Internet of Things is interestingly poised with an explosive numbers of connected devices, proliferation of sensors and new smart solutions it brings in. For a developer who loves innovative challenges it is an area to be right now but for an aspiring developer or a developer who is eyeing at IoT here are the top skills that a professional needs to be equipped with.
Embedded Things
IoT is conversations between various electronic or electromechanical devices that are able to size up, look at, interact with the environment around them and collate data. This is where knowledge of embedded systems is vital. Within the IoT ecosystem, embedded system refers to the platforms where we have devices or objects with sensors embedded in them, these sensors can ‘talk’ between them via internet and also to ‘us’ depending on the objective they are supposed to engage. This is where a working knowledge on embedded system electronic design, fabrication technologies, measurement systems, and hardware knowledge of the machines, Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) engineering, AutoCAD drafting skillsets can give you a boost to the IoT career.Networking
Network engineers are most sought people due to convergence and connected world not just in IoT but in general. Talking about IoT, networking plays an all-important role as we talk about connected devices here and hence skills related to hardware in communication devices is very much needed. If you tick the following knowledge points, you got your resume right to be part of the fledging IoT career.- Knowledge of current networking standards and technologies
- Deploying and troubleshooting modern networks
- Knowledge of wireless (WPA/WEP or 3G/4G) connections,
- Applying and managing RFID (radio frequency identification)
- Wireless protocols like Bluetooth Low Energy.
Computer programming
This is for given and a no-brainer, a computer programming skill is a basic skill to have. Amongst the various programming languages, Java, C, JavaScript, and Python were the top four choices for developers who are “building IoT solutions.” That’s not much different from the top languages used for writing old desktop apps and servers. There are also atleast 14 other languages used for niche solutions. Increasingly handheld devices and mobility is the direction the world is moving to. In the Internet of Things concept, mobile applications are a key area since many IoT solutions for end-consumers in lifestyle segment are controlled by mobile devices like smartphone, wearables, tablets etc, there by making professionals with the knowledge of making mobile apps for iOS and Android phone a lucrative career in IoT.Big Data – Security and Data Analytics
With so many connected devices, there comes the challenge of information overload that needs to be analysed, make sense of and also protected. Skilled engineers, architects and analysts will be needed to gather and process the information with knowledge in the following areas.- Vulnerability assessment
- Public key infrastructure (PKI) security
- Ethical hacking
- Wireless network security
- Knowledge of data ethics and privacy policy
- Securely managing data
- Cybersecurity analysis
