IoT sensors have small footprints with limited operating systems that make them prone to cyberattacks. IoT sensors also stand alone in a network without a human user that can recognize malware and other familiar cybersecurity risks. IoT gateways like those from RAD enable leading cybersecurity applications such as threat and anomaly detection to be distributed on the edge of the IoT network to detect and mitigate threats in real-time so that they don’t propagate across the rest of the network, organization, or beyond. Getting this wrong can have a crippling impact on a business, and the risk is very real. In 2016 we witnessed this when as many as 100,000 remote video cameras and DVRs with poor security were turned into botnet drones to conduct a massive DDoS attack against DNS provider Dyn, bringing down an estimated 1,200 domains, including Amazon, Etsy, GitHub, Paypal, Shopify, Twitter, and the New York Times.

In addition, intelligent IoT gateways provide the foundation for artificial intelligence (AI) analytics and automation. By leveraging the gateway to transfer data to the public cloud, AI and analytics can be applied. This information can then be provided to the IoT platform where it can be distilled into relevant business insights on an IoT dashboard that customers can access from anywhere at any time to make better business decisions.

The IoT ecosystem is broad and complex and can exceed the SMB, enterprise, and even the service provider’s expertise. This is where technology providers like RAD come in. RAD is combining the IoT sensors, gateways, platforms, applications, and dashboards into a holistic, intelligent IoT platform for service providers with zero-touch installation and tools to easily customize the platform for different industry use cases.

“At RAD, we’re bringing all the pieces together for service providers to provide an end-to-end IoT solution,” Rozov commented. “We’re combining all the relevant components ― such as the sensors, gateways, and dashboards — and gift wrapping them for new SMB use cases.”

Intelligent IoT platform providers like RAD provide the foundation on which innovative applications can be built. A transition to a cohesive, outcome-based model also allows telcos to prioritize cybersecurity, flexibility, and resiliency as part of their IoT offering. This provides network service providers the means to ascend the value chain, capitalize on both the enterprise and services growth in IoT, while forging enduring customer relationships

Gateway to IoT Innovation and Growth

As the demand for connectivity services continues to decline and becomes increasingly commoditized, network providers must ascend the innovation stack to remain relevant. As we saw with the smartphone opportunity, competing in the commodity connectivity business is a costly, hotly contested zero-sum game. The surge in IoT devices and evolution to intelligent IoT presents an opportunity for IoT service providers to ascend the value chain and deliver more value that strengthens existing customer relationships. If network providers can capitalize on intelligent IoT by building a portfolio of rich applications and services on top of their network infrastructure, they will be able to provide highly reliable, scalable, and efficient solutions that cater to diverse industry needs. These services will drive significant value for both enterprise and SMB customers.

The enterprise-service opportunity is very real, and $10 trillion is too big of an opportunity to ignore. By taking advantage of the right intelligent IoT platform, providers can seize the opportunity and prevent a repeat of the missed smartphone opportunity. More importantly, they can shift back to innovation and growth by beginning to offer truly differentiated services their customers value and depend on.