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Session on the Internet of Things highlights opening day of leading industry conference

Las Vegas – Connected communities made possible by the Internet of Things (IoT) is creating a new ecosystem rich with new business opportunities for technology solutions providers, a panel of IoT experts said Monday at CompTIA ChannelCon 2019.

The session on “The Impact and Benefits of Smart City Solutions to End-Users” was a part of the opening day programming at ChannelCon, the industry’s premier conference for education, networking and partnering produced by CompTIA, the leading trade association for the technology industry.

While the concept of the smart city has garnered much of the market’s attention, the opportunities extend well beyond cities, counties and towns.

“It’s an ecosystem” explained Benson Chan, senior partner with Strategy of Things. “The common denominators are the sensors that collect data that was previously not available. This data can then be analyzed to create insights that optimize performance or service.

“More importantly, this data can be combined with other data sets, analyzed, and then used to predict events or certain behaviors, such as traffic conditions,” Chan continued. “These events can then be proactively mitigated or further optimized as appropriate.”

“It could be a corporate park, a manufacturing operation, a connected building, or many other things,” said Robert Senatore, president and chief operating officer of Data2Go Wireless and chair of the CompTIA IoT Advisory Council.

“A new solution provider ecosystem is emerging, with applications, connectivity and infrastructure,” Senatore continued. “IoT is a global movement. This provides a timely opportunity for small businesses and start-ups to create value in the ecosystem. Even a sliver of the available market spend on IoT can build a very successful business for the entrepreneur.”

Mike Grigsby, engagement leader with Cisco’s Smart and Connected Communities initiatives, said a more appropriate description is a “connected community,” which uses technology to provide “a multi-dimensional picture of what is happening” in an environment. By using the data and information that’s collected and analyzed can help decision-makers to make informed decisions, he explained.

While there are many scenarios in which IoT solutions can be deployed, Grigsby identified six “that have a lot of movement, a lot of traction” in the marketplace. They are 5G connectivity, traffic management, emergency response, crime management, privacy, and smart lighting. Technology solution providers “can find a lot of play” in these areas, he said.

Speakers also cited a cautionary note. Senatore cited a survey that found that just 26 percent of companies engaged with IoT experienced success. Reasons for failure includes delays in the time to completion, problems with the quality of data, IoT integration issues, budget overruns, and internal skills expertise.

Chan listed four critical “smart” skills that channel companies should focus on: smart solutions architecture; analytics and machine learning; wireless connectivity; and hardware and devices.

“There is a critical shortage of analytics skills,” he noted.

ChannelCon 2019 continues Tuesday with CompTIA’s State of the Industry address; keynote remarks from cybersecurity expert Eric O’Neill; and other programming on the challenges, issues and opportunities shaping the tech industry. For the latest information from the conference visit the ChannelCon Virtual Press Office and at https://twitter.com/hashtag/channelcon.

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