In the week the UK government more than doubles the amount of funding for the Internet of Things (IoT), the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) has suggested the key to its success is standardisation.
Failure to agree a common approach for components in this emerging technology sector could result in failure.
David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, announced an extra £45m, bringing the total figure up to £73m, as he arrived in Germany for the CeBIT 2014 trade fair.
"I see IoT as a huge transformative development – a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs, tackling climate change," he said.
However, Nick Appleyard, head of digital at TSB, warned the government to encourage common approaches and standards as more devices connect to the Internet.
"As we connect more things to the internet, we risk an incoherent approach and an increase in complexity so that the different parts don’t work well with one another," he explained to CBR.
"Government has a role to keep things simple so that new ideas can get access to the widest market possible without endless reengineering."
He added: "Also, as we increase the number of devices connected, we risk overloading parts of the Internet itself. IP addresses are already in short supply, and wireless spectrum is becoming scarce.
"The industry will need to work out how to manage these scarce resources, and government has a role to play in helping them to agree how."
