What the internet of things means for businesses: 10 things we learned

This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.

This article was first published on Olswang's Changing Business Hub on the Guardian.com. It is authored by Adam Davidi.

A future where all our devices, from our lamps to our ovens, are connected to the web has been a utopian prediction for years now. It could offer a win-win for both consumers and business. Users get better control of their own data, plus enhanced convenience and security in their lives. Today, businesses and marketers may feel that they have a wealth of social data at their fingertips, but they are only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what could be learnt about their prospective or actual customers when every aspect of their lives are connected.

But, with power comes responsibility. Big businesses will need to cooperate with others to embrace open standards to link the future internet of things (IoT) if it is to flourish. Will users accept companies restricting our online experience through limits to services or a break from net neutrality, or will society and governments protect an open web, and the freedom and power that brings? What can we do to protect raised threats to privacy, data protection and the greater ramifications of data hacks, and viruses?

The panel:

Andy Hobsbawm, co-founder and CMO, EVRYTHNG
Andy established the first international internet agency in 1994 which merged with pioneering digital services firm Agency.com in 1997 where he was European MD then chairman until 2009. He has been listed among the 100 top digital influencers by Wired UK and was named among the 20 inaugural inductees of the British Interactive Multimedia Association’s Digital Hall of Fame, alongside Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Sir Jonathan Ive and Dr Mike Lynch.

Neil Lawrence, professor of machine learning, University of Sheffield
Neil leads the machine learning research group. His research interests are in machine learning with applications in computational biology and personalised health. At Sheffield he is developing the Open Data Science Initiative an approach to data science designed to address societal needs.

Amy Kean, head of futures, Havas Media
As head of futures, Amy is tasked with promoting innovation within Havas Media’s client base, using the kind of concrete understanding of consumer and global trends that drive genuine business success. Amy works with media owners and other partners to look beyond technology platforms and get to the heart of why and how consumers use digital platforms.

Purvi Parekh, partner, Olswang
Purvi is a partner at Olswang and head of its international telecoms practice. Her telecoms experience spans all kind of network and platforms, including mobile, fixed line and satellite, and she has advised on some of the most innovative projects affecting the telecoms market today, including network sharing, MVNOs, M2M, mobile payments, convergence and 4G/LTE. Purvi also advises on the regulatory aspects of telecoms work. Her experience in telecoms regulation includes proposals for the EU single market, network access, MVNO regulation, leased lines, net neutrality and numbering & portability issues.

Dr Emma Philpott, CEO, IASME Consortium Ltd
IASME focuses on cyber security certification for small companies. It is an accreditation body for the UK government’s cyber essentials scheme and it also certifies to our own governance standard, developed specifically to be achievable and affordable for smaller organisations.

10 things we learned:

We round up the best insights and tips from our last webchat on how businesses can thrive in a world where everything is connected

Why is now the time for the internet of things (IoT)?
Purvi Parekh, partner, Olswang

It is because technology is outpacing us and we have to keep up. The biggest mistake a business can make right now is not to do anything at all. IoT is a natural evolution of smart technology, cloud, telecoms etc – all the things that we were already using, just all rolled into one.

IoT is the next logical evolution of the web
Andy Hobsbawm, co-founder and CMO, EVRYTHNG

In my view IoT is really the next logical evolution of the internet itself. Given that the internet is a pretty big and broad general purpose technology that affects every aspect of our societies and economies...

Hacking is a bigger risk
Purvi Parekh, partner, Olswang

From a legal perspective security is one of the big issues. Once you have so many connected devices in your home, hacking is a bigger risk. It is pretty much a sport amongst many researchers right now, how many devices can I hack into and what information do I get from doing so.

Spend some time thinking about security
Dr Emma Philpott, CEO, IASME Consortium Ltd

I know it sounds a bit negative but I would advise [you] to spend some time thinking about security. Make sure you can password protect the connected ‘things’ and use a strong password. What would be the consequences if a hacker gained access to that device (baby monitor, camera on a TV, security camera in your home) and is that something you can live with?

A different kind of marketing
Andy Hobsbawm, co-founder and CMO, EVRYTHNG

There are tremendous opportunities for marketing but a different kind – one where brands and their products play a useful, relevant and meaningful role in people’s lives. Brands need to provide services and experiences, personalised to each individual, ‘on-demand’ – not advertising campaigns delivered on a new set of smart, connected IoT device screens.

Data is the real oppournity
Amy Kean, head of futures, Havas Media

The worst thing the marketing industry could do is start throwing ads at anything smart that moves. We really don’t need any more spaces that are infiltrated with old school ads (like the attempts we’ve already seen with the Apple Watch, which has its own ad network already) – it’s lazy communications with zero respect for the consumer.

For me, the real opportunity is in the data, and the new product development. The best marketers are now become researchers, innovators and producers – so hopefully what we’ll see with IoT is big brands creating smart digital products that can add value to people’s lives.

Automation will replace some jobs
Dr Emma Philpott, CEO, IASME Consortium Ltd

I think some employees will find their role can be performed by automation in the future – but that progress has been happening for a long time. At the same time we need more skilled people who know about IoT and security these new technologies. So I think the jobs are just moving over time rather than reducing.

A trend where everything is centralised is worrying
Neil Lawrence, professor of machine learning, University of Sheffield

I think we’ve all envisaged a freely interconnected internet that really is a net rather than a hub and spoke design, but things aren’t really turning out like that. One major reason is that in the end the value is probably not really in selling the devices but in obtaining data and providing services over a long period. Most companies are keen to lock you in because this will maximise income, but they also need to lock you in to better determine your needs.

There are also practical reasons for providing a centralised interface from an architectural point of view, but I do find a trend where everything is centralised very worrying.

Think about the user first
Amy Kean, head of futures, Havas Media

My advice would be to think about the user first and foremost. What problems are we trying to solve in their lives (and are they even real problems), and are consumers educated and secure enough in the technology for there to be mainstream adoption over the next few years? I’ve been working in innovation long enough to see how our industry gets carried away with technology whilst forgetting about the people that are intended to use it.

Based on research that Havas Media Labs has conducted, we know that any digitally connected product – to achieve longevity – needs to boast that perfect mix of practicality, entertainment and novelty (which is why so many people lose interest in health wearable tech, it’s just to novelty and not useful enough in the long-term) so it’s that perfect formula that brands and businesses need to nail.

Progress in translation
Neil Lawrence, professor of machine learning, University of Sheffield

There is massive progress in translation that will automate these things, Amazon are just the most recent firm to make such investment, and the technology is really starting to work. However, current technology works only very well for languages where we have a lot of data: English, French, German etc. I think there are challenges for more minority languages. There is also the challenge of how we nuance ourselves through language, that is much more difficult, but then again, it’s quite hard to nuance things in 140 characters too!