IOT Books Must Read: The Internet of Things (IoT), which refers to the networking of physical objects through the use of embedded sensors, actuators, and other devices that can collect or transmit information about the objects, is growing at a very fast pace. By 2019, the global IoT market is projected to be valued at more than 1.7 trillion US dollars, with the number of connected devices worldwide forecast to reach 20.35 billion in the same year. To better understand these emerging technologies and their implications, here are ten must-read books focusing on the IoT. The Amazon Way on IoT explains how the combination of sensors, cloud computing and machine learning can be used to improve customer experiences, drive operational improvements and build new business models. The book offers guidance through the maze of emerging technologies, customer experiences, and business models; key methods to success from Amazon's master playbook such as creating seamless customer experiences, process improvement and new business models and utilizing tools such as sensors, machine learning and cloud computing; and approaches to help organizations tackle the technology, business and internal challenges in innovating with the IoT.

As you may already know, IoT connects a vast array of portable devices, home appliances, wearables, and other electronics/machines over a network. Connected devices can signal their environment and be remotely monitored, controlled, and maintained. While all this works well on paper, there is a catch (and a rather obvious one). Round the clock monitoring naturally leads to a never-ending influx of complex data. For instance, a car manufacturing company may want to monitor everything from tire pressure to fuel performance in order to push the boundaries of future models.

McKinsey estimates that by 2025, the potential economic impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) in retail could be anywhere from $410 billion to $1.2 trillion annually. This means, if you're a retailer considering IoT adoption, it's not a question of "if," but "when." But introducing IoT to the store requires a lot of time and resources. So before you begin investing in automated checkouts, smart customer-relationship management, robotics, in-store personalized promotions and more, here are five questions you need to ask yourself to ensure your business is ready. IoT offers many potential benefits to retailers, but IoT for IoT sake won't move margins, or drive customer loyalty.

On the surface, preventing injuries to professional-caliber athletes would seem to have little in common with preventing operational failures for a machine (i.e., autonomous vehicle, locomotive, airplane, CT Scan). However, both athletes and machines deal with inter-twined complex systems (where the interactions of one complex system can have a ripple effect on others) that can have significant impact on their operational effectiveness. My son Max, the Director of Sport Science at Resilient Code and Chief Science Officer at Exsurgo Technologies, has turned into quite an analytics nerd (check him out on twitter at @strong_science, but he saves his good stuff for Instagram where you can follow him at "strong_by_science"). Max and Resilient Code co-founder Dr. Dustin Nabhan have been educating me on the use of Agent-based Models (ABM) as a technique to predict and prevent injuries in athletes, especially high-caliber professional athletes. Unlike the weekend warrior like myself, preventing career-ending injuries can translate into tens of millions of dollars of additional income for professional athletes[1]. Here is the conversation with Max that got me thinking more about the similarities between ABM and Digital Twins (Max's input is in drab, boring grey and mine is in cool, hip blue): Okay, probably a boring conversation for most families, but now you know what we talk about when we go out to eat! Yea, you don't wanna sit next to us… During these conversations with Max and Dustin, I was struck by the similarities in using ABM to prevent injuries in the same way that we use Digital Twins (or what we call Asset Avatars) to prevent machine breakdowns, failures, under-performance and unplanned downtime.

At a conceptual level, companies understand the potential impact the Internet of Things (IoT) can have on their business. Not only can IoT help companies cut costs and operate more efficiently, but the insights gleaned from IoT data can also help develop innovative products and services that feed entirely new revenue streams. IoT execution, however, is another matter. Companies can learn a lot from "small data". Forbes Insights and Hitachi Vantara recently conducted research on the state of IoT, and while more than 90% of the 502 executives surveyed said IoT would be important to the future of their business, only half had significant IoT programs in place, and a large portion of those were still in the early planning stages. Even among those who had IoT programs in place, only 42% said those initiatives were meeting or exceeding expectations.

"Failing to plan is planning to fail." This popular adage, often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, is especially true as organizations seek to shift to new digital business models and develop IoT solutions in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. Without a clear vision and a model of the concrete steps needed to achieve success, organizations will continue to struggle with implementing IoT. Without a clear vision and a model of the concrete steps needed to achieve success, organizations will continue to struggle with implementing IoT. In fact, according to a recent Forbes Insights/Hitachi survey of more than 500 global executives, 57% say their current IoT initiatives are either not meeting expectations or aren't yet showing any clear signs of success.

The IoT has been influencing the creation of a connected world where unbelievable amounts of data are generated from just about every imaginable thing. These connected, and previously dormant, things are now going to be able to communicate- from my dog's collar, the milk carton, my car, my thermostat, my watch, my washer and dryer (not that I would particularly enjoy that conversation), you name it. This connectivity and mass data production is exciting because it is defining the future by creating an eco-system where a huge variety of technologies have to work together, thus breaking down silos. Coming from the telco world, that is refreshing. So what are we supposed to do with this influx of data and connected devices?

Amazon's IoT Strategy: A Force to Be Reckoned With Amazon has gradually rolled out parts of its IoT offerings in the last year, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. In addition to optimizing their back-end AWS offerings, Amazon is laying the ground work to be a major force in IoT - especially in the connected home and office. Amazon is extending its reach by building on its dominant Cloud IoT platform, its Dash Button strategy, recently announced Replenishment Services, the Echo/Alexa voice recognition control platform, the 6-7 strategic investments of its Venture group, strategic partnerships with 50 major consumer package goods companies and the 50-70 million current Prime customers to become a dominant force in IoT. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Kocher, founder and managing director of Grey Heron, discussed how Amazon does not just want to dominate the back-end cloud storage, compute and analysis capabilities for IoT data. This is not an incremental, small potatoes effort.

The first element of building a successful IoT strategy is that it should be based on some business value such as percentage increase in revenue or reduction in cost or improvement in productivity/efficiency. The second element is that the commitment should be top-down: What is the leadership's commitment to the success of the IoT project? Third, it needs to have an ecosystem play, involving all the key ecosystem participants while the strategy is being built. The fourth one is the right set of skills and the capability to consume IoT. And the fifth element is having an end-to-end perspective that touches everyone in the organization for whom the project is relevant.

Recently, the Moor Insights & Strategy (MI&S) team was on the road in New York City learning more about Dell Technologies strategy and vision for the Internet of Things (IoT). The event, called IQT, exhibited what the company is doing to make devices, networks, and infrastructure smarter. Dell Technologies is focusing on helping its customers to efficiently address the challenges of navigating the IoT marketplace. With that goal in mind, the company announced at the event a Pan- Dell Technologies IoT Solutions Division. The aim of this organization is to leverage the core strengths of the Dell Technologies family of companies ( Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, SecureWorks, Virtustream, and VMware) together with offerings from its partners and systems integrators, to deliver blueprints and reference architectures--while also providing a one-stop shop for customers seeking consulting and deployment. Arguably, the result is the first end-to-end, open IoT ecosystem in this highly fragmented marketplace.