I brake the Internet of Things fotopost.jpgSome of the largest technology companies in the world, including Microsoft, Samsung and Intel, have established this past February the “Open Connectivity Foundation” (OCF), an alliance created to unravel the Internet of Things. In other words, create common standards for the Internet of Things (Iot), so that the devices can communicate and work with each other perfectly, regardless of the company that developed them, their operating system, or chipset.

However, the OCF does not have the support of either of the two most important companies in this field: Google and Apple. Apple has its own HomeKit protocol for home automation, while Google is trying to match OCF with the Weave communication protocol and Brillo operating system.

If the current fragmentation and complexity in the IoT ecosystem continues, and each company remains concerned with keeping the user within its platform, the actual implementation of the Internet of Things will continue to slow down. On the one hand, because users are not going to opt for a protocol risking making a mistake (like who bought a Betamax player before knowing that VHS would be imposed). And on the other hand, because if the devices of different brands cannot communicate with each other and with our smartphone, the transformative potential of the IoT will not have been fully developed.