When Two Worlds Collide

At this time, I see two very different worlds starting to collide. What will happen has not yet been decided. It can lead to catastrophes, but it can also decisively improve people’s lives.

The Classic Economy

On the one hand, there are large and medium-sized companies that have grown over the years. They have well-defined processes, their products are well known, secure, and shipped worldwide to a wide variety of customers. Information technology is more likely to be used for administrative tasks. The products are used by us all and they do exactly what they have always done. There are the TVs, refrigerators, shoes, jackets, and whatever we need to live.

Internet of Things (IoT)

On the other side is an increasingly important new technology. IoT, Internet of Things, breaks free. This technology destroys the familiar world. Each product receives an IT function, an independent personality and a communication interface. As a result, the behavior of the products becomes unpredictable. A TV is no longer just a TV if it has an IP address. A jacket is no longer just a jacket if it has temperature or other sensors and transmits the measured data.

Issues

Many companies are not or insufficiently prepared for the onslaught of new technologies. Over years grown processes and things people took for granted are gone. Where these two worlds meet, chaos arises. Out of this chaos wonderful and especially useful things can arise. A fridge that orders food independently has been around for a few years. But our imagination knows no bounds. A jacket that makes your thermal insulation dependent on the measured temperature – why not? The technical development of these new IoT products is gaining momentum. Companies learn to produce and deliver them. But some aspects worry me in this collision of the worlds.

Security

This world is a hacker’s paradise, every new IP address is a target. Companies lack the experience to handle it. The possible attack paths are very diverse, and many are probably not even known today. Who knows what new hardware bugs are still found in chips that are used by these products. There are also possible programming errors or inaccuracies.

Longevity

A good fridge lasted 30 or 40 years. How is it today with the IoT refrigerators? How long are software updates delivered? How long can hardware be exchanged? Other products that could be used well in the classical ancient world over many years or decades may experience similar difficulties. This leads to a waste of resources and even more electronic waste that the world really does not need.

Warranty And Maintenance

Craftsmen are very familiar with the goods we use. Washing machines and dishwashers can be well repaired on site at the customer. But what happens when IoT devices are hijacked or become defective and on-site deployment becomes necessary? Are the craftsmen being retrained to become IT technicians?

Further points

There are certainly many more points that cause headaches in the collision of the old and the new world. This is just a first spontaneous impression of me.

What’s next?

I can well imagine that the difficulties can be solved. But the way there is a long and difficult road. We have to find safety standards and the right tools. Using modular construction we need to make repair and maintenance easy, even after many years. We need to develop an awareness of the risks that exist. How will we react when the smart refrigerator is hacked and orders 1000 liters of milk? I think we can master these challenges. It’s a long way, because much is not yet known. First of all, let’s make sure that IT security is not neglected. That would be a start.

This article first appeared on my blog Connecting The Dots.