This is a guest post
The most awaited Apple launch event is just a couple of days away (12 September), and several industries, along with the consumers, are excited for a variety of reasons. One of them – Internet of Things (IoT), with the launch of the most anticipated iOS 11 operating system update.
Apple iOS 11 has stepped up and begun the Near Field Communications (NFC) support for all developers working in iOS 11 and that has helped to bring up the most important development in the history of Internet of Things (IoT).
Hilton Hotel’s Locking System
The technology used in the Hilton Hotel’s door locking system, using the smartphone has been used in 1700 hotels around the US & Canada observed to have reported back not a single breach in over 11 million times of usage. That clearly indicates that the few significant problems arising out of the developmental process of initial first generation of connected IoT devices were very well sorted out. This approach of managing security risk using a smartphone really highlights the way modern enterprises should be dealing with the fast transforming connected devices world. There has been a huge investment by Hilton group to stress test their security system which is extremely necessary for developing a flawless connected device security system.
Apple HomeKit
Apple was criticized heavily for its approach towards IoT, specially in the fact that at the time of inception of its HomeKit, a very fast deployment was in mind but in reality it so happened that they slowed down the deployment in order to fortify their security after repeated tests and this push for security is simply not a phenomenon solely resting on Apple. The above example with Hilton hotel is also something that is not just limited to iOS but is using something more complicated called NFC. The importance is derived from the fact that Apple not too long ago revealed that iOS will enhance the creation of apps which will easily be reading NFC tags by making use of new framework broadly known as Core NFC.
Core NFC
Going by sources from Apple’s insiders, using the Core NFC technology apps are capable of reading the near field communication tags but only for the ones which are compatible with NDEF or NFC Data exchange format. The examples provided by Apple is not exhaustive with respect to smart-locks or industrial equipment. But, with the current pace of progress of the innovation in this field, it is not difficult to guess that the day is not too far when phones will be used to perform more and more intensive security related tasks than it is been done nowadays.
All these developments came almost at the right time for the IoT devices and the solution, since more and more developers are inclining towards writing the app for these connected devices at the moment. Almost half of all developers surveyed expressed their willingness to choose iOS as their preferred platform and that percentage is likely to increase after this recent opening up of NFC through Apple’s highly-secure mobile development platform.
Experience rules
With such a secure IoT system in HomeKit and after opening up of the door with NFC support that allows developers to truly tap into the huge potential hidden within the connected solutions, a big chunk of the 36 billion or so of the Internet connected items is more than likely to be connected through NFC tags. That is the intensity of this global phenomenon and how apple is going to change the IoT world forever.