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IoT describes the use of connected sensors and actuators to control and monitor the environment, the things that move within it, and the people that act within it. It can be beneficial across the whole mining value chain, from prospecting to reclamation, and allows different assets and people to be monitored and accounted for across vast distances in hazardous conditions.   

Cloud computing encompasses the provision of IT infrastructure, operating software, middleware, and applications hosted within a data centre and accessed by the end user via the internet. Cloud is considered a foundational technology for an IoT ecosystem. At the connectivity layer, it provides the infrastructure that delivers flexible, on-demand access to computing resources. It facilitates the process of storing, managing, and analysing data. It has also enabled the disaggregation of physical technology hardware from end-users by allowing the virtualisation and sharing of computing resources such as central processing units (CPUs), storage, networking, and software. In conjunction with cloud, edge computing helps shift compute, storage, data management, and analytics software to the edge of a network. There is no fixed definition of the physical location of the edge, but the basic concept is to move computational capabilities closer to the IoT device generating the data. The edge can range from on-device computing to a local enterprise or on-premises data centre or server. 

However, not all companies are equal when it comes to their capabilities and investments in the key themes that matter most to their industry. Understanding how companies are positioned and ranked in the most important themes can be a key leading indicator of their future earnings potential and relative competitive position.  

Cloud computing service providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet also play an important role. IoT is likely to change the way they make money: today, most users of connected devices are humans; tomorrow, most users will be machines. So, the future of many operators in an IoT world may well depend on the business model they adopt to monetise M2M traffic. 

Leading IoT adopters in the cloud computing industry 

Amazon 

Amazon Web Services (AWS), a subsidiary of Amazon, provides a comprehensive range of cloud infrastructure and platform services. These include compute, storage, databases, analytics, networking, mobile, developer tools, augmented reality and virtual reality, robotics, machine learning, hybrid and management tools, content delivery, media services, customer engagement, app streaming and security, identity and compliance, and serverless computing. Amazon as a cloud service provider, has the advantage in edge computing and can provide their cloud service offerings closer to the edge.  

Microsoft 

Microsoft provides a broad spectrum of services, including cloud-based solutions, solution support, and consulting services. Its Azure business is second only to AWS for its comprehensive cloud model, including core development technologies such as mobile, IoT, and serverless. Similarly, to Amazon, they are challengers because, as cloud service providers, their biggest advantage in edge computing will be to provide their cloud service offerings closer to the edge. 

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Internet of Things.