New Transforma Insights study identifies the need for IoT to be ‘connected-by-design’

Leading IoT industry analyst firm publishes the next in its series of Transition Topic Position Papers, looking at how the increasing complexity of the IoT stack necessitates a new connected-by-design approach which places the optimisation of connectivity at the heart of the solution development process.

Transforma Insights has today published its free Transition Topic Position Paper, sponsored by Eseye, entitled ‘Connected-by-Design: Optimising Device-to-Cloud Connectivity’. The report examines the transition occurring in how IoT deployments are developed, moving from a one-size-fits-all approach built on technologies that were not developed with the constraints of IoT in mind, to a 'Connected-by-Design' approach, reflecting the unique requirements of each IoT use case, complexity of the mix of components, and where careful consideration is given to how all the elements are optimised, particularly connectivity.

The key findings of the report are:

• The diversity and complexity of IoT requires careful navigation. Every use case considered under the umbrella of 'IoT' has unique deployment characteristics, whether it relates to access to power, requirements for bandwidth or latency, volume of data, frequency of communication, resiliency, up-time requirements, limitations of form-factor or cost, and numerous others. At the same time it is a highly complex development environment, with a 'full stack' that includes sensors, embedded operating systems, networking, application data management, business process integration, end-to-end security, and compute, all managed across device, edge and cloud.

• Cross-optimisation of the elements of the IoT full stack is critical. Given the constraints under which IoT use cases typically operate, it is critical that the elements of the full stack are optimised for the needs of the application, particularly making use of a range of technologies that have emerged quite recently specifically aimed at IoT constrained deployments. It is not enough, however, simply to use components that are individually optimised for IoT, developers must ensure that they are cross-optimised with each other.

• Connectivity is the lynch pin of IoT. Due to the distributed nature of IoT, connectivity is the lynch pin, and the most critical element to cross-optimise with others. All other dependencies will be subsidiary to those related to connectivity. For this reason developers need to adopt a 'Connected-by-Design' approach which simulates how to best architect a distributed application, implementing the appropriate features and functionality.

• The optimum way of building an IoT solution is by applying principles of ‘Connected-by-Design’. Because of the unique nature of every IoT use case, the requirement for cross-optimisation, and the particular criticality of connectivity, IoT solutions need to be built with considerations of connectivity permeating the whole of the solution development process, not bolted on at the end.

Commenting on the report, author Matt Hatton said: “Many will be familiar with the concept of 'Secure-by-Design', whereby considerations of security are at the forefront of a product design process, permeating the whole development process. This provides a far superior framework than attempting to overlay security at the end of the development process. The same thing applies to connectivity in the context of IoT. It is fundamental to the proposition, acting as the glue that binds the various elements of the stack, and there are many potential pitfalls. This means that it cannot be simply bolted onto the solution after it has been built and/or deployed. It must permeate the design process. Hence 'Connected-by-Design'.”

Eseye’s Larry Socher, SVP Strategy & Product says “More than other IT applications, building successful IoT solutions requires a tailored approach. Every device and use case is unique, with each deployment comes with its own constraints and idiosyncrasies. While embedding connectivity intelligence up front increases flexibility and resiliency and helps future proof a deployment, ideally ‘connected-by-design’ uses a holistic approach in which all components of the solution are cross optimised. A great example of this is selecting low-powered connectivity options such as NB-IoT and LTE-M to maximise battery life for a device that may be in the field for 10 to 15 years.”

The Position Paper examines all aspects of the IoT full stack and the ‘Connected-by-Design’ approach to addressing it. The report is free to download here.

About the postition paper

The Transforma Insights Position Paper, sponsored by Eseye starts with a consideration of the diversity of IoT use cases. It then examines the full IoT device-to-cloud stack, and the array of complex elements required to manage data flows in a distributed environment. This includes discussion of sensors and actuators, operating system, compute/storage, edge computing, application/data, business and process integration, and end-to-end security and management. A specific section then looks at the connectivity element, which is perhaps the most crucial in IoT, focusing on the nine key sensitivities of IoT use cases which will dictate connectivity technology choices, including cost, access to power, and requirements for speed, latency, availability and mobility. Finally, it proposes an approach to best ensure that the complexity and diversity of IoT is optimally addressed: 'Connected-by-Design'.