The ‘internet of things’ (IoT) market is being undermined by complexity, as well as challenges with security, reckons UK-based micro-processor firm Arm, as it confirmed deeper integration with IBM’s Watson.
“The market hasn’t come as far as we’d hoped; it is pretty fragmented – by the time the customer sees the value from IoT, it’s too long,” said Hima Mukkamala, general manager of IoT cloud services at Arm.
The British firm is offering a “software bridge” between its Mbed cloud services and the US firm’s Watson IoT data analytics system. “Our partnership with IBM will help manage devices and pull data from the cloud. This is an acceleration of customers’ time to market,” said Mukkamala.
He pointed as well to issues with security. Arm has partnered with Cybertrust and GlobalSign to deliver more flexible security authentication for IoT devices. “Security is one complexity for customers, especially as you open up more and more,” said Mukkamala.
Arm said its base of Mbed developers, focused on industrial IoT applications for logistics, utilities and smart cities, has jumped 30 per cent in the past 12 months; it now claims 300,000 developers and 80 contributing partners for the platform, including IBM.
Mukkamala joined Arm from GE eight months ago, where he was senior vice president of engineering. Speaking with Enterprise IoT Insights at Hannover Messe, he outlined the sector’s challenges, including fragmentation of suppliers, types of devices, multiple hosting requirements and regulatory constraints.
Arm’s Mbed platform is supposed to ease device management, connectivity and provisioning for customers, with support across multiple public and private clouds, on-premises and hybrid environments. “We want to see customer adoption; we need customer production. No more pilots,” said Mukkamala.
There is an urgency, now, to deploy solutions within industrial operations, he said. “CIOs want to move into production stage. The tide is turning in utilities, connected spaces, and transportation and we’re starting to see changes with our partners, especially in terms of risk management. Hopefully, this means we will see more devices in production.”
