IDC’s estimates on Internet of Things and the effects on Microsoft developers

IDC has published their technology predictions on Internet of Things (IoT), which is a hot topic nowadays. The predictions are available on their web site.

To quickly summarize, the key points especially with Microsoft platforms in mind:

Key points:

• Windows isn't yet very common in small embedded devices, but this could change
• The Windows Developer Program for IoT is available for Intel Galileo boards
• The "Windows 10" operating system has promised support for IoT devices, and it might be that the new Universal Apps would also run on such devices.

On the hardware side, in my experience two things are limiting the large-scale utilization of IoT devices: physical size and robust Internet connectivity. Physical size goes hand in hand with price, and as more demand surfaces, hardware solutions will become more integrated and thus smaller.

On the Internet connectivity side, a WiFi (WLAN) connection is easily achievable, but broadly, such connections are not available, especially outdoors. The next-best choice is a 3G/4G connectivity, but the problem with these connections is that they don't stay online for extended periods of time. So far, the best bet is to simply disconnect the cellular connection from time to time.

Hopefully soon, we're seeing more detailed IoT openings from Microsoft. We need to get the .NET platform running on more devices. :-)