The internet of things (IoT) refers to a concept of multiple interconnected devices communicating with one another to process information on a real-time basis and accomplishing tasks with minimal intervention. The concept holds endless opportunities for businesses across all verticals to drive in greater efficiencies in their processes. At a broader level, IoT can play a critical role in a country’s governance, and in managing and advancing its infrastructure and economy.

For a country like India, in particular, IoT can prove to be a veritable game changer by giving a digital push to governance, empowering rural citizens and changing the way the city infrastructure is managed today. According to Dr Rishi Bhatnagar, president, Aeris, India and chairperson of the Institution of Enginee­­ring and Technology India IoT Panel,  “India’s investments in IoT are providing a means to optimise the utilisation of limited resources and facilities while improving people’s living standards. The potential business opportunity of IoT solutions in areas like smart water management is estimated at $14.4 billion, smart energy is estimated at $23.4 billion, smart transportation at $6.3 billion-$11.6 billion and smart waste management at $0.9 billion.”

An overview of the current level of IoT deployment, the opportunities for various stakeholders, the government’s role and the way forward…

IoT deployment status

Even though the opportunities emerging from IoT/machine to machine (M2M) adoption are immense, the current level of technology deployment across industry verticals in India is modest. There are a few instances of organisations in verticals such as logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, utilities and asset maintenance adopting IoT. Most of this deployment is taking place in back-end systems and the focus is on preventive maintenance. For instance, Bharat Petroleum Corpora­tion Limited has adopted IoT for tracking its onshore and offshore assets on a real-time basis. Similarly, construction equipment manufacturer JCB has collaborated with Wipro for building a cloud-based platform to get real-time information on its equipment in the field. On the logistics side, a number of organisations have GPS-enabled vehicles in their fleet to collect data on their arrival and departure time. Meanwhile, on the manufacturing and retail side, organisations are implementing IoT solutions across their supply chain network to gather real-time information on their stocks and inventories.

The biggest push to IoT adoption in India, however, is coming through government programmes. According to Bhatna­gar, “The Digital India and 100 Smart Cities Mission (SCM) are boosting the adoption of technology in both the public and private sectors.” The government has committed to spend a total of Rs 980 billion for the development of 100 smart cities and the rejuvenation of 500 other cities over the next five years. Of this, Rs 480 billion will be spent on the SCM and Rs 500 billion has been dedicated for the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation programme. The government also launched the Centre of Exce­llence for IoT in Bengaluru, a joint venture of the National Association of Soft­­ware and Services Companies, the Department of Electronics and Infor­m­a­tion Tech­nology (DeitY) and the Edu­cation and Research Network.

Further, with a vision to create an IoT industry worth $15 billion by 2020, DeitY has drafted a strategic roadmap that brings together various standards, policy and regulatory requirements and the approach for deriving benefits from IoT. The roadmap will help in building domain competency, buffering product failure and  energising research acumen, while encouraging budding entrepreneurs to enter this space. In May 2015, the Department of Telecom­mu­­­ni­­­cations (DoT) formulated a National Telecom M2M roadmap. The synergy between the M2M roadmap and the IoT policy will help in the development of an IoT ecosystem in the country. In this regard, establishing protocols for standardisation and interoperability guidelines will be beneficial.

According to Gartner, for the next five years, IoT adoption will be driven by government-sponsored initiatives, including a smart city industrial corridor, energy management, transport and traffic management, and water management projects. Smart traffic and parking solutions can address the growing urban challenge of congestion. Smart buildings can automatically manage lighting and ambient temperature based on occupancy, and solid waste management, using sensor and location intelligence. At the rural level, digital infrastructure can give an impetus to the delivery of services such as education, health, governance and financing to the underserved population.

Opportunities for stakeholders

There are several stakeholders involved in creating a vibrant IoT ecosystem. These include hardware manufacturers, which produce devices that communicate on IoT; vendors and enterprises that provide enhanced services such as cloud infrastructure and databases; and software solution providers that manage the communication and intelligent automation of these devices. “IoT is not a game for a single player, no matter how big it is; it requires a robust ecosystem of enablers for monetisation. The initiatives being taken by the government are acting as enablers to drive innovation in the IoT space by bringing together and leveraging the strengths of specialists from different fields, such as original equipment manufacturers for devices and sensors, telecom players for network connectivity; IT service providers (including application developers, aggregators and integrators), industry and domain experts for verticalised applications, government bodies, academia, and law and regulatory bodies,” says Bhatnagar.

IoT generates billions of data points that must be stored, processed and analysed. As such, increasing IoT adoption will also see a growth in data centre and storage spending.

Key focus area for operators

In recent years, operators have started focusing on areas beyond traditional ­services that promise future growth. Conse­quently, all major operators are strengthening their enterprise business by expanding their product and service portfolio, and introducing new technologies like M2M and IoT.

“IoT/M2M offers an opportunity to operators to cater to the connected solution needs of enterprises. For connecting unconnected products and devices within an IoT ecosystem to generate value, enterprises need to work closely with their telecom operators. Since operators already have an established subscriber base, a strong sales channel and billing ability, they have the advantage of leading from the front as a complete IoT solutions provider. Investing in low-power wide-area technologies and a complete IoT stack, and providing both vertical and horizontal capabilities for IoT solutions will enable operators to derive a new revenue stream,” says Dr Bhatnagar. For instance, Tata Communications has laun­ched a new LPWAN based on LoRa technology for connected devices and cutting-edge IoT applications across Mumbai and Delhi. This is more efficient than Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity, the signals are stronger and it is more cost efficient. Also, it is best suited for enabling IoT around metro stations and parking areas.

Currently, all major operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Reliance Communications (RCOM) are bet­ting on M2M communications to consolidate their presence in the enterprise space. They are offering SIM-based M2M services such as smart metering, fuel monitoring, vehicle tracking and traffic management to enterprises across verticals. Airtel Business, the enterprise services arm of Bharti Airtel, is focusing on providing M2M solutions for m-governance and corporate applications. Vodafone India provides M2M solutions through its enterprise arm, Vodafone Business Servi­ces. It is currently working with system integrators, device manufacturers and application service providers to offer new services like health monitoring, school-bus tracking and personal emergency systems. RCOM is also testing its M2M solutions across its group companies in power, cement distribution and healthcare.

Further, Mukesh Ambani-owned Reli­an­­ce Jio Infocomm Limited has ambitious plans in the enterprise space. It is creating an ecosystem of companies that will build solutions on top of its network to provide enterprise services across verticals.

Going forward

IoT is pivotal for realising India’s digital dream and  spreading the benefits of a digital economy to the remotest parts of the country. Bhatnagar says, “I am seeing interest and commitment from the industry and the government alike to use IoT for leapfrogging growth and ensuring sustainable development. However, the road to success is not easy. Issues related to governance with the accountability of multiple parties, security, compliance and data privacy on the one hand, and interoperability, quality of service and economies of scale for profitability on the other, need to be addressed.”