electric and held the role of Professor of Marketing at the University of Akron. Michael has a mathematics degree from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from Pennsylvania State University.
View his full profile here.
Last Call to Participate in DCIA's IoT Marathon
 The Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA) welcomes DCINFO readers to join in the production of the upcoming "DCIA's Internet of Things (IoT) Marathon" webcast from January 6th through 9th during the 2015 International CES.
Detailed information about HD-video segment recording for DCIA's IoT Marathon will be available at the DCIA Exhibit Booth in the South Hall of the Convention Center.
DCIA's major four-day webcast will showcase industry-leading developments in smart objects for fitness and healthcare; programmable homes and energy management; media entertainment and social networking solutions; geolocation services and vehicular automation; retail, public space and manufacturing environments; and power consumption, cybersecurity, and interoperability.
CES delegates involved with connected consumer devices, wearables, machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, radio-frequency identification devices (RFID), remote monitoring and maintenance solutions, micro-sensors, trusted computing, smart environment architectures, and related examples of the emerging IoT phenomenon are encouraged to participate. Industry analysts and observers are also invited to provide their perspectives and insights.
If you'd like to contribute a segment or participate in another way, please contact DCIA CEO Marty Lafferty at your earliest convenience.
2015 CES Show in Las Vegas to Focus on IoT
Excerpted from National Monitor Report by Eric Sheffield
 The upcoming 2015 CES is abuzz with technology's newest promise: the Internet of Things (IoT), or the ever increasing web of connected devices that will see smartphone apps allow users to control just about anything.
A recent commercial begins with silver-haired actor John Slattery from TV's "Mad Men" addressing the viewer. He intimates that he will make them privy to a secret. "The future," he goes on to reveal, "is in voice control." Indeed it is.
The advertisement is specifically for Honeywell's Smart Thermostat with Voice Control, but like any truly effective ad campaign, it is selling something much more significant. An effective advertisement offers what Honeywell is with its commercial: exclusivity, a first-class seat on a journey into the future, and a head-start on the race into a paradise.
According to the psychology of ad campaigns, this paradise is populated only by those with enough dollars and enough sense to have been given the key. The product offers that key so the viewer can, in essence, consume his/her way into paradise. The paradise Honeywell is proposing promises consumers the power to speak into existence any and everything they could ever want or need.
It may sound like science fiction or perhaps something out of a far-fetched Hollywood film. Yet the central theme of that Honeywell commercial is a stunningly accurate first look at technology's next big step in convenience, accessibility, and connectivity.
And to find out more about technology's next big step, it is no secret the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the place to look. Read more...
Report from CEO Marty Lafferty
 At this holiday season, the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA) pauses to express our heartfelt thanks to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for initiating a process to expand the Internet video marketplace — and perhaps the overall distribution of television programming — in a way that will benefit consumers and create new opportunities for industry participants.
We applaud the Commission's adoption last week of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Promoting Innovation and Competition in the Provision of Multichannel Video Programming Distribution Services (MB Docket No. 14-261).
We salute Chairman Wheeler for his exemplary, courageous, and forward-thinking leadership; along with Commissioners Clyburn, Rosenworcel, Pai, and O'Rielly,
With this update of its rules, the FCC will enable Internet video programming distributors (IVPDs) and over-the-top (OTT) Internet protocol television (IPTV) companies to compete with established cable and satellite multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and offer consumers new viewing options.
This move will unshackle television programming from old transmission technologies.
Linear streams of television broadcast station signals and cable television programming services will be made available for licensing and marketing by IVPDs and OTT IPTV services.
It echoes steps that Congress took in 1992 by enabling satellite TV operators to access the highly popular video content owned by cable programmers and broadcasters, which allowed direct broadcast satellite (DBS) distribution to grow and flourish.
Additional benefits of the Commission's action will be to increase the demand for broadband Internet access and to make it easier for broadband network operators to offer linear television programming through third-party distributors rather than entering the video distribution business themselves.
The NPRM process, however, does not immediately guarantee these outcomes: a comment period will begin shortly during which opposing views may be presented.
We strongly urge DCIA Member companies, DCINFO readers, and other interested parties to voice their support for the rule-making as proposed.
History has shown that the adoption of advanced technologies has ultimately benefited all participants in the distribution chain as well as the public, with new business models, promising innovations, enhanced service offerings, and fresh marketing approaches.
As we've previously expressed, care will still need to be taken to ensure that new entrants are allowed to compete on a level playing field with owned-and-operated IPTV offerings of current MVPDs
But we believe the improvements in efficiency of signal delivery and increased reach to a greater array of reception devices — including smarter and more mobile products — can be accomplished in ways that will benefit the public, protect local broadcasters, and increase the viability of narrowcast offerings that are currently deprived of major distribution.
The FCC's action is a great way to start the New Year and we hope augurs well for its related but exponentially more challenging task of preserving an open Internet. Share wisely, and take care.
FCC Will Adopt Net Neutrality Rules in Early 2015
Excerpted from PCWorld Report by Grant Gross
 The US Federal Communications Commission will adopt Net Neutrality rules in early 2015, maybe as soon as February, several observers believe, but few people want to predict what those rules will look like.
The FCC is under pressure from President Barack Obama and a majority of the nearly 4 million people who have submitted comments to the agency to adopt strong rules prohibiting broadband providers from paid priority traffic arrangements.
It appears that the FCC will move forward with Net Neutrality rules in the first quarter of 2015, just over a year after an appeals court struck down a large portion of Net Neutrality rules the FCC passed in late 2010, said Chris Lewis, Vice President of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge, a digital rights group in favor of strong rules.
"We don't want it to be 18 months or two years," given the interest of some broadband providers in paid traffic priority arrangements, he said. "We shouldn't be going any longer without Net Neutrality rules."
There's no consensus about the direction the FCC should take, however. Congressional Republicans, large broadband providers, and a significant number of people filing comments with the agency have urged commissioners to back away from reclassifying broadband as a regulated public utility, as President Obama and other strong Net Neutrality advocates have requested. Read more...
The IoT Must Be Built on a Foundation of Trust
Excerpted from Ad Age Report by Chris Pedigo
 Earlier this month, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released its "10 Policy Principles for Unlocking the Potential of the Internet of Things (IoT)." The report touts the enormous potential for a connected world.
Unfortunately, it misses the vital point that industry needs to do more to build transparency and choice around data collection. Rather than call for privacy and data control standards, the principles propose things like minimizing regulatory costs of data collection and making it easier to share and reuse data.
Realizing all of the amazing potential benefits from new technology won't happen without consumer trust.
Policymakers and regulators have concerns about the IoT because consumers have legitimate concerns about whether their data will be collected and used in unexpected ways. This caution is well-founded given near-weekly news about all types of data breaches, detailed profiling of consumers by data brokers, and government surveillance.
Consumer trust is at an all-time low as evidenced by the popularity of Ad Block Plus (a blunt tool that blocks ads from being served) and the fact that an ever-increasing number of consumers are activating Do Not Track signals even though there is no industry standard yet. Drowning out policymaker and consumer concerns by issuing proclamations to "leave the Internet of Things alone" isn't particularly helpful. Read more...
2014 and the Expanding Internet of Things
Excerpted from ICS Report by Dorothy Shamonsky
 During 2014, the user experience (UX) group at ICS worked on our usual fare of mobile and desktop apps, but we also saw a large expansion of embedded device projects that fall into three categories: kiosk information systems, in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVI), and robotics control systems. Each area presents unique and complex challenges for a UX designer.
However, we noticed some common requests among all three of those areas: the preference for touchscreens and the desire to be connected to the Internet. This implies that the UX challenges tend to fall into two categories: the tangible, immediate issues related to a particular touch context and the more general issues of rich connectivity across multiple devices.
Designing for touch in the varied environments of embedded systems is a more understandable problem than the prospect of varied connectivity in that it at least has a visible and physical aspect to it. Touch interaction is in a realm that we as designers can experience ourselves just by using systems. The range of possible use scenarios is reasonably definable by actually testing with prototypes.
With kiosk design, issues specific to touch include the size of the screen (mostly large touchscreens) posture of the user (mostly standing) and visibility of the interaction (mostly public). Read more...
The IoT Brings Opportunities and Disruption
Excerpted from Digital Journal Report by Simon Crompton
 According to Business Insider, the IoT is being driven by changes in the manufacturing industry, but expansion in manufacturing is already leading to expansion in other areas such as transportation and warehousing.
Trying to get a handle on the changes that IoT will make to industry over the next few years is difficult. As the technology is advanced by companies like Kontron, which allows industry to connect a variety of machines that perform complementary tasks, those advances create changes in the way that machinery interacts with other machinery. In many ways, IoT is evolving as it is created.
Adoption of IoT solutions will require an estimated $140 billion over the next five years. Much of the money will be spent by manufacturing firms as the industry modernizes factories by expanding the number of connected machines. Currently, 18 percent of companies in the manufacturing industry are using IoT devices. According to a SAS study, almost one-fifth of manufacturing companies are using IoT connected machines to reduce costs while increasing production.
Two other major industries are also currently using IoT technology to expand automation: transportation and warehousing, better known as the logistics industry, and are expected to invest over $110 billion by 2019.
The third industry to take advantage of the IoT will be the information sector. This includes tech and telecommunications companies that will need to expand data analysis and storage capabilities to keep up with new demands of the market. Read more...
How to Size Up the Internet of Things Market Opportunity
Excerpted from Fierce Wireless Report by Phil Goldstein
 Forecasting the market for the Internet of Things (IoT) is particularly vexing because there are so many "things" and moving parts.
The area involves chipmakers, device manufacturers, software developers, and so many more players.
Everything from the cars to thermostats are getting connected, not to mention objects that are yet to be invented. However you look at it, the numbers are impressive.
Gartner, which excludes PCs, smartphones, and tablets from its IoT numbers, predicts the IoT sector will include 26 billion units installed by 2020, representing a 30-fold increase from 2009.
Cisco and others peg the number of connected devices at more than 50 billion by 2020.
Although relatively small in revenue for wireless operators, connected devices and machines that talk to one another and the network represent a large and high-margin business, analysts at Raymond James have noted.
IoT applications typically use very little data, and traffic is not as time sensitive as voice, resulting in a margin-rich service opportunity that in effect can make use of excess network capacity and provide a recurring revenue stream for operators.
For more on how to assess the IoT market, check out this special report.
Samsung Aims to Secure Top Spot in IoT Development
Excerpted from Yibada Report by Shalina dela Paz
 Samsung believes that the Internet of Things (IoT) represents a huge new wave of consumer technology and is planning to secure the top spot in the marketplace.
Boo-Keon Yoon, Samsung's President and CEO, revealed in an interview that the IoT is likely to change our lives dramatically in the near future.
IoT is the idea of connecting gadgets and appliances to the web. Applications using this notion include the ability to control home appliances such as the smart fridge, where people will be able to know which food items are about to expire. Also, the ability to control your home security system and home lighting through the use of smartphones. It will also be helpful to use with cars to alert their owners to avoid accidents or notify them when service is required.
Smart meters are IoT applications that were already rolled-out to several homes across the West. While the meters may have been put to use to lessen power consumption; they are also thought to have caused privacy issues.
IoT tracks whether people are in their homes, and alerts each utility when people are home. But it is feared that smart meters can easily be hacked - as security is not yet being implemented to the proper standards of the IoT devices.
Nevertheless, Samsung's Yoon believes that ultimately the "emergence of the IoT era" will change every aspect of our lives to reduce the time, money, and daily resources that we normally use. Read more...
There's Somethin' about the Internet of Things
Excerpted from the Hindu Businessline Report by Nimish Vohra
 From smart metering to stock-out prevention in retail, IoT promises managerial Utopia.
Picture such a managerial Utopia — your professional and personal lives are managed for you by invisible assistants who do all the humdrum tasks, while you chuckle away with the credit. Imagine an office where the fax machine sends a prompt to your smartphone when a fax comes in for you; or the coffee maker checks with you at a scheduled time and keeps the coffee ready for you on the go.
And when you get home, the garage door opens up automatically as you reach the driveway, the temperature controller at home adjusts to the temperature you like, and the television turns on your favorite program as you sit on the couch.
Farfetched?
Well, not really. The once fantastical space of sci-fi synchronicity, of technological servitude at the snap (or click) of a person's fingers, has actualized in the Internet of Things (IoT).
From a purely technological standpoint, IoT is the technology that amasses and manages massive streams of data from sprawling networks of sensors and devices, processes it, and then shares it with other connecting things — which all sounds really complex, and it is.
But viewed from a conceptual and a functional lens, IoT is brilliantly simple — it's about getting you what you need done, when you need it done, in the way you like it done. And we may be talking everything, here! Read more...
UK Govt Report Warns Not to Trivialize IoT
Excerpted from Kroll Ontrack Report
 As the fervor surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT) grows, there's a danger that organizations will fail to take its security and privacy ramifications seriously enough.
This is according to the UK government's chief scientific advisor, Sir Mark Walport, who penned a recent report that warned the public and private sectors against "trivializing the importance" of the trend.
"The Internet of Things has the potential to have a greater impact on society than the first digital revolution," he said.
As previously reported, Walport's review is comprehensive and authoritative.
It provides welcome recommendations on how the UK can seize an opportunity worth trillions of pounds.
Its focus is on how practical applications of IoT can deliver benefits to key areas such as energy, healthcare, agriculture, transport, and buildings.
Published on December 18th, the report also recommends that the government work with industry and academia to support the development of IoT standards that are open, interoperable, and secure.
This will require ensuring that the enormous amount of information created by connected devices is handled in a compliant way, which might involve measures such as encryption and secure data erasure. Read more...
Our Favorite Internet of Things Stocks For 2015
Excerpted from The Motley Fool Report
 Regardless of which estimate you choose to believe, by virtually every barometer, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is expected to explode in the next several years. By 2019, should the pundits prove correct, IoT-related devices will sell more than double the number of smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart cars, and wearable units, combined. According to three of our Motley Fool contributors, Google, Intel, and Cisco Systems are all positioned to profit from IoT growth in 2015.
Bob Ciura (Intel): "The Internet of Things is indeed a very compelling growth catalyst in technology. Mobile, home, and embedded devices could all be connected to the Internet to integrate computing abilities. This would enable all these connected devices to share data over the cloud. My favorite IoT play is semiconductor giant Intel. I like the company because of its unique ability to provide the best connectivity between devices and the cloud.
Intel presented at a recent analyst summit in London and said there are 50 billion potentially connectible devices being added every day.
At the same time, right now 85% of currently deployed systems are not connected and do not share data with each other or over the cloud. Intel estimates the global economic impact of the IoT will be $2.7 trillion-to-$6.2 trillion in 2025.
The company is in a great position to capitalize on this: its IoT business is already off the ground and putting up impressive results. Read more...
IBM Radically Simplifies Cloud Computing Contracts
Excerpted from PR Newswire Release
 IBM today announced that it radically simplified and made it easier for customers to enter into cloud computing services agreements by creating a standard, two-page agreement to replace longer, more complex contracts that typically required long negotiations and reviews before a deal was signed.
In comparison, IBM's cloud competitors require customers to review and commit to more complex contracts that commonly are at least five times longer and also incorporate terms and conditions from other websites.
In recognition of this achievement, IBM received the 2014 Innovation Award for Operational Improvement from the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) for boldly and rapidly transforming its cloud computing contract process — an achievement that significantly improved the company's ability to quickly serve cloud computing clients around the world.
"It's ironic that cloud computing represents a faster and more innovative approach to doing business, yet lengthy and complex cloud business contracts from most vendors remain an obstacle," said Neil Abrams, IBM Vice President and Assistant General Counsel. "By dramatically simplifying and accelerating how clients contract for cloud services, IBM is making it easier and faster for companies to reap the benefits of cloud."
The award-winning operational improvement was achieved over the course of two months by a small team, and deployed globally for all of IBM's cloud offerings. IBM's cloud services business and clients quickly benefited from the substantially simplified cloud contracting procedure. Read more...
IoT Groups Are Like an Orchestra Tuning Up
Excerpted from ComputerWorld Report by Stephen Lawson
 If the Internet of Things (IoT) didn't quite proliferate in 2014, at least IoT industry groups and standards bodies did.
At least five efforts at bringing order to IoT began in 2014, and another that launched in late 2013 found its legs this year. That caused some confusion in an industry that was vast and multifaceted already. Unfortunately, all those groups will probably be here a year from now, too -- maybe even more of them.
IoT involves linking devices that in many cases have never been connected before, or at least not on anything but a closed, specialized network. It also involves managing those objects and developing applications to make them do things together that they could never do alone. So products from different vendors eventually will have to speak the same language, at some level.
If they can't, then products for connected homes, cities, and factories won't ship in the largest possible numbers, which they will need to do if prices are to plummet like they have for PCs, smartphones, and other products over the years. That's especially important for consumer IoT, where cost is paramount.
So vendors are eager to build some momentum behind technologies that are already starting to roll-out. They don't want to wait for formal standards bodies to build the equivalent of the IEEE 802.11 family of specifications that powers the vast Wi-Fi industry, said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. Until formal IoT standards are finished, probably in 2017, companies are banding together to form de facto standards. Read more...
Irish Govt Files Supporting Brief for Microsoft in US Case
Excerpted from Irish Times Report by Karlin Lillington
 In a rare legal move, the Irish Government contributed a supporting legal brief in a significant US case, in which Microsoft is appealing a US court order to hand over emails held on an Irish server.
Amicus curiae or "friend of the court" standing allows a party to offer its perspective and a position on a case in which it is not directly involved. It is extremely rare for a national government to become an amicus to an international case.
In the amicus briefing, the Government argues, "Ireland has a genuine and legitimate interest in potential infringements by other states of its sovereign rights with respect to its jurisdiction over its territory."
It adds, "Ireland respectfully asserts that foreign courts are obliged to respect Irish sovereignty (and that of all other sovereign states) whether or not Ireland is a party or intervener in the proceedings before them."
The State also argues that Ireland is already a party, along with the US, to an existing mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) — agreed between states to allow for assistance in legal cases or law enforcement investigations — that would enable the court to obtain the emails. "Ireland would be pleased to consider, as expeditiously as possible, a request under the treaty, should one be made," the briefing states.
Finally, the briefing suggests that the court may be interested in a recent Irish case, Walsh v National Irish Bank [2013], in which the Irish Supreme Court ruled that the Irish State could seek data held in the branch of an Irish company operating in another state — in this case, the Isle of Man — but only in special circumstances. Read more...
Coming Events of Interest
Storage Visions Conference — January 4th-5th in Las Vegas, NV. The fourteenth annual conference theme is: Storage with Intense Network Growth (SWING). Storage Visions Awards presented there cover significant products, services, and companies in many digital storage markets.
International CES — January 6th-9th in Las Vegas, NV. The International CES is the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Held in Las Vegas every year, it has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies for more than 40 years — the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace.
The DCIA's IoT Marathon — January 6th-9th in Las Vegas, NV. Twelve hours of demos, displays, and discussions of all aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT) in daily segments recorded in the DCIA's HD-video webcast studio at the Sands Expo and Conference Center.
State of the Net Conference — January 27th in Washington, DC. With unparalleled opportunities to network and engage on key Internet policy issues, this is the largest Internet policy conference in the US and is recognized for its balanced blend of private and public sector participants.
Datacloud South East Asia — March 25th-26th in Johor, Malaysia. Datacloud South East Asia will assess the energy, scalability, security, architecture, and software challenges confronting operators of data centers and enterprises engaged in or considering transitions to the cloud.
Internet of Things Conference — April 15th-17th in San Diego, CA. The IoT Con will focus on how companies are using a variety of technologies, including ZigBee radios, Wi-Fi, and machine-to-machine (M2M)software, to connect things to the Internet, and how they are achieving real business benefits from doing so.
Internet of Things World Forum (IoTWF) — October (2015 Dates TBD) in Dubai, UAE. IoTWF is an exclusive event that brings together the best and brightest thinkers, practitioners, and innovators from business, government, and academia to accelerate the market adoption of the Internet of Things.
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