Top 8 skills developer must have to make a mark in the IoT industry? Internet of Things (IoT) is currently trending at a great pace. This global system of interconnected physical devices deliver data through Internet and is having a huge impact on our lives. IoT is entirely transforming the way we function in our lives. Across various industries, the IoT devices are being adopted, comprising of retail, automation, manufacturing, healthcare, building automation, and a lot more. On their part, these business enterprises leverage data from connected devices hence increasing operational efficiency and providing better experiences and value to their customers. Looking at the pace at which IoT is being adopted by the business and companies, and with the growing number of connected devices, it is quite certain that the demand for adept developers who are skilled at delivering IoT solutions will reach all new heights.
Now aligning the skills of current IT professionals with IoT technology is quite challenging as the technologies related with IoT constantly evolves with new capabilities and produce changing conditions. Hence it becomes crucial for the developers to ensure that their technical skills stay relevant and in demand even with technology evolvement. As per a report, presently there are around 300,000 developers who contribute to IoT, but by 2020 the requirement will be for 4.5 million. In the start of 2017, it was predicted by Gartner that 20.4 billion IoT devices will be connecting in 2020. Hence, a lack of IoT knowledge and skills will be a major concern and among the biggest obstacles in adoption and usage of IoT effectively.
IoT App Development Trends As far as Internet of Things (IoT) is concerned, it is vital for the developers that they are able to bring a real world object together with real world code through testing and experimentation. After all, ultimately IOT is about simplifying the execution of daily activities. The designing needs to be done with aesthetics, functioning and with a purpose in mind. As an object that is not easily understood goes straight into the trash. Hence, it is vital on the part of developers that they stay on top of changes in programing languages and evolving hardware platforms. They should have knowledge about the methodologies and tools
that come from open source community. It is their responsibility to act as a bridge between physical and digital worlds by writing codes and then by physically deploying the devices themselves. So, if you are keen on pursuing your career in IoT, then it is vital that you are knowledgeable about these IoT skills required in today’s developer ecosystem.
Machine Learning & AI As you begin with IoT process, you are required to gather and analyse tons of data, however that would be helpful only if you are able to deliver value and the correct information out of the chunks of data. This is why AI and machine learning are must-have skills for an IoT developer. Intelligent Big Data analytics comprises of applying cognitive computing techniques drawn from machine learning, AI, statistics, modelling, and data mining. IoT developer apply these techniques in real-time in order to sensor data streams for predictive analysis as well as to make independent decisions in regard of incoming data. Besides, developers can even apply these techniques for identification of anomalies or patterns in the data.
Application Design & Development Mobile & web applications offer user interfaces to consume and interact with data from IoT devices. However, it differs when it comes to IoT devices, which tends to have their own user interfaces (UIs). Gesture-based and voice-based interfaces tend to rule, mainly with home automation, whereas augmented reality interfaces offer new and exciting prospects to overlay IoT data over physical world. Resultantly, UX and Ui and design skill tends are quite in demand. High-level languages are used for development of mobile and web applications, however for IoT app development; Swift, Node.js, and Java are among the top languages that are being used. With many IoT apps, comprising of smart vehicles and wearables, being location-based had augmented the demand for GPS programming skills. Besides, the developers are advised to keep an eye on new developer kits and frameworks that can be leveraged for rapid prototyping. They can even be used by IoT platforms that are offering tools and infrastructure to automate building, deploying, managing, and operating IoT apps.
Big Data Knowledge Big Data knowledge is greatly helpful for a developer in order to survive as an active part of IoT industry. So we all know that IoT device generate huge sum of data and hence Big Data knowledge comes helpful in analysing and interpreting the data to enhance IoT devices’ functioning. This analysis tends to prove highly important for IoT organization as it will help them to craft out the decisions for executing the foreseen activities.
Embedded systems The component “things” in IoT mainly comprise of electromechanical and electronic devices. These devices have the ability to measure, perceive or react to surrounding environment. You can discern these devices with some kind of computational ability so as to measure the use of sensors for transmitting the appropriate signals. Here the understanding of embedded systems prove to be greatly helpful and largely contributes to the IoT skill set. Within IoT, embedded system is where the objects and items are embedded with sensors that have web connectivity and thus have the ability to establish communication among themselves and with
our devices. This way, with knowledge of embedded systems fabrication technologies, electronic designs, measurement systems and hardware knowledge of the machine that are being used to create an embedded system, you cannot just enter in the arena of IoT but can also make a mark in this domain.
Automation It was revealed in one of McKinsey surveys that 40% of the value of IoT lies in its operability. With there being large amount of data and interfaces being used in IoT, developers who are proficient at conducting automatic API testing with manual testing, are the ones who actually succeed in getting their products to market.
Hardware Interfacing If you are keen on becoming an embedded engineer, it is crucial for you to learn a lot about hardware programming. The knowledge of programming interfaces like I2C, GPIO will be helpful in attaining success.It is vital that you are well-versed with at least one operating system, like Linus and one embedded system like Contiki, as it will be an add-on to your skillset.
Cloud Computing Keeping in mind the fact that Internet of Things involve great amount of data, hence data storage is a key issue and hence companies need assistance of cloud services for data management. Thus, businesses look for professionals who are well-versed with cloud computing technology so that they can capably manage and store the data.
Network Security Above we have discussed regarding the huge volumes of data generated by IoT devices and how that needs to be stored and analysed. But you can’t just leave this integral factor that needs your immense attention, i.e. Data Security. This is something that you just can’t afford to ignore as this data is extremely sensitive, like it could be your data of your location generated from your smartphone or health history gathered from your smart bands. Hence, this data demands ultimate protection. This is why as an IoT developer you need to take responsibility for cyber security and have required skills can prove to really useful. These are the skills that are most in demand from professionals keen on stepping in the IoT industry. Hence, if you desire to make a mark in this arena, ensure that you are imbibed with these skills.