5 reasons why IoT is not yet ready for primetime

The internet of things (IoT) has been one of the biggest trends in recent years and promises to continue growing for the foreseeable future. While the benefits of IoT are numerous, it’s still not ready for primetime, and here are five reasons why:

  1. Fragmentation in protocols – a fragmented landscape has resulted from a plethora of companies entering the IoT race, making its whole-scale integration and device management serious challenges that need to be overcome if IoT is to reach its full potential.
  2. Power-related issues – many IoT devices are being made as small and cheap as possible, meaning that many are battery-powered. But battery-powered technologies often have trouble keeping up with IoT needs, resulting in a loss of functionality.
  3. Connectivity – connectivity around the world is still not universal, meaning that many IoT products/services won’t always work as intended, especially in still-developing areas.
  4. Security – though IoT as technology has slowly matured and more products are coming our way, security on IoT devices is still in its nascent stage. A study released by Hewlett-Packard revealed that 70% of IoT devices are vulnerable to hacking from even the most novice of hackers.
  5. Costs – the high cost of IoT products has significantly slowed down the mass adoption of IoT technology. The amount of data that is being generated by the devices adds another layer of complexity in terms of storage-related costs as well.