IoT standardization efforts — An analysis

Internet of Things aims to connect various things around us to the Internet with the use of smart sensors and actuators. IoT devices have limited resources in terms of power, processing capabilities, bandwidth etc. but the existing set of protocols were not designed for such constraints. Gartner Inc. forecasts that the total number of connected things will reach 20.4 billion by 2020. The specific needs of the IoT domain should be addressed considering the huge scale of implementation and its influence on public life. There is a need of a standardized layered architecture and protocol suite designed specifically to meet the need of IoT applications. Various consortia are working on developing IoT standards majorly driven by government agencies, standards bodies and industry giants. We present the various initiatives at international level and at national level, in India, towards developing IoT standards. Although the world still waits for a unified IoT standard but lately major efforts have taken place at international level, through collaboration and liaison agreements, towards the convergence of various standardization efforts. Such developments raise the hope of universal IoT standards in the near future.