Altium's Rob Evans wades through the hazy terms and misconceptions about the Internet of Things and the cloud to find the real technology shift in his latest blog on New Electronics: http://t.co/dzY7gTq
What really surprises me about the CLOUD is that it is essentially the 1960 IBM service model dressed up with a new hair doo and lipstick.
The whole reason for going to the personal computer was to establish complete control over your data, your software, and your information.
I know the sales pitch about the safety of having everything off site, but I have not seen a good enough implementation of network and computer security that would convince me to put my stuff in a nebulous technology called the Cloud.
To me, this is deja vue, stepping back into the old ways of doing things where you really did not know where your data was or how many people had made copies or worse, changed the content.
I think I will stick to my PC and my own tried and true backup procedures.
Yes, the basic idea of hosting apps and data on remote servers is certainly nothing new and raises many of the same security concerns as before. What's changed is that it's now far more cost-effective, reliable (although a few recent events challenge that view) and flexible than before. Harnessing these 'cloud' services has become an attractive business model for many organizations, and the security is considered as equal to or better than what was achieved with the equivalent local servers and systems. I'm sure it's a debate that will go on for some time.
But I guess what I'm really getting at here is that popular media so often finds a new cool phase and runs with it, creating a buzzword snowstorm that blankets what is fundamentally an exciting new technology direction.
I believe that new direction is about much more than just storing your photographs on a remote server, or implementing gee-whiz ideas like toasters with built in web browsers. Where it gets really interesting is in the non-PC area of electronic devices that work together and with cloud-based services, and this leads to equally abused (but necessary) conceptual phases like ecosystem, physical internet, connected environments and a host of others. Working examples of this approach that already exist, like Kindle and its associated infrastructure, are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Beyond the consumer market, we're seeing medical, industrial and automotive industries making rapid moves in this direction in order achieve an edge by offering a better (and much broader) customer experience - hmm, now there's a buzzword. Where it will lead to is anyone's guess, but the direction and technology are clear enough – and that means electronics design needs to grow to the approach and fully harness its potential.
Just after the Sony, and reportedly UK census data breaches, how can you assure complete security, especially for the very sensitive applications you just mentioned.
Securing sensitive applications and services is indeed one of the main challenges as we move towards a more connected future. Most of the notable recent (and past) information security breaches have been tracked back to human factors such as weak or leaked passwords and successful phishing expeditions. Like any company system that works with external data access, bullet-proof security can’t be guaranteed – ultimately, it's all about risk mitigation.
That said, whether we head down the path of ecosystems, the internet of things and all things cloudy is probably a moot point. We will, because of the multitude of factors that that are pushing in that direction. And it's electronics design engineers that will be creating the new smart, connected gadgets and modules that work with the cloud-based ecosystems, so new design approaches and tools are needed to bring the development of electronic devices and internet services together.
Yeah, but there is always a human somewhere in the system. I did love the HB Gary story, when a young girl managed to convince the systems guy she was the CEO and to hand over the passwords.
