How IoT can generate new business - CompTIA

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the emerging technology that offers the most immediate opportunities to generate new business and revenues, according to the Emerging Technology Community at CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global tech industry.

The community has released its second annual Top Ten Emerging Technologies list, ranked according to the near-term business and financial opportunities the solutions offer to IT channel firms and other companies working in the business of technology.

The Internet of Things also topped the community's 2018 Top Ten list.

"Everybody in the technology world, as well as many consumers, is hearing the term IoT," said CompTIA Emerging Technology Community member Frank Raimondi.

"To say it's confusing and overwhelming is an understatement," Raimondi continued. "IoT may mean many things to many people, but it can clearly mean incremental or new business to a channel partner if they start adding relevant IoT solutions with their existing and new customers. More importantly, they don't have to start over from scratch.

Artificial intelligence (AI) ranks second on the 2019 list.

"The largest impacts across all industries – from retail to healthcare, hospitality to finance – are felt when AI improves data security, decision-making speed and accuracy, and employee output and training," said community vice chair Maddy Martin.

"With more capable staff, better-qualified sales leads, more efficient issue resolution, and systems that feed actual data back in for future process and product improvements, companies employing AI technologies can use resources with far greater efficiency," Martin added. "Best of all, as investment and competition increase in the AI realm, costs are reduced.

Third on this year's list of top emerging technologies is 5G wireless.

"The development and deployment of 5G are going to enable business impact at a level few technologies ever have, providing wireless at the speed and latency needed for complex solutions like driverless vehicles," said Microsoft director of partner incentive strategy and program design.

"Additionally, once fully deployed geographically, 5G will help emerging markets realise the same 'speed of business' as their mature counterparts," Haines commented. "Solution providers that develop 5G-based solutions for specific industry applications will have profitable, early-mover advantages.