Architectural Reference Models related to Smart, Connected Devices

Lately I figured out that I haven’t covered resources on the topic of Smart, Connected Devices (aka Internet of Things (IoT)) in the knowledge base. As the topic spreads across multiple architectural domains (business, application and infrastructure), I’ve updated several knowledge base pages. Please note that the current resources are just a start.

Views on the Business Model & Business Architecture

The high-level business view on the topic of Smart, Connected Devices is excellently described in two Harvard Business Review articles by M. E. Porter and J. E. Heppelmann (see the section Smart, Connected Devices (aka Internet of Things) on the knowledge page Business Strategy and Business Models). As far as I know, Porter and Heppelmann coined the term Smart, Connected Devices to separate their work focussing on the ‘changing nature of “things”‘ from the technology that enables and connects the “things”. Although they don’t refer to the concepts explicitly, Porter and Heppelmann elaborate on the business strategy and business architecture related to Smart, Connected Devices.

In detail they developed:

• a definition of Smart, Connected Products,
• a capability-based reference model for managing Smart, Connected Products,
• a capability model for Smart, Connected Products,
• a composition of ten new strategic choices in relation to Smart, Connected Products,
• a summary of the change impacts in relation to the generic, high-level value chain and
• a summary of the implications for the organizational structure of a company.

My personal takeaways related to Smart, Connected Devices are:

• Software should be a key component of the product development cycle of a lot of industries and
• Software architecture and development capabilities are mandatory to design and deliver Smart, Connected Products (see also Marc Andreessen’s essay Why Software Is Eating The World).

Views on the Application & Technology Architecture

There are a lot of reference architectures on the topic Internet of Things available. In particular, a lot of major software companies have some IoT-related product and/or service in their portfolio. However, if the focus is set on non-proprietary reference models, I recommend the deliverables of the European research project Internet of Things Architecture (IoT-A). Essentially this project delivered:

• an in-depth architectural reference model,
• definitions of initial set of key building blocks and
• several accompanying deliverables like introductive guides and initial API designs.

All deliverables are publicly available. You can find a list and corresponding links in the section Smart, Connected Devices (aka Internet of Things) on the knowledge page Reference Models and Architectural Styles.

Do you know further resources which you consider as fundamental in relation to the topic Smart, Connected Devices or Internet of Things (IoT)?

Sound off in the comments!