According to a Gartner report, the global communication market growth rate increased from 0.5% in 2013 to 2.9% in 2015 but is expected to gradually decline from 2016 to 2018. As such, how to discover a new "blue ocean" market, boost competiveness and lead industrial transformation and upgrade has become a new challenge for the Taiwan industry.
The booming worldwide IoT trend has been driving the global communication industry to transition from hardware oriented development toward integrated systems combining hardware and software advancements. By 2020 the global IoT market value is expected to reach 30 times the present network industry value, resulting in US$1.9 trillion in economic value added. The world will see 30 to 50 billion connected devices or components, including a wide range of mobile devices and tablets as well as appliances, lamps and even robots.
To help domestic businesses capture worldwide opportunities, with support from the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Institute for Information Industry (III) and the Committee of Communications Industry Development under the Ministry of Economic Affairs jointly hosted the event, " Driving a Global Standard for IoT Interoperability," on May 31, featuring representatives from the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) who shared views on issues related to IoT standards and platforms with Taiwan-based vendors. One-on-one discussion sessions were also arranged between OCF representatives and Taiwan-based vendors to promote international collaboration and expand global business opportunities.
A number of international organizations have been established to promote IoT standards, including Allseen led by Qualcomm, OIC headed by Intel, Thread guided by Google and Homekit introduced by Apple. Allseen was founded the earliest in 2013 and also had the most members. However, this year its founding members Qualcomm and Microsoft have simultaneously joining OIC, which has also changed its objectives and been renamed as Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF). Now OCF has a member base comparable to that of Allseen and is also the international IoT standards organization with the most Taiwan-based members.
The Taiwan industry has been playing a critical role in the global IoT market thanks to its strong hardware manufacturing capabilities. At the event, representatives from OCF members including Intel, Microsoft, VIA and Allion elucidated the OCF core technology, Iotivity, by introducing platform architectures, tools and modules, product certifications and supply chain partnerships. In addition, through platform demonstrations, it was hoped more Taiwan vendors would participate in the collaboration to jointly pioneer a universal IoT standard. In the opening of the event, Dr. Hsien-Tang Ko, Director General of the Industry Development Augmentation Division (IDAD), III – one of the hosts of the event and also a main force driving cooperation between Taiwan-based businesses and international industrial organizations in recent years – pointed out the development of IoT in Taiwan has to be in line with international standards so that the industry can continue to grow and Taiwan's smart IoT R&D capabilities can maximize benefits.
It should be noted this is the first OCF public event in Taiwan since its inauguration and also its first co-hosted official event in Asia. The fact that Dr. Matthew Perry, a member of the OCF board, made a special trip to participate in the event indicates OCF's determination to ally with Taiwan-based vendors and incorporate additional technical specs to expand itself to become the most dominant IoT standard in the world. Of course, Taiwan-based vendors have to get well prepared in order to grab a share of the booming yet highly competitive IoT market.
Dr. Hsien-Tang Ko, director general of the industry development augmentation division, III, gives a welcome speech.
Dr. Matthew Perry, an OCF board member, expresses OCF's intent to partner with Taiwan-based vendors to jointly lead a universal IoT standard.
III poses for a picture with OCF representatives: (from left to right) David Tung from Allion, Dr. Shao-Wen Yang from Intel Lab, Lewis Kim from OCF, Dr. Hsien-Tang Ko from III, Dr. Matthew Perry from OCF, Dave Brenner from Intel, Richard Brown from VIA Technologies and Martin Hsu from Intel (China).
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