According to results from the Software for the Internet of Things (IoT) Developer Survey released by Embarcadero Technologies for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 2015 will be a big year for developing business solutions with integrated “Things"(1) – such as industrial sensors, health monitors and smart buildings – to connect with existing and new business solutions. The survey finds the majority (84%) of software developers building IoT solutions in 2015 are targeting business markets, while 16% are exclusively targeting consumers.
The Embarcadero survey, conducted by Dimensional Research, reveals that worldwide 77% of development teams will have IoT solutions in active development in 2015 with 38% of IoT developers in EMEA anticipating their solutions will generate business impact by the end of 2015, compared to only 7% in 2014.
IoT Solutions Will Be Distributed and Interconnected
Results from the Software for the IoT Developer Survey show that software and applications will be critical in IoT solution development in 2015, as developers plan to interconnect “Things” with multiple systems – including mobile apps, desktop apps, databases, cloud services, enterprise applications, middleware and other IoT devices. In EMEA:
63% of “Thing” data will move between devices and servers
68% of “Things” will communicate using multiple technologies
40% of “Things” will connect to cloud services
IoT Will Drive a New World of User Experience
The Software for IoT Developer Survey reveals that 73% of developers think differently about the user experience – including input and output – when developing IoT solutions versus traditional software. While worldwide more than half of “Things” (56%) are expected to use traditional input (e.g., keyboard, button press) in 2015, “Thing” solutions are moving closer to the vision of Things, which does away with traditional touch. In EMEA:
95% of "Things" will accept non-traditional input (sensors, GPS, line of site, etc.)
26% of "Things" will present information in non-traditional ways (VR, haptic, audible, environmental change, etc.)
"These survey results confirm that IoT is crossing over from consumer gadgets to business productivity and customer engagement," says Michael Swindell, Senior Vice President of Products at Embarcadero. "In the consumer space, individuals connect to IoT typically through a single personal mobile device, with the IoT experience encircling the user. However with business solutions IoT includes users and encircles the business and enterprise assets. The IoT connected applications developers build for the enterprise are essential to connect the disparate parts of a distributed IoT business solution – from mobile devices, to wearables and sensors, to cloud and on-premises enterprise back-ends. Software developers will clearly play a pivotal role in driving IoT innovation and business adoption in 2015 and beyond."
