Progress recently published a report based on interviews conducted with 675 application developers and basing their findings on these developers' experience with the Internet of Things, the report tries to predict future trends in this fast-moving new field.

Here are some of the key findings:

1. The term 'IoT' is confusing

What is the Internet of Things? What does that term mean? There seems to be resistance to the term itself on the part of 48% of those who responded to the survey. It was described as confusing, misleading, or even a marketing buzzword. It's been overused to the point that it has lost its significance. It would seem that before embarking on a discussion about creating a product based on IoT technologies, a development team might want to clarify their use of the terms in this space.

2. It's an exciting space but it's hard to prepare for it

45% of respondents to the survey are developing an IoT application right now. Obviously it is an exciting space, to the point that developers are working on these devices either for their day jobs or in their spare time. An even greater number, 75%, are excited by the potential of the field. That being said, only half of those surveyed said they have the actual skills to develop for it. That's a bit worrying. Interestingly, they tend to turn towards open source strategies, which offer easy access, to learn, a trend that should help speed the path towards adoption.

3. What's working now

According to those surveyed, the most interesting areas currently served by IoT devices and development include home automation, wearables and fitness, and automotive applications. Clearly success stories like FitBit and its recent IPO and the availability of devices like the Nest in big box stores are paving the way towards widespread consumer adoption of IoT devices. These applications can be seen as the trailblazers in a history that is still unfolding.

4. Future trends

Healthcare, urban usage, and automotive applications ranked high in their potential for future IoT applications. Tracking health statistics is of particular interest, and plugins already exist. The bridge between gathering health data and sharing it safely and securely to the proper health care providers remains a key challenge in building for this sector, but it's an exciting space to watch.

5. You can make money with the Internet of Things ... in the future

Only 65% of IoT applications were reported as having generated revenue by those surveyed. However, developers seemed to believe that focusing on services around managing user data made the most strategic business sense. There is an expectation that revenue will rise as the field matures somewhat.

6. Android and Java are particularly popular as a platform and language

In this survey, Java and Android were cited as the preferred way to develop for the Internet of Things. Armed with the toolset of their choice, still only 50% of developers felt they had the skills and resources to deliver IoT applications, for example reading, storing, and analysing data returned from sensors.

7. Top challenges

Real concern was expressed by developers regarding the security and privacy of these sensors and the data they store. Integrating devices to transfer all this sensitive data presents issues as well. Clearly, if health data is set to become the next killer app, security needs to be extremely well constructed to ensure privacy.

8. Where do we go from here?

Interestingly, developers seemed to feel that IoT devices will be replaced over the next 5-10 years by something even more interesting. This future-forward sentiment seems to epitomise this fast-moving field - the impression that there is always something even better right around the corner and that we need to keep up with it.

 

By Jen Looper, Progress.

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