Notwithstanding the media “noise” about the latest developments in technology and data management, the tech landscape has been evolving for more than 30 years, says Saunders. Years ago, the excitement centered on automation in factories. Today, it focuses on a range of specific products that are augmented by data, such as Google Glass and “smart” thermostats.

Modern mobility devices are changing the world of the Internet of Things. They are driving a whole new generation of advances in connectivity. At the same time, says Saunders, the latest wave of technology isn’t being fully utilized. “When it’s hard to use,” he notes, “only the really hardcore people use it. When it’s easy to use, then it starts to take off.”

The technological landscape in support of the Internet of Things is expanding rapidly. A couple of decades ago, one had to be an extremely capable developer in order to fashion technology in that area. Frequently, back-end systems were also custom built, giving rise to problems of system “fragility” and brittle code.

Fast forward to today, when a new wave of emerging technology on the back-end is “making it easy to build again.” The device side is starting to see Web technologies that allow for connections in the cloud – a key aspect of modern-day systems.

Companies seeking new software applications used to be limited to custom-built systems behind corporate firewalls. The migration to the cloud is engendering new applications and hardware that were unimagined years ago.

Expect the trend to continue, with a “constellation” of billions of devices running any number of applications, Saunders says.

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