Software Enablers of the The Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) represents the next evolution in computing. The ubiquity and ease of access to the Internet, the development and availability of new inexpensive sensors and cheap computing devices, and the emergence of cloud-based business models is creating an opportunity that IDC predicts could exceed $7 trillion in total value by 2020. With such a huge market forecast, there are many companies chasing the IoT opportunity. The winners will be those that can achieve a change in mindset, and understand the shift from the product world to a service world and put the right IT infrastructure in place to support this vision. Today, the largest IoT vendors provide the sensors or hardware components that provide the underlying infrastructure for the IoT. On the software side, many companies are focused on end markets and specific industry verticals; for example, smart metering in the utilities sector or home automation. In this report we focus on software companies that are pursuing broader, more horizontal solutions that create the core building blocks of the IoT. With their wider focus and applicability across multiple end markets, these companies are well positioned to address the larger opportunity developing around IoT, much like Microsoft, Oracle and other software platforms have in past waves of computing.