Market commentary: Amazon Launches AWS IoT

As more and more objects from household to automobiles get connected to the internet, companies from all sectors must realign their strategies to allow these developments in technology to complement their business model or product.

The Seattle-based company, Amazon, have now leapt into the Internet of things market with the announcement of its Amazon Web Services IoT platform.

The foundation of the companies cloud computing unit was launched in 2006, and as the Amazon’s surrounding environment continues to develop, this unit of the company hints towards becoming much more profitable in the near future. The unit has already made headway in becoming profitable, with more than 1 million businesses signed up as customers and revenue of $7.3 billion.

As Amazon announced the new platform that utilises the Internet of things at a conference in Las Vegas, the CTO Werner Vogles also introduced two partners that will collaborate to demonstrate the type of company that the AWS IoT platform is able to help. The automaker BMW and manufacturer John Deere were examples of companies that could benefit from the platform.

The way AWS IoT works is that it allows devices ranging from cars and solar panels, to the human body to connect to Amazon Web Services wirelessly through the internet.  This in turn allows companies to store, process, analyse and act on the mountains of data generated by connected devices.

An example of this includes the Valour bicycle, this may be one of the best examples of sports equipment that can be suited to the Internet of Things because it’s mobile, and offers plenty of data points to: capture mapping routes, integrate with fitness apps, while tracking the quality of roads, air and other environmental variables. Connected bike accessories already include everything from Bluetooth bike locks to helmets that map riders’ stress levels.

Using AWS IoT the company selling these products can now use this information retrieved from the customer or the product itself to adapt and customise their service, even in real time as data is generated by connected devices.

Many IoT devices and applications already leverage AWS however With the likes of Microsoft, IBM and Salesforce all pushing their own cloud and value-added services for IoT, Amazon will certainly want to be at the forefront of what could be the rat race of cloud services,  Especially when figures for the installation of IoT units totaled 9 billion at the end of 2013 and is expected to grow at a compound rate of 17.5 percent to hit 28 billion in 2020.

This article was issued by Andrew Cassar Torregiani, Trader/ Analyst at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri & Co. Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.