I love it when Alex tells it like it is.

Gartner, a trends research group (or science fiction that costs a lot more to subscribe to) published their yearly Hype Cycle Chart, describing the Internet of Things (which they’ve only started adding to their chart in 2010 after “mesh networks” was doing rather well) as being “more than 10 years away” for the third year in a row. Well I sincerely don’t know what they’re smoking in Connecticut but they should come to Europe more often. Trends researchers have a disproportionate influence on the tech sector and C-suite executives who don’t have time to keep up with what’s going on outside their organisations and rely on outside opinion. This is totally fine, unless that source is living under a rock.

» Against the culture of “meh” and the internet of things. designswarm thoughts

I’ve had my fair bit of frustrations with the Gartner HypeCycle, and she cuts right to the chase. I think the hype cycle as such is a good, intuitive tool for looking at the progression of technology (through the hype, one might add.)

This all wouldn’t be too bad, if Gartner’s predictions didn’t have the effect of self-fulfilling prophecies. If C-Level execs hear that IoT is still 10 years out, they’ll more-likely-than-not defer investment in that space. After all, there’s still time.

Gartner is doing the industry, and their clients whom take their reports at face value, a massive disservice. The infrastructure is being built as we speak, and industry after industry is looking to adopt more computing and communications in their products. Either Gartner have a very narrow definition indeed of what the Internet of Things is, or they’re not really paying attention. I’d love to see their methodology and the reasons why they believe it’s still 10 years out.

Cue Alex again:

We should remember that the people paid to write reports for the C-suite executives in technology will breed the type of opinion that Ken Olson had in 1977.

 

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”