The Week In Review: IoT

Deals
SAP will invest more than $2.2 billion in the Internet of Things by 2020, including acquisitions, and it has formed a new line of business called SAP IoT. The software giant this week reported its purchase of an Italian startup, PLAT.ONE, which will be integrated into SAP IoT. “It is a big and growing market and we think we can be a significant part of it,” said Tanja Rucker, SAP’s executive vice president of digital assets and the Internet of Things, adding, “We cooperate with Siemens, Dell, Intel, T-Systems, and Vodafone, among others. We talk to other partners as well.”

Products
NXP Semiconductors this week introduced the i.MX 6ULL applications processor for Internet of Things applications, featuring an ARM Cortex-A7 core operating at up to 528 megahertz. The chip is said to be 30% more energy-efficient than competing parts and is aimed at IoT consumer and industrial markets. NXP is sampling the i.MX 6ULL, with volume production set for October. Pricing begins at $3.50 in quantities of 10,000 units. NXP’s stock price soared nearly 17% on Thursday due to a Wall Street Journal report that Qualcomm will offer to buy the chip company for some $30 billion.

Qualcomm brought out its Snapdragon 600E and Snapdragon 410E embedded processors for Internet of Things applications. Both chips will be distributed by Arrow Electronics in a strategic shift by Qualcomm, which has traditionally relied on direct sales to its customers. Qualcomm is expected to designate more authorized distributors in the near future.

General Electric introduced Digital Mine, an Internet of Things software suite for the mining industry. The software from GE Mining is hosted on GE’s cloud-based Predix platform. GE Mining CEO Scott Phillips said in a statement, “Mining, as an industry, faces strong headwinds and must drive productivity and improve operational savings. Digital Mine, through advanced sensor technology and analytics, seizes the industry’s untapped data to help make a difference.”

Arduino is offering the ESLOV IoT Invention Kit for Internet of Things developers. There’s a Kickstarter campaign to raise nearly $500,000 for the product, with four weeks to go.

Market Research
KPMG Cyber reports that 31% of the consumers it surveyed are limiting their use of Internet of Things/connected devices owing to security concerns, and 61% of respondents said they would use IoT/connected devices more if they had greater confidence in their cybersecurity. Two-thirds of the 750 consumers questioned said they’re worried that IoT/connected devices could be hacked. “Today’s consumers understand that the more advanced Internet of things/connected devices become, the more data they acquire and the more valuable the data is to a hacker,” Gary Matuszak, Global and U.S. Chair, KPMG Technology, Media and Telecommunications, said in a statement. KPMG Cyber has a new report, the Consumer Loss Barometer.

Softeq, Stanfy, Lemberg Solutions, R-Style Lab, Mokriya, Eleks, Polidea, and Waracle. Sound familiar? Clutch says these are the top Internet of Things development firms. Clutch’s Ricardo Real Preciado said in a statement, “These leading companies have successfully developed complex projects for clients investing in connected devices and building IoT-compatible applications.”

People
Rob Chandhok, president and chief operating officer of Helium Systems, has joined LeEco as chief research and development officer for the company’s North American operations. “People don’t interact with their smartphones the same way they interact with their cars or with other electronic devices,” Chandhok said in a statement, adding, “Our goal is to create an optimal way of experiencing content and services across the consumer’s world, without distinction or differentiation based on device. Simply put, we want the best content experience for the consumer on every device.”