Internet of Things as a range of arenas

The term Internet of Things (IoT) is so large, so almost all-emcompassing, that it can get in the way of conversations: Just like the internet itself has become a horizontal technology that has touchpoints across (almost) all industries and (almost) all parts of (almost) all organizations, IoT is on the way to also cut across industries and organizational boundaries.

It can help to break it down into fields; they’re verticals of sort, but not quite: More like contexts in which IoT manifests. I like to think of them as arenas of IoT:

IoT Arenas IoT arenas. Image by Peter Bihr/The Waving Cat. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC by)

This list might grow over time, but right now (2016) these are the main arenas I see.

Each arena has a number of dimensions: Products, technologies, strategies & innovation, policies, ethics & culture.

Every arena is where IoT is applied and manifested. Some conversations cut across arenas, but in many cases it helps to specify which part—which arena—to consider.

Update: This is a different, maybe slightly more accurate and appealing visualization:

Arenas of IoT (Nov 2016) by Peter Bihr
Arenas of IoT (Nov 2016). Image by Peter Bihr. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC by)

Hopefully this little graphic can help.

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