As I am preparing to leave for Barcelona to attend the inauguralInternet of Things World ForumI can't but think about how much the Internet has transformed the way we all live.  But also, how little we have done to leverage that incredible reach and power to make all things around us work in a better, smarter way.

While I believe that there is a growing understanding of what the Internet of Things (IoT) is, and where it fits in the larger Internet of Everything (IoE), there is still much to do in terms of in terms of educating people on the practical applications, potential solutions, and use cases for IoT. What is good about where we are now? There is a great opportunity for innovation! Think about it, this is perhaps the greatest opportunity to leverage the Internet since the launch of e-commerce back in the 90's. However, all the growth and benefits we have seen from the dawn of the Internet up to today has only touched about 1% of the things we live with... just imagine the opportunities inherent in connecting the other 99% of things. If the other 99% of things in the world were connected, and shared data in a smart way over an intelligent network, they could make better, faster decisions, optimize processes, increase efficiencies and improve the standard of living for everybody around the world.

Just the thought of the possibilities makes me feel great about the future. And as with the Internet we have today, the IoT  will not be built by any-one individual, company or organization. No, IoT is being built via partnerships and strategic associations between companies, industry associations, and individual developers. The creation of the Internet of Things is being fueled with thought leadership from some of the most respected private and public institutions around the world, and gladly received by businesses, governments, and other organizations because its benefits and outcomes are a much better fit to their key business priorities, and offer more tailored Operational Technology (OT) and vertical solutions to big pain points.  IoT technologies are enabling organizations to address pain points that existing Information Technology (IT) solutions never have. Consider these examples:

Bridging the gap between OT and IT, offering the benefits of convergence, standardization, greater visibility and security, enhanced management and control, distributed intelligence and operational efficiencies are some of the many benefits that IoT is helping to bring to life. Cisco is proud to be part of this new step in the evolution of the Internet, and helping to drive innovation and growth, together, with our partners, as we have always done it.

Looking forward to learn more about IoT?  If you're registered for the IoT World Forum, I look forward to meeting you.  If not, I'll be reflecting on my experiences on this blog -I look forward to your thought!

PS: You can follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/rdelamora on the hashtag#IoTWF during the World Forum!