A new survey released by Embarcadero Technologies has revealed that 84% of software developers building IoT solutions this year will be targeting business markets.
The Software for the IoT Developer Survey suggests that IoT architects will work to connect existing and new business solutions by integrating different "Things" such as industrial sensors, health monitors and smart buildings.
Michael Swindell, Senior Vice President of Products at Embarcadero, said: "These survey results confirm that IoT is crossing over from consumer gadgets to business productivity and customer engagement."
The online survey, conducted by Dimensional Research in December 2014, also showed that just 16% will be targeting consumers only.
Having IoT solutions in place by the end of 2015 is the aim for 77% of developers, with 38% in the EMEA region admitting that they will anticipate their solutions to generate business impact.
"In the consumer space, individuals connect to IoT typically through a single personal mobile device, with the IoT experience encircling the user. However with business solutions IoT includes users and encircles the business and enterprise assets," Mr Swindell said.
By using a variety of systems, developers are aiming to interconnect mobile apps, desktop apps, databases, cloud services, enterprise applications, middleware and other IoT devices.
In today’s report, EMEA showcased important figures for IoT, with 63% of "Things" data moving between devices and servers, 68% of "Things" communicating using multiple technologies and 40% of "Things" connected to cloud services.
Mr Swindell continued: "The IoT connected applications developers build for the enterprise are essential to connect the disparate parts of a distributed IoT business solution – from mobile devices, to wearables and sensors, to cloud and on-premises enterprise back-ends. Software developers will clearly play a pivotal role in driving IoT innovation and business adoption in 2015 and beyond."
When working on different IoT solutions against usual software, 73% of developers accepted that they think differently about user experience.
The study highlighted the global swift between these traditional software solutions and new IoT developments, as 95% of "Things" will accept non-traditional input like sensors, GPS, or a line of site and 26% of "Things" will present information in non-traditional ways including VR, haptic, audible or environmental change.
The survey questioned 1,040 (613 in EMEA) qualified participants about the status of their IoT development efforts, technologies used, and impact on developers. The survey was fielded in English, German, and Japanese. All had responsibility for software development of an IoT solution.
