The Internet of Things (IoT) is projected to grow significantly over the coming years. Research firm Gartner Inc. has estimated that 8.4 billion connected things were in use worldwide in 2017, up 31% from 2016, and expects the number to reach 20.4 billion by 2020.

This growth is being driven by the promise of increased insight, enhanced customer satisfaction, and greater efficiency. These benefits are made possible as sensor data from devices and the power of Internet-based cloud services converge. One of the key concerns related to the successful adoption of the IoT is having sufficiently strong security mechanisms in place throughout the ecosystem—to mitigate the increased security risks of connecting devices to the Internet.

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The Internet of Things (IoT) continues to expand its reach into homes, businesses, social settings, and other environments, as more and more devices are connected with the purpose of gathering and sharing data.

Clearly, there are several potential benefits of IoT from a consumer standpoint. Apart from the convenience aspect, smart connected products can lead to increased energy efficiency, improved safety and security, higher product quality, etc.

But unfortunately, the current consumer IoT device landscape is still immature. For consumer IoT devices to thrive, device management capabilities need to evolve in a few ways.

IoT device management is the process of authenticating, provisioning, configuring, monitoring and maintaining the device firmware and software that provides its functional capabilities. Effective device management is critical to establishing and maintaining the health, connectivity, and security of IoT devices. IoT application vendors typically provide comprehensive device management with their solutions. But all bets are off if that application vendor goes out of business and you would like to use your devices with a similar application from a different vendor. Consumers are increasingly faced with unexpected device obsolescence and landfills are starting to fill up with expensive IoT bricks. What consumer IoT needs is a truly open IoT device management ecosystem.

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In case you’re still not sure about the viability of the Internet of Things (IoT) as a business concept, some new findings from research firm International Data Corp. (IDC)—predicting significant growth for the market in the coming years—should be convincing.

In addition to a rise in investments in IoT products and services, the IDC research describes how software and services will play a major role in the success of IoT.

According to the IDC study, worldwide spending on the IoT is forecast to reach $772.5 billion in 2018. That represents an increase of 15% over the $674 billion that will be spent on IoT in 2017. The new update to the firm’s Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide forecasts worldwide IoT spending to sustain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% through the 2017-2021 forecast period, surpassing the $1 trillion mark in 2020 and reaching $1.1 trillion in 2021.

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Developing an IoT security competency and implementing an IoT risk assessment program should be an important strategic focus for any company implementing an IoT strategy.

A great race is underway among companies in the industrial sectors to be leaders in the Internet of Things (IoT) realm. Companies are off and running in their plans to execute IoT strategies, and many are already connecting all manner of “things” to gather and analyze data about product usage and performance, factory output, maintenance issues, etc.

The proof is in the spending. A June 2017 report by research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) said spending on IoT in 2017 was expected to grow 17% compared with the previous year, reaching more than $800 billion. By 2021, IDC said, global IoT spending is expected to reach about $1.4 trillion, including hardware, software, services, and connectivity that enable IoT.

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Is your organization looking to get a piece of the Internet of Things (IoT) action? You’re not alone. IoT continues to draw lots of attention from companies across a multitude of industries, even though few organizations have actually launched full-scale projects to connect objects and gather and analyze data from connected things.

But whenever a technology trend gathers real steam, it’s tempting to quickly jump onto the bandwagon before there’s a concrete plan in place, if for no other reason than to appear savvy and competitive. This approach would be a mistake with IoT, as it would be with any other major technology project.

Before launching an IoT initiative, organizations need to have a comprehensive strategy in place. Otherwise, there’s a risk of overspending, exposing data to security and privacy threats, limiting the payback from IoT technologies, as well as other negative outcomes.

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