Explore the Internet of Things Through Seven IT Skills!

IoT is one of the biggest revolutionary technological movements of this generation. As a matter of fact, what has been seen so far is just the tip of the iceberg. There is still more to come. With this understanding, the professionals in the field of technology need to develop the capacity to position them for greater opportunities in the IT industry.

In the simplest term, the Internet of Things is a mixture of both the digital & physical worlds. In this blend, every single everyday object has its roots from technology. Let’s talk about Wi-Fi, sensors, and a wide range of other smart devices; all these have taken root in the world of technology. Interestingly, they offer great benefits for the businesses, the individuals, as well as the whole society. They help to increase safety, improve the quality of life, minimize waste, and offer greater and better convenience.

There is a wide range of smart objects that are finding their way into the world of the Internet on a daily basis. Wearables, home appliances, and a whole lot of smart objects and cities are making their way online daily. With the significance in reducing the cost of hardware and broadband access, as well as in mobile communications and Cloud, they continue to grow; the world continues to accept the growing connected culture. The implication of this is that there will be an explosion of the Internet of Things. As a matter of fact, Gartner has already predicted that there will be more than 25 billion devices connected to IoT by 2020. In terms of revenue, products and services of the Internet of Things will generate over $300 billion annually.

There has already been a great adoption by tech giants. In fact, some of them, including SAP, IBM, and Cisco, are launching their internal business units and investing billions of dollars to build the infrastructure required for IoT. Additionally, major industry and consumer manufacturers, such as Bosch, Philips, General Electric, and Ford, are already investing time and energy in developing the next generation intelligent devices. In fact, a lot is going on on the scene of IoT, and the professionals in the field of IT cannot just fold their arms and refuse to develop skills. If you are looking to explore opportunities with the growth of the Internet of Things, there are some skills you have to gain. In this blog article, we share some of them.

1. Business Intelligence

This comes first in the list of hot skills required to enjoy the dividends of IoT. With numerous devices sending and consuming raw information, the organizations will understand a huge potential of big data. The enterprises will want to collect, store, and analyze data streams from smart devices for effective use. The professionals with business intelligence (BI) skills and other expertise in data center management, sensor data analysis, Platform as a Service (PaaS), predictive analytics, and programming will be in high demand to meet these needs. If you don’t have these skills, it is time to develop them. If you already have them, take steps to hone them and validate your expertise with one or two IT certifications.

2. UI/UX Design

We get used to the fact that PCs, tablets, and smartphones’ screens are rectangular in shape. However, with IoT, the objects will come in various shapes and sizes. Some won’t have any visual display while some others will come with very small screens. The skilled UI and UX designers will become very much in demand as the Internet of Things providers try to develop user-friendly and effective interfaces. This means the professional UI/UX designers need to improve their skills to be able to take advantage of the windfall that is about to take place in IoT. The skills you need to gain include Service Design and Responsive Web Design.

3. Information Security

With the growth of cyber threats, the cybersecurity specialists are already in high demand. With the introduction of more IP enabled devices, there will be more potential for exploits, which ultimately lead to privacy concerns of networked devices. The professionals with vulnerability assessment skills, as well as Public Key Infrastructure security, wireless network security, and ethical hacking skills will have their hands full with demands from different organizations to help evaluate and mitigate these risks. Additionally, the knowledge of privacy policy and data ethics will also be of great value to your information security career in the field of the Internet of Things.

4. Hardware Engineering

At the heart of the IoT movement are the computer hardware engineers who build and design electronics. These specialists with the capability to develop and install Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, as well as other connectivity tools will be sought after. Some other valuable skills that will be in great demand include microelectromechanical systems engineering, AutoCAD drafting, quality assurance, and wireless sensor design.

5. Mobile Development

Mobile devices, such as smartphones, wearables, and tablets, will control the majority of the smart objects. This means there will be a growing demand for the mobile application development specialists. Obviously, the IOS and Android app developers will be most in demand. This is because these two platforms make over 90% of the total mobile devices in circulation. Additionally, the professional mobile app developers who have skills in communicating with sensors and hardware will be highly sought after in the thriving IoT workforce.

6. Programming and Software Development

Although the IoT industry is still in its early stage, which means the development landscape will be diverse. This also means that there are wide options of platforms to explore before the stabilization of the industry standards. However, skills in programming will be more in demand. For instance, Python has become the language of choice, as it is well known with Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi is the single board computer widely used in various sizes of IoT projects.

7. Networking

Basically, smart devices have sensors and applications that help them to communicate with the environment. The ability of these devices to connect effectively requires a range of networking tools and techniques. The network experts need to develop skills in optimizing, designing, and sustaining large scale traffic over redundant and reliable backbones. The working knowledge of wireless connection techniques along with Wi-Fi will be in great demand, as well as the capability to support Near Field Communication, Radio Frequency Identification, and other wireless protocols that do not use up lots of battery power.

Conclusion

No doubt, there will be continuous growth in the list of skills that will be in high demand for the Internet of Things. However, the above are some that you can develop right away. Go ahead!