The Internet of Things is starting to provide real benefits to businesses in many sectors.
The functionality can provide users with benefits that can make a real difference to the bottom line – and brings opportunities for resellers to do likewise.
Connected devices and smart environments are increasingly becoming part of everyday life and work for many people – from smart TVs to card readers – and can help to make businesses more efficient and profitable.
Unsurprisingly, the Internet of Things (IoT) market in the UK is growing quickly – it is estimated that it will grow by $21.8 billion from 2021 to 206 at 11.80% CAGR – fuelled by demand for things like cloud computing and RFID enabled devices.
This is providing resellers with plenty of opportunities, says Debrup Ghosh, senior product manager at Synopsys Software Integrity Group. “The amount of IoT solutions that have emerged in recent years have flooded the market,” he says. “As a result, customers are now looking at resellers as trusted advisories who can help them select IoT solutions that are secure, reliable and, above all, solves their business problem.
“Customers are generally aware that embedding IoT into their operations will help them become more secure, efficient and productive. However, as is often the case when dealing with competing priorities and point IoT solutions, they are not able to procure the right end-to-end solution for their business.
“Resellers have a unique value proposition; customers trust them, and they can also implement a ‘systems approach’, that integrates several IoT products into an end-to-end solution that’s tailored to their customer’s needs. The key is to focus on solving the right customer problem, and they are finding the right IoT products for the right use cases to make the entire solution enterprise ready.”
Elevating offerings
The growth in IoT presents opportunities not just for new and recurring revenue streams for resellers but also to differentiate and elevate their offerings. “IoT solutions allow resellers to lead with innovation which can help deliver more value to their existing customers alongside opportunities to win net-new business to grow their customer base,” says Bhavesh Patel, senior executive IoT and IA – Solutions and Professional Services, at Ingram Micro.
“IoT also lends itself to an eco-system of new value-add wrap around services with recurring revenue, especially as the market transitions from project-based delivery to managed services.”
He adds that as the rate of IoT adoption increases, end customers are becoming increasingly aware of IoT solutions and their benefits, especially in verticals like smart offices and healthcare. “We are also beginning to see customers actively seek out IoT solutions that they have seen implemented elsewhere. However, we are also seeing that the end customer is often not aware that their incumbent reseller can provide such IoT solutions, which leads them to approach other providers. It is therefore critical for resellers to educate their customers about their IoT offerings to not lose out on this business.
“Although it is important for resellers to educate their customers on IoT solutions at a high level, they should steer away from focusing too much on the solution or technology itself. Instead, the focus of the conversation should be around the customer’s business problems and challenges that can be addressed with IoT solutions. This should then be followed by a clear ROI analysis to demonstrate the benefits in the form of a measurable value where possible.”
Security concerns
But with the development of IoT has come worries over the security of devices used, and this must be addressed by resellers if customers are to remain secure. “Most IoT devices will be deployed at the edge of a network and will need to transmit data quickly back to the centre – which means they need a fast and reliable way of connecting,” explains Mike Barron, managing director, SYNAXON UK. “They can also be a backdoor for hackers, so it’s important that the network segment on which they are deployed or connected to is protected. As more IoT solutions are rolled out, we’d also expect that to create more demand for managed security services, such as the endpoint and antivirus services.”
Martin Wegrostek, head of cyber at London-based cybersecurity specialist OryxAlign, agrees. “Businesses must be aware of the risks associated with IoT devices,” he says. “Some IoT vendors lack a security focus, which can make their devices vulnerable to known security flaws. Additionally, security updates may not be released in a timely manner, leaving devices exposed to attacks. Furthermore, some cybersecurity measures are more IT-focused and do not monitor IoT devices, leaving them unmonitored on the network.
“To understand the vulnerabilities of IoT devices, we can look at some examples. Smart TVs and smartwatches are connected to the network, but they cannot run endpoint protection, making them susceptible to attacks. These devices may also broadcast Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals for mobile devices to connect, providing an entry point for attackers.
Building and power management systems are also vulnerable, with attackers potentially gaining remote access to these devices and even the network. Such devices could be used to control lighting systems, HVAC systems and power management systems.
“To manage these risks, businesses can take several practical steps. They should change the default username and password where possible, use named accounts, and stop sharing passwords. It is also important to stay on top of software and firmware patching to ensure devices are up to date. Adopting a zero-trust framework can also help secure IoT devices.
“This can include network segmentation to separate devices that need to communicate with each other, blocking internet access where possible. Application-level micro-segmentation can also be used to define the protocols and ports on which devices are allowed to communicate. Recording all logs to a central repository, user access control through named accounts, and auditing all remote access are other essential measures. Finally, an extended detection and response solution can monitor the network traffic for IoT indicators of compromise (IOCs), as well as traditional IT IOCs, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats.”
Future
While there are threats, the benefits of IoT outweigh the risks, and it is expected that the growth of such devices will continue. “IoT has been gradually gathering momentum over the past couple of years, and I’d expect to see that continue,” adds Rachel Rothwell, senior regional director, Zyxel UK.
“IoT solutions tend to be fairly specialist and our partners usually get involved to provide the WiFi equipment and expertise – and that can be a significant element of the opportunity.
“We expect to see more partnerships developing between companies that have specialist or vertical market IoT offerings, and those that have the expertise in WiFi and in fine-tuning, monitoring and managing connectivity and devices across the network.”
Bhavesh adds that there are new and innovative solutions to problems which were previously thought unsolvable in virtually every industry vertical coming onto the market. “As the size and complexity of the solutions increase, there is also a trend of IoT being offered as managed services. This means that the provider handles the entire IoT eco-system for the customer including hardware, software, connectivity and on-going
