Embarcadero IoT Survey Report

THE SOFTWARE CONNECTING THE INTERNET OF THINGS
A DEVELOPER SURVEY
Dimensional Research | January 2015
Introduction
From smart fridges that will order milk before you run out to fully automated buildings that adjust lights, heat, and
music to the personal preferences of room occupants, the Internet of Things (IoT) promises to bring the stuff of
science fiction into homes and businesses. Stories of cool devices and gadgets abound in the press. But how real are
these “Things” today? When will they begin to impact business results and daily life? And what impact will these
“Things” have on the software developers who are tasked with building connected IoT solutions?
The following report, sponsored by Embarcadero Technologies, is based on a global survey of 1,040 developers
and development managers involved in IoT projects. The goal of the survey was to understand the current status of
IoT projects, their business drivers, and how developers are leveraging new capabilities to deliver remarkable new
solutions.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of “Things” that contain interconnection technology (i.e. Wifi,
Bluetooth) to communicate with other devices, applications, middleware, and online services. These “Things”
can be as diverse as wearable devices, industrial sensors, inventory tracking chips, drones, and smart vending
machines. This survey focuses on understanding trends with new types of “Things”. For this survey, “Thing”
does not include traditional endpoints like desktops, smart phones or tablets.
This survey focuses on the entire solution required to deliver value, including “Things” and the
infrastructure the “Things” communicate with such as computers, smartphones, tablets, middleware,
cloud, and other back-end infrastructure.
Key Findings
“Things” will have significant business impact in 2015, driven by customer demand
-- 49% of “Things” will have business impact by end of 2015, compared to only 12% in 2014
-- Most “Things” are built for business, only 16% are built specifically for consumers
-- Half of “Thing” development is driven directly by customer demand
Software and apps crucial to connect IoT solutions
-- 71% of “Thing” data will move between local devices and remote servers
-- 72% of “Things” will use multiple interaction technologies to communicate
-- 49% will connect to cloud services
IoT solutions drive extreme new world of user experience
-- 76% think about “Thing” user experience differently
-- 97% of “Things” will accept non-traditional input such as sensors, GPS, voice, line of vision, and body
gestures
-- 39% of “Things” will present information in non-traditional ways including virtual reality, haptic feedback,
audible, and making changes to their environment
Sponsored by
© 2015 Dimensional Research.

www.dimensionalresearch.com
All Rights Reserved.
A DEVELOPER SURVEY
Detailed Findings
“Things” will have significant business impact in 2015
More “Things” are being built for business than consumers
Much of the buzz around “Things” has centered on consumer gadgets. From wearables to home health monitoring
to smart homes, it is fun to think about using “Things” in our daily lives. However, the practical reality of “Thing”
development is that more things are being made for businesses than for consumers.
Who is the target market to purchase your “Thing”?
Both consumer Consumer only

and business 16%
34%
Business only
50%
Half of all IoT solutions, 50%, are being built exclusively for business use – either to sell to other businesses, or for
internal business operations. Just a few examples of IoT solutions being built by survey participants for business use
include environmental monitoring for museums and agribusiness, inventory control for manufacturing, laboratory
controls, HVAC sensors, hospital patient trackers, specimen collection and tracking, military drones, and retail
kiosks that respond to personal information of nearby customers.
Only 16% of all IoT solutions are being built exclusively for consumers, from the practical, like tracking devices
for small children and home health monitoring, to amazing new entertainment devices. The remaining 34% of IoT
solutions will be used by both consumers and businesses including “Things” for smart buildings, vehicle operation,
access controls, and cleaner robots.

Page 2 www.dimensionalresearch.com
A DEVELOPER SURVEY
“Thing” development being driven by customer demand

The image of the creative genius coming up with products that cannot be imagined by regular people is part of
technology lore. Although significant “Thing” development is indeed driven by the visionaries in development teams
(57%) who are able to look at new technologies and find exciting new ways to use them, many IoT solutions are
being motivated by pragmatic sources. Half of IoT solutions are driven by customer demand (50%). Market trends
(43%) and management strategy (41%) are also key to these projects.
What is driving development of your “Thing” solu8on?
Development team vision 57%
Customer demands 50%
Market trends 43%
Management strategy 41%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
“Things” impact every aspect of the business

The impact of “Things” will be broad and touch multiple areas of operations for many businesses. Business impacts
will be as broad as enabling customers (48%) and enabling strategic business initiatives (43%) through to the
pragmatic outcomes of revenue generation (36%) and increased employee productivity (36%).
What is the expected business impact of your “Thing” solu:on?
Enable customers 48%
Strategic business enabler 43%
Revenue generator 36%
Enable employee produc?vity 36%
Thought leadership and brand building 28%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
Few “Things” were in the hands of end users at the close of 2014
This expected business impact is not being felt yet. By the end of 2014, only 25% of all IoT solutions were in the
hands of end users with only 13% being actually released and a further 12% being in beta or pilot. More than half of
all IoT solutions (53%) in the works are only in planning or idea stage.
What is the current status of your “Thing” solu5on?

40%
34%
35%
30%
25%
19%
20%
16%
15% 13% 12%
10%
6%
5%
0%
Our “Thing” solu8on has Our “Thing” solu8on is in Used by developers only Currently in development We have plans for a We have ideas for a
been released beta or pilot “Thing” solu8on but have “Thing” solu8on” but
not yet started don’t have a plan yet
At the end of 2014, developers in the Americas were leading the world in having put their IoT solutions in the hands
of end users with 21% of them having released their “Thing” and a further 16% in beta or pilot. Europe was far
behind, particularly with released “Things”. Only 7% of European developers have released their IoT solution. With
a further 10% having IoT solutions in beta or pilot, Europe is poised to catch up in the coming years.
What is the current status of your “Thing” solu5on?

(By geography)
40%
35%
30% Beta or pilot, 16%

25%
20% Beta or pilot, 12%
15%
Beta or pilot, 10%
10% Released, 21%
Released, 14%
5%
Released, 7%
0%
AMER EMEA APAC

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
2015 a big year for “Thing” development – and “Thing” business impact
While 2014 ended with a lot of intentions to build “Things”, 2015 will be a year of production and shipping. The
majority of IoT solutions, 77%, will be in active development in 2015.
Do you expect to be developing a

“Thing” solu8on in 2015?
No
23%
Yes
77%
2015 will also be the year when the business impact of IoT solutions will be felt. While only 12% of all IoT solutions
were generating a clear business impact at the end of 2014, by the end of 2015 almost half of all “Thing” projects
currently scoped (49%) will be generating business results.
When is your “Thing” solu1on expected to clearly generate business impact?
40% 37%
35%
30%
25% 23%
20% 16%
15% 12% 11%
10%
5%
0%
2014 2015 2016 More than 2 years from Too soon to say
now

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
“Thing” development slowed by competing priorities, not lack of demand

The minority of developers who reported that they wouldn’t be developing IoT solutions in 2015 (23%) were asked
why not. The clear answer was distractions from other priorities (57%). Only a very few reported that IoT solution
development was delayed because of lack of demand (only 17%).
Why won’t you be developing a “Thing” solu8on in 2015?
Other prioriBes 57%
No budget 25%
Lack of skills 18%
No demand 17%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
(n = won’t be developing a “Thing” solution in 2015)
Software and apps are crucial to connect IoT solutions

IoT solutions combine many interrelated pieces in new ways
“Things” will be widely varied in their end user and business impacts. They will also have a wide variety of
capabilities. “Things” will include sensors that read information, controls that accept input, and displays to show
information. Some “Things” will have only one of these properties, such as Beacon that simply sends a signal based
on an environmental change. Others will mix various capabilities for new and unique solutions.
Which of the following types of proper2es will be included in your “Thing”?
Sensor – reads informa?on from the environment and passes data

72%
when connected (i.e. heart rate monitor, Beacon)
Control – can be programmed and controlled remotely or through

60%
input it receives (i.e. drone, Google Glass )
Display – something you send informa?on to and it displays in a
58%
unique way (i.e. smart watch, virtual reality)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
“Things” will be highly interconnected with other infrastructure

Life is not simpler for developers involved in creating IoT solutions. “Things” will be highly interconnected,
requiring developers to know how to connect these pieces and distribute applications between disparate components.
What types of systems will be interconnected as part of your “Thing” solu:on?
Mobile apps 78%
Desktop applicaAons 69%
Database 61%
Cloud services 49%
Enterprise applicaAons 36%
Middleware 26%
Other IoT device 23%
Other 2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
While mobile apps will unsurprisingly be the most common interconnection point for “Things” (78%), traditional
desktops will remain a very significant part of the infrastructure (69%), as will databases (61%). Almost of half of
IoT solutions will connect to a cloud service (49%). Some “Things” (Other, 2%) will connect to a wide range of
other hardware, from door locks to recording equipment.
“Things” will communicate in many ways

”Things” can connect to the Internet of Things using a wide variety of technologies, each of which requires a
developer to make it work. Unsurprisingly, the most common method of communication with “Things” is Wifi or
other Internet connections (76%).
What is more surprising is that most “Things” (72%) communicate using multiple technologies for interaction. This
increases the need for developers to understand these multiple methods.
How will your “Thing” communicate with the rest of your solu7on?
Wifi/Internet 76%
Bluetooth LE 38%
REST API 33%
Standard Bluetooth 31%
Over the wire 25%
SDK 18%
Other 8%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
Survey participants took the time to outline the others ways in which “Things” communicate. Satellite and radio
waves were both mentioned frequently.
“Things” will move data between local devices and servers

The data captured by “Things” will be an important part of the business value. Almost all “Things” (98%) will collect
and store data. As well as simply sharing information, this data can be leveraged for analytics and business intelligence.
For developers involved in IoT solutions, the challenge will be to move this data around. Most IoT solutions (71%)
will store data both locally (on the “Thing”, in an app, or desktop) as well as on servers (enterprise database or cloud).
Where will the informa/on collected by your “Thing” be stored?
In an enterprise database 54%
In the cloud 47%
On the “Thing” (embedded database) 40%
App on mobile device 37%
Desktop applica?on 35%
Other 2%
Our “Thing” does not collect and store informa?on 2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Android and Windows top operating systems “Things” connect to

“Things” will connect to many different operating systems. The most common will be Android (78%) and Windows
(77%). The 3% of answers provided in the other types of operating systems included various types of firmware.
What opera*ng systems are used by the mobile apps and
desktop applica*ons your “Thing” connects to?
Android 78%
Windows 77%
iOS 59%
Linux 33%
MacOS 30%
Other 3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
IoT solutions drive extreme new world of user experience

“Thing” user experience is different
In the world of “Things”, keyboard entry and pressing buttons are not the only way to interact with a device. The
science fiction world of “Things” creates the possibility for vastly unique user experiences. For the most part
developers recognize this, and realize that new skills are needed to deliver usable solutions in a “Thing” world. Most
survey participants, 76%, described themselves as thinking about user experience differently for IoT solutions than
for traditional software.
Do you think about the user experience differently when developing

“Thing” solu<ons than when developing tradi<onal so=ware?
No, it’s the same
24%
Yes, it’s different

76%
Majority of “Things” will accept input that is not traditional touch

Almost all “Things” (97%) will accept input in some other way than traditional touch input like keyboard entry
and pressing buttons. This includes environmental sensors and position tracking, as well as input methods first
experienced watching Star Trek including voice commands (25%), biometrics (24%), line of vision (18%), and body
gestures (17%). Survey participants took the time to tell us that their “Things” can take inputs from brain waves,
scanners (QR, barcode, card readers), and even other “Things”.
While the ultimate vision of IoT solutions completely does away with traditional touch, we’re not there yet. More
than half of all “Things” (56%) will accept input the old fashioned way.
How will your “Thing” accept input?
Tradi@onal touch (buUon press, keyboard, etc.) 56%
Environmental sensors (temperature, etc.) 55%
Posi@on tracking (i.e. GPS, IR tracker) 51%
Voice 25%
Biometrics 24%
Line of vision (where you are looking) 18%
Body gestures 17%
Non-‐tradi@onal touch 12%
Other 7%
"Thing" will not accept input 3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
While the basic technology for accepting non-traditional input may be similar, the types of “Things” that use these
inputs will vary greatly. Body gestures will be used as input for “Things” ranging from gaming devices and physical
activity monitoring to fly control and smart buildings. “Things” that will get input by sensing where a person is
looking run the gamut from intelligent buildings, traffic, and secure entry, to virtual assistants and medical imaging.
Positional tracking will be used by “Things” as varied as access controls, cleaner robots, and time and attendance
tracking.
Over a third of “Things” will present information in non-traditional ways

“Things” also will present information in non-traditional ways to deliver a broad range of solutions. While mobile
devices, web sites and desktop applications will be the main types of display used by “Things”, 39% will present
information in non-traditional ways such as audible feedback (17%), virtual reality displays (15%), or haptic
feedback (7%). “Things” may also send email or text messages, generate output files, or make a change to the
environment like turning on a light or unlocking a door.
How will your “Thing” solu1on present informa1on?
Mobile device 68%
Web site 56%
Desktop applica:on 53%
On the “Thing” itself 39%
Tradi:onal monitor 33%
Audible feedback 17%
Virtual reality display 15%
Hap:c feedback (bio feedback) 7%
Other 3%
Our “Thing” solu:on will not present informa:on 1%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Haptic or bio feedback will be used for “Things” including embedded medical devices, entertainment, and vehicle
operations. Audible feedback will be used for many types of monitoring including home monitoring, health
monitoring, security monitoring and asset tracking. Virtual reality will be used for “Things” built to deliver enhanced
retail experiences, simulation training, and emergency situation management solutions.
Survey Methodology and Participant Demographics

In December 2014, developers and development managers from around the world were invited to participate in
an online survey on the topic of developing software for the Internet of Things (IoT). Participants agreed to the
definition of “Thing” and “Thing solution” then were asked a series of questions about involvement in software

A DEVELOPER SURVEY
development for “Things” and their supporting infrastructure as well as business impact of “Thing” solutions,
technology used, and user experience.
Definitions:
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of “Things” that contain interconnection technology (i.e. Wifi, Bluetooth)
to communicate with other devices, applications, middleware, and online services. These “Things” can be as diverse as
wearable devices, industrial sensors, inventory tracking chips, drones, and smart vending machines. This survey focuses
on understanding trends with new types of “Things”. For this survey, “Thing” does not include traditional endpoints like
desktops, smart phones or tablets.
This survey focuses on the entire solution required to deliver value, the “Thing” solution, including both the “Thing”
and the infrastructure the “Thing” communicates with such as computers, smartphones, tablets, middleware, cloud, and
other back-end infrastructure.
A total of 1,040 qualified individuals participated in the survey. All were involved in software development for IoT
solutions. Participants represented a wide range of geographies, company sizes, role in software development, and
vertical industries.
Region Company Size Role

Over 5,000
AMER 11% Execu&ve
APAC Consultant 20%
17% 24% 12%
1,000 – 5,000
13% Less than 10
37%
Developer or
other individual Team manager
100 – 1,000
contributor 23%
16%
45%
EMEA
59% 10 – 100
23%
About Dimensional Research

Dimensional Research® provides practical market research to help technology companies make their customers more
successful. Our researchers are experts in the people, processes, and technology of corporate IT and understand how
corporate IT organizations operate. We partner with our clients to deliver actionable information that reduces risks,
increases customer satisfaction, and grows the business. For more information visit www.dimensionalresearch.com.
About Embarcadero Technologies

Embarcadero Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of award-winning tools for application developers and database
professionals so they can design systems right, build them faster and run them better, regardless of their platform
or programming language. Ninety of the Fortune 100 and an active community of more than three million users
worldwide rely on Embarcadero products to increase productivity, reduce costs, simplify change management and
compliance, and accelerate innovation. Founded in 1993, Embarcadero is headquartered in San Francisco, with
offices located around the world. www.embarcadero.com


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THE SOFTWARE CONNECTING THE INTERNET OF THINGS

Dimensional Research | January 2015

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

Who is the target market to purchase your “Thing”?

Both consumer Consumer only

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

“Thing” development being driven by customer demand

What is driving development of your “Thing” solu8on?

Development team vision 57%

Customer demands 50%

Market trends 43%

Management strategy 41%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

“Things” impact every aspect of the business

Enable customers 48%

Strategic business enabler 43%

Revenue generator 36%

Enable employee produc?vity 36%

Thought leadership and brand building 28%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

What is the current status of your “Thing” solu5on?

What is the current status of your “Thing” solu5on?

30% Beta or pilot, 16%

20% Beta or pilot, 12%

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

Do you expect to be developing a

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

“Thing” development slowed by competing priorities, not lack of demand

Why won’t you be developing a “Thing” solu8on in 2015?

Other prioriBes 57%

Lack of skills 18%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

(n = won’t be developing a “Thing” solution in 2015)

Software and apps are crucial to connect IoT solutions

Sensor – reads informa?on from the environment and passes data

Control – can be programmed and controlled remotely or through

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

“Things” will be highly interconnected with other infrastructure

Mobile apps 78%

Desktop applicaAons 69%

Cloud services 49%

Enterprise applicaAons 36%

Other IoT device 23%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

“Things” will communicate in many ways

Bluetooth LE 38%

REST API 33%

Standard Bluetooth 31%

Over the wire 25%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

© 2015 Dimensional Research.

Dimensional Research | January 2015

“Things” will move data between local devices and servers

In an enterprise database 54%

In the cloud 47%

Non-‐tradi@onal touch 12%