ABSTRACT
Introduction The core technologies and economic factors driving the IoT have been discussed in the previous sections. It should be clear that many of the technical foundations for the IoT to flourish are in place while many companies are still struggling to create new or adapt existing business models to take advantage of this new landscape. On the industrial side, real IoT solutions are being rolled out and delivering measurable benefits to businesses. Domestic IoT applications are at an earlier stage and, in many cases, consumers are often not convinced of the need for some of the products on the market. However, many of these issues will be solved by easier-to-use products being marketed at lower prices to attract less tech-savvy consumers. As Rogers (2003) has shown through his numerous case studies, once innovative new technologies start to be used by early adopters and their benefits can be seen by the broader market, then mass adoption is more likely. New technologies bring with them much uncertainty, particularly those which impact our daily lives. The first mobile phones launched in the early 1980s cost several thousands of pounds to purchase alongside expensive monthly subscriptions and call charges. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X cost $4,000 in 1984 (more than $9,000 in 2016 money) with a monthly subscription of $50 ($115 in 2016 money) with calls costing more than 40 cents a minute (approximately $1 in 2016 money) (Wolpin, 2014). Such devices were clearly not for everyone, and even the telecom service providers were uncertain as to who would buy them. In the early 1980s, AT&T commissioned consulting firm McKinsey to predict the likely sales of mobile phones. The company estimated that due to high costs, poor coverage and very limited battery life, the total global market would not exceed 900,000 units (Economist, 1999). As a consequence, AT&T decided not to enter the market, an expensive mistake it rectified later. By the end of 2015, there were an estimated 4.4 billion mobile phone users, 60% of the world’s
population (Statista, 2016). Falling component costs, better network coverage and improved battery life, as well as the innate desire for people to communicate with each other, ensured mobile devices soon became a part of our lives. Betting against a technology because the early iterations of it are not perfect is often a mistake, and this is equally true of many IoT products and services which are still at the early stages of development.
