There is a lot of confusion around the IoT as some people think it’s the same thing as M2M. It’s not. While M2M communication plays a major role, as the IoT evolves it’ll need more components to be able to fullfil the basic expected benefits. The success of the IoT will be determined by how smart the connected “things” are and what types of data we’ll be able to gather.
Sophisticated Swiss coffee maker can be connected to the Internet but no one – not even the manufacturer – can explain a real value of doing so. On the other hand, my home security system can send messages and stream video over my smartphone. Here the value is clear. Value-driven innovation will be the major driver for internet of things.
http://blogs.sap.com/innovation/mobile-applications/the-next-big-thing-the-internet-of-things-027162?source=email-apj-sapflash-newsletter-20130311