(Editor’s Note: This article, translated from ZigBee Resource Guide. )

Just as multitudes of analysts have predicted, the Internet of Things (IoT) has arrived , a vision that has long been the dream of technology enthusiasts everywhere. Businesses and consumers alike  are quickly noticing; they’re checking out the hundreds of products that claim to be “smart” made for homes, businesses, retailers, utilities, agricultures – the list goes on. The world  is preparding for a new reality, a futuristic, intelligent environmrnt that provives the comfort, convenience, and security of everyday life.

The IoT and the Past

With all the excitement over the growth of the IoT came a flurry of solutions working frantically to provide consumers with the most intuitive, interopeerable wireless network possible. Unfortunately, this led to a fragmented and confused industry, with many companies eagers to deliver finished products to a primed market but unsure which standard, some chose multiple, and others created their owon proprietary solutions to cope with new standards announcing their inception seemingly every month.

This natural course of evens, while inevitable, is not the final outcome of the indutry. There is no need to wrestle with confusion, to certify products with multiple wireless networking standards in the heope that  one will win out. The ZigBee Alliance has been developing IoT standards and certifying interoperable products for more than a decade, and the rise of the IoT has been built on the solid foundation of global, open, established ZigBee standards developed and supported by hundreds of member companies.

The IoT and the Present

ZigBee 3.0, the most anticipated initiative of the IoT industrty, is the combination of  multiple ZigBee PRO application profiles that have been developed and strengthened  during the past 12 years. ZigBee 3.0 enables communication and interoperability between devices for a wide variety of IoT markets, and the hundreds of member companies that comp ose the ZigBee Alliance have been  eager to certify their products with this standard. No other wireless network  for the IoT offers a comparable open, global, interoperable solution.

ZigBee, the IoT, and the Future

Recently , ON World reported  that annual shipments of IEEE 802.15.4 chipsets nearly doubled in the last year, and they have predicted that these  shipments will increase by 550 percent during the nest five . They also predict that ZigBee standards will be used in eight out of 10 of these units by 2020. This is the  latest in s series of reports that forecast the dramatic growth of ZigBee Certified products in the next few years. As the percentage of IoT products certified with ZigBee standards increases, the industry will begin to experience a more reliable, stable IoT. By extension, this  rise of a unified IoT will deliver on the promise of consumer-friendly solutions, providing a more accessible market to consumers, and finally unleashing the full innovative power of the industry.

This world of interoperable products is well on its way; right nowhundreds of ZigBee Alliance memeber companies are working to shape the future of ZigBee standards. So join us, and you too can certify your products with the most widely used wireless networking IoT standard in the world.

By Tobin Richardson, President and CEO · ZigBee Alliance.

About the Aurthour

Tobin serves as President and CEO of the ZigBee Alliance, leading the Alliance’s efforts to develop and promote world-leading open, global IoT standards. In this role, he works closely with the Alliance Board of Directors to set strategy and to advance the adoption of ZigBee standards around the globe.