Internet of Things Likely Will Follow Normal Technology Adoption Curve

The Internet of Things, many believe, is the future of revenue growth for the mobile business, with a very simple logic: there are only so many locations or people to connect.

There are an order of magnitude more human beings than places to serve. And there are an order of magnitude more devices to connect, than humans to serve.

But “necessary” is not “sufficient.” Future revenue growth might hinge on IoT success. But necessity does not guarantee success, or success in a measurable business horizon, for most firms.

If Internet of Things does emerge as the new industry many predict, it would clearly qualify as an important technology innovation. And important, successful technology innovations tend to follow a maddening development path.

There normally is less progress early on than people expect. That means many firms get in too early. But then, after a longish period of quietude and disappointment, there is an inflection point, where adoption suddenly zooms beyond expectations.

That undoubtedly will be the case for IoT, as well. Commitment and patience, as well as serious effort, will be required. Internet of Things pioneers will attest to that.