I subscribe to the Boston Business Journal and have for years. A few weeks ago, one of the articles screamed in 22 pt. type “Internet of Things market will be the size of Canada’s GDP by 2020”. I said to myself, “Holy crap, this is crazy!!” Then I decided to look further into this apparent hype. Here is what I found.
Hype is good; over-hype is bad
Hype is suitable for a new or emerging technology. It creates interest and starts people thinking about taking advantage of the next shiny object. And may even drive investments. However, once the hype goes ballistic, it creates unattainable expectations, distorting investments and business plans. And plants the seeds for future customer dissatisfaction. We are getting close to that point now.
Here is evidence of over-hype from Google
Google is always the first place to look when looking at numbers and trends. I first looked at the trending searches for the Internet of Things (IoT). Here is the graph:
The 1 and 100 show the relative number of searches. The number has increased by almost 100X since 2013!
The second fact I looked at on Google was the number of web pages that contained the term Internet of Things and compared that to a few other popular or common topic find it interesting that IoT is mentioned on more web pages than Apple Watch (just before it hit the stores!) cs:
I chose Sex because it is the most popular search. And I chose Sliced Bread because in America we say, “That’s better than sliced bread” when something is specciL
Here is evidence from Gartner and Pew Research
First, Gartner has a generic hype curve, which clearly shows the five stages of hype that a new technology, product, or idea usually experiences. Here it is:
While this is interesting, and you can guess where IoT lands, the honest answer is in this picture from Pew Research:
Note that IoT is at the highest point on this chart!
Related article: When It Comes to Differentiated Value-Add Services The Internet of Things Is The Real Deal
Why should we care?
If you are now or planning to be involved in IoT implementation, sales, or support, then you must be sensitive to what is happening in the media. It is much too easy to make grandiose pronouncements about the future. Remember that you will add to a vast collection of other media babble. And if you are one of the people writing or talking about IoT, you had better be in it for the long haul and will be partially responsible for creating experiences that exceed expectations!
Despite all this hype, I still believe the Internet of Things offers one of our most excellent current opportunities to create value for our customers and stakeholders.
About Middlesex Consulting
Middlesex Consulting is an experienced team of professionals with the primary goal of helping capital equipment companies create more value for their clients and stakeholders. Middlesex Consulting continues to provide superior solutions to meet the needs of its clients by focusing on our strengths in Services, Manufacturing, Customer Experience, and Engineering. If you want to learn more about how we can help your organization take advantage of the Internet of Things, please contact us or check out some of our free articles and white papers here.