8. Solution Providers Will Build Out App Dev Practices To Get A Leg Up In IoT

Solution providers will position themselves for success in the lucrative Internet of Things market by bolstering their application development teams.

Staffing up with IoT application developers is critical for tackling middleware issues around interoperability, security, and data management. Development resources will be needed to meet the growing demand for packaged IoT solutions for specific business processes and vertical industries, as well as for providing app dev services for clients' custom IoT development projects.

A July survey by market research firm Evans Data Corp. found that the number of developers currently working on IoT apps has increased 34 percent year over year to more than 6.2 million developers today.

And a study by The Channel Company, the publisher of CRN, found that IoT application development ranked fifth in providing the greatest opportunity for channel companies – behind only the sale of IoT hardware and software, installation and maintenance of IoT hardware, IoT consulting services, and sales of network infrastructure to support IoT deployments.