The term ‘internet of things’ (IoT) is still relatively new to the average person on the street, however, in tech circles it is now very much commonplace and the battle is on to become the go to company for all IoT devices, products and services.
Companies are vying to become top of the charts as far as IoT technologies are concerned, with the aim of being the first company anyone thinks of when in need of an IoT product, service etc.
So, which companies do you think of when the subject of IoT comes up?
According to research conducted by IoT Analytics, a market insights and competitive intelligence company, five companies are leading the IoT race: Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Google, and IBM.
IoT Analytics ranks companies (in relation to IoT) according to how often the companies are searched for in Google, how often companies are mentioned in Twitter, how often companies are mentioned in newspapers and blogs and how often employees associated with the company on LinkedIn carry the tag ‘Internet of Things’ in their job title or description.
The company which scores the highest gets a 100% rating and the rest receive a lower percentage according to the frequency of mentions as defined in the above scoring criteria.
Here are the top 10 according to IoT Analytics:
1. Intel
Intel has learned from past mistakes, such as the smartphone, where the company didn’t seize upon the opportunity and therefore lost out to other tech companies. By the time it realised the market interest and worth of the smartphone, it was too late.
This time, Brian Krzanich, Intel’s CEO, is grasping at the opportunities provided by IoT. Intel is now well on its way to leading the charge in the IoT marketplace, having developed a range of low-power chips specifically designed for IoT devices.
Intel’s research centres are also churning out products and kits to ensure they stay at the forefront of IoT development, such as their Intel Galileo developer kit. This kit is targeted to those who wish to develop their very own IoT things and has been heavily marketed on a global scale. The latest from Intel is that they have also developed the Intel IoT portfolio, which is designed for people to use to connect data from their devices to the cloud.
2. Microsoft
Like Intel, Microsoft missed out on the initial smartphone charge. Even now when they have spent a lot of time and money developing their operating system for smartphone use, they only have a 3% share in the market.
However, when it comes to IoT, Microsoft has come prepared. Microsoft now has three propositions:
i) Azure
This platform has been designed to provide people with a one stop shop to connect their devices to the cloud.
ii) Microsoft Streaming Analytics
Microsoft’s goal with this offering is to enable people to benefit from real-time data and extract real, valuable meaning from the analytics package.
iii) Microsoft Band
This offering places Microsoft firmly in the IoT wearables and health space environment.
In addition to the above, the company is also dipping its toe into the industrial IoT space and partnering up with robot manufacturers to see what they can come up with in as far as both the health and automobile sectors are concerned.
3. Cisco
The term ‘Internet of Everything’ was coined by Cisco and the company is making a definitive stance in the tech industry by focusing its business strategy on IoT technology. Research on LinkedIn shows that there are 720 employees at Cisco that are connected with IoT, and this speaks strongly about how much importance Cisco assigns to IoT.
It is perhaps a natural move that Cisco is embracing IoT, since the company has always been in this field; they have, after all, always been a leader in the development of network equipment. The company develops security solutions as well, which is a natural offering alongside IoT tech and will also host the IoT World Forum.
4. Google
It is to be expected that Google is high up on this list, the company did, after all, give IoT a huge boost in awareness when it bought Nest, the smart home company in January 2014. Following this acquisition, the marketplace suddenly became very aware and interested in IoT.
Google has started releasing and announcing a number of IoT products, such as Google Glasses and the self-driving car, as well as the ‘Physical web platform’. There is not currently any more information on this platform but if one thing is clear, it is that it will be IoT.
5. IBM
IBM is another of the big five tech firms that has started partnering up with other companies in order to produce innovative IoT products. The company has a particular focus on IoT enterprise application infrastructure, databases and analytics.
6. Samsung
Samsung has made its biggest impact in the IoT market with its wearable technologies but alongside this is also the company’s procurement of SmartThings, the leading smart home platforms. This definitely elevated the company within the IoT market, not to mention this list!
7. Apple
Some may be surprised to see Apple in the bottom five of the top ten but this might not be for too much longer. Traditionally Apple has always hidden its development behind closed doors, preferring to enter into things in its own time and with a new shocking innovation. For now, it have given us the Apple Watch, the HomeKit platform and the HealthKit. One thing’s for sure – Apple will not stop here. Watch this space.
8. SAP
SAP is a German tech giant which focuses on software and technology solutions. The company has had the foresight to predict a huge change in this market as a result of IoT, and has now taken steps to place its HANA database as “the secret sauce to make Internet of Things run simple”.
SAP is not sitting idly by whilst other tech giants innovate in the IoT marketplace; no indeed, it has enabled IoT functionality in its ERP system and has many IoT projects underway. Amongst many other sectors, the company is also currently experimenting in logistics and manufacturing operations.
9. Gartner
Gartner, a technology research firm, can be credited with predicting the IoT hype having placed it into its ‘hype-cycle’ way back in 2011, a time when very few had even heard of, let alone used, the term ‘internet of things’. However, last year, Gartner shared its thinking that IoT had already reached its peak, which is, no doubt, a view that other tech companies are hoping is incorrect.
10. Oracle
The huge technology corporation, Oracle, makes the top ten but only just. Unlike the majority of tech companies on this list, Oracle seem to be taking a much more relaxed approach to the IoT whirlwind and has chosen instead to focus on just one offering: its cloud platform.