Tech Giants Begin Recruiting for the Next Big Platform Wars

The Internet of Things is still young, but it’s real. There are already dozens of internet-connected devices available, ranging from home-automation tools to wearable fitness trackers. And it’s about to start growing at an even faster pace. According a new survey by market research firm Evans Data, 17 percent of the world’s software developers are […]
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The Internet of Things is still young, but it's real. There are already dozens of internet-connected devices available, ranging from home-automation tools to wearable fitness trackers. And it's about to start growing at an even faster pace.

According a new survey by market research firm Evans Data, 17 percent of the world's software developers are already working on Internet of Things projects. Another 23 percent are planning to start an IoT project within the next six months. The most popular devices? Security and surveillance products, connected cars, environmental sensors and smart lights and other office automation tools.

The world's largest tech companies are already in fierce competition to attract developers to their respective connected device platforms. After all, the winners of these new platform wars will define the future of computing. The losers will go to the electronics recycling center. The stakes for developers are almost as high as they are for vendors. No product can support every conceivable standard and no app can run on every platform, so developers have to be strategic and write their code for the winners, while dodging the losers.

For example, Google is hoping to expand its strength in smart phones and tablets to other connected devices. Last month it launched a Android Wear, a version of its mobile operating system which is already in use by LG, Motorola and Samsung. But other options are emerging as well, such as the Pebble smart watch, and just this week Lenovo and Vuzix announced their own "smart glass" product to rival Google Glass. And though Samsung is using Android for its Gear smart watches, the company is also promoting its open source Tizen operating system for wearables and other devices. And of course Apple is slowly starting to get into the market, through products like iBeacon and HealthKit, and has long been rumored to have a smart watch in production.

>Although competition is generally good for customers, competing platforms can be a headache.

And it's not just app developers who are being faced with these sorts of decisions. Companies building Internet of Things devices have many platform considerations to make as well. Hardware hackers already have multiple circuit boards to choose from, ranging from Arduino to Tessel to Spark, each with different advantages and use cases, as well as different wireless standards, including Bluetooth and Zigbee, and various messaging protocols such as those promoted by AllSeen, the Open Interconnect Consortium, and MQTT.

Although competition is generally good for customers, competing platforms can be a headache. You have to worry about which which products will be compatible with the devices you already have, and which ones will have the staying power to have forward-compatible with tomorrow's technologies. You don't want to be stuck with the BetaMax of smart watches.

That means that for the next few years, the Internet of Things will be as exciting and vibrant as it is frustrating and tricky. At least, as far as developers are concerned.