The results show that 50% of designers use single-board computers like Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black, as these offer ready-to-use embedded development platforms for creating final products. Other designers reported using their own design platforms (27%) or development platforms offered by component suppliers (19%).
Respondents to Premier Farnell's late 2018 survey also indicated a preference for designing their own comprehensive edge-to-cloud security solution (58%) rather than relying on third-party vendors. Security remains the top priority for designers (52%). Designers understand the critical importance of selecting an IoT platform that effectively, securely, and cost-efficiently supports their IoT applications, rather than relying on third parties that can sometimes lead to higher operating and maintenance costs.
Cliff Ortmeyer, Global Head of Solutions Development for Premier Farnell and Farnell element14, said: “Opportunities within the Internet of Things have increased as designers gain greater access to hardware and software solutions that enable them to bring their products to market quickly. Farnell element14 offers access to a wide range of IoT development tools and works with innovative suppliers to deliver the latest in artificial intelligence and security, including everything from the SmartEdge Agile, which incorporates edge intelligence without requiring programming, to the Zymbit ZYMKEY 4i security module for connecting connected devices.”.
The need for common standards and policies has also been highlighted as essential to accelerating the benefits of the IoT. Interoperability standards (certified standards), connectivity standards, and open standards, as well as common privacy policies, topped the designers' wish list.
The study also suggests that opportunities within the Internet of Things will continue to grow. Key application areas expected to experience significant growth over the next five years include home automation, industrial automation and control, and artificial intelligence. The greatest opportunity for competitive advantage lies in professional and industrial applications, with operational applications that reduce costs and boost business profitability, including opportunities to collect data across all operations to optimize workplace resources.
The research was conducted between September and November 2018 with 1,042 respondents across Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. The full survey results, including additional information on programming language usage, communication methods, hardware components, cloud service providers, and detection technology, are available here.
