Two days of the biggest conference on Internet of Things are over, and it’s about time to wrap up the M2M/IoT Forum CE. I am really impressed by the great job done by the event organizers, Succus – the conference went smoothly and inspired all of the participants with amazing keynotes, a wonderful glimpse into the future, and discussion panels delivered by top-notch speakers.
Discussion panel ”Real-time Enterprise” was focused on mobile networks finding their way into IoT. Four participants from the telecom industry along with the digital Darwinist Karl-Heinz Land agreed that the times are challenging, but provide an amazing opportunity. As network operators, they already have a great advantage of network coverage that is of interest for the IoT enterprises. Instead of struggling to become the chief players in IoT, telecom companies should focus on creating an ecosystem of partners that will have all of the required competencies onboard. This will make them agile enough to market new ideas immediately. “The IoT services won’t build a connectivity network on their own,” said Rami Avidan from Tele2 IoT. “That is our job. What telecom needs to do is to make sure that this network provides a real value for our customers.” Maria Zesch from T-Mobile Austria, one of the panelists, summed it up: “The key question is how to help our customers stay relevant in the age of digitization.”
The first day of the conference ended with an evening reception in the stunning Volkshalle in Vienna City Hall. A live band played throughout the evening, adding to the festive feel. It was a great opportunity for networking – you can be sure that many of the participants seized it!
Scott Amyx, a world-known thought leader and IoT specialist, gave a brilliant technical speech on quantum computing. It is estimated that by 2020, 50 billion IoT devices will already become available, what poses new privacy and security risks. Quantum computers are likely to supercharge cryptography by becoming hackproof to both regular and other quantum devices. Their biggest advantage lies in quantum teleportation – entangled qubits (quantum particles) can effect each other across any distance, communicating at a speed almost equal to the speed of light, ensuring zero latency and total security in transmission. Amyx also mentioned the main problem that still needs to be solved, namely the short lifetime of qubits, and pointed to a recent discovery of time crystals that might bring a breakthrough in this field.
Apart from the speeches and presentations, the conference venue provided an exhibition space for various enterprises. They were able to display their newest technologies – from Smartbeet, an intelligent flowerbed with an automated watering system from Smartgreen Solutions, to an immersive virtual reality device by HYVE (you can see it in the photo above).
I can only recommend future editions of this conference to all who are interested in the Internet of Things or get excited thinking about the modern technologies that will soon be an integral part of our lives. If I don’t see you at Impact ’17, then I’ll surely see you in Vienna next year!
