One thing slowing down enterprise IoT adoption is so far nobody has been able to tell us exactly what the IoT is. That’s a good thing. Innovation can still take us to many places before that answer becomes clear. But uncertainty still means risk for many decision makers. What is, or isn’t, an IoT device? A Twitter thread earlier this week took on that question. The answers point toward what I think is a bigger endgame for the massive IoT.
It all started with Stacey Higginbotham of The IoT Podcast asking this:
Serious question: Do you think a printer is an IoT device? If no, what would you call it?
I feel like this is kind of a “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” question.
— Stacey Higginbotham (@gigastacey) August 6, 2019
Most of the initial responses said yes. Modern printers have scanners and wireless interfaces and could be IoT devices. I came in on that side, too: “Wireless, yes. Not wireless, antique.” That drew a polite response from a Cisco field engineer that many enterprise printers connect on Ethernet. Ack to that.
Then Kevin Ashton showed up. For the late arrivals to the IoT, Kevin is the guy who once upon a time coined the term “Internet of Things.” His first response in this thread was emphatic: heck no. When pressed, he played back his mantra:
Not unless something is sensing something. “Things connected to the Internet” is not the Internet of Things #IoT
— Kevin Ashton (@Kevin_Ashton) August 7, 2019
That’s a solid take, Kevin. Of course, there must be sensors somewhere in the path for an application to be an IoT application. He made another good point in the thread: most things on enterprise networks interact with people. IoT applications start out on the edge with little or no input from humans.
OK, that clears everything up for enterprise types considering the IoT, right? Didn’t think so.
We didn’t address the deeper questions. What kind of printer is it? How does what it prints factor into the IoT application? Anyone can easily point to lots of printers in homes and enterprises that aren’t IoT devices. They just print paper for people to stare at. Stacey observed that the olds (and I resemble that remark) tended to vote no. They see printers as peripherals or accessories, not part of an IoT conversation.
Printers could also be at the IoT edge, right next to where data is being collected. RFID printers making tags for pallets. 3D printers rending medical images. Ticketing and badge printers for events. Printers making receipts at point-of-sale.
At some point, there are people in the IoT loop. Otherwise, what’s the point? IoT applications provide decision support. In some use cases, where the decision model is crystal clear, an application can decide confidently.
In many enterprise use cases, taking people out of the decision is a scary proposition. Printers and PCs are part of the presentation layer where people look at data and analysis. For decision making, data is data. IoT applications bring it in from edge to cloud for analysis in real-time. There are few errors and delays, and substantial labor savings.
BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE A PRINTER AN IOT DEVICE!
No, but it makes a printer part of an IoT application. The endgame for enterprises is putting the right information in front of the right people at the right time. A lot of folks seem hung up on how to do that. Many of you are waiting for the perfect solution that does exactly what you need done. If that solution existed, you’d be using it already, whether it was called IoT or not.
Automating data gathering and analytics is a plus for enterprises. If you’re looking for fully automated decision making, you’ve come to the wrong place. The IoT is, and always has been, about exploration. Uncovering insights faster. Seeing trends as they develop. Connecting data in more efficient ways. Waiting is postponing those benefits for your business. Focus on why, not how – we have plenty of technology to solve how once why is understood.
Over time, “things connected to the Internet” will become part of the massive IoT. They’ll have to, or they’ll be replaced by better things that can. They may not be IoT devices per se, but they will play a role in enterprise IoT applications.
If your printer thinks it’s an IoT device, let it. It may surprise you.