IoT is a Nozzle for Big Data Vacuum Cleaners

So what was the rationale behind Google's acquisition of Nest? Getting into the smart home business? Not really. Displaying AdSense ads on thermostats? I don't think so... Google is not really a search company. It’s a machine-learning company. Big data machine-learning company. Actually I posted on this nine years ago. Describing how various services are feeding the monster with information. But all the information Google could get was coming mostly from humans.

Google has been hungry for more. With the proliferation of low power networks and tiny inexpensive radios the entire new universe of information has become available: the things. The Internet of Things. But the beast needed to access that universe. So they bought Nest. Now it makes even more sense with the Thread Group: let's interlink all the devices to Nest. And a Nest Thermostat, acting as a gateway, will forward all this data to Google.

IoT simply becomes yet another nozzle connected to the big data vacuum cleaner.

What can Google do with this information? Three things:

1. It can return the information to users, improving the comfort and safety of their lives. Home automation, remote control, notifications, action at a distance. These are the primary benefits of having a smart / connected home setup, such as based on Nest.
   
2. It can return the information to device manufacturers. Based on our own engagement with manufacturers at Seed Labs, we sense this is extremely valuable. Consider this an IoT version of customer experience improvement program. Like the one Microsoft has been running since 2009. Collect information about how customers use your products and problems they encounter. This is the fundamental way companies will accelerate product development today and tomorrow. Those who have their products connected will leave the rest in the dust.
   
3. It can make sense of all the data, mining it in an intelligent way. While #1 and #2 can be delivered today by several players in the IoT field (including ourselves), only Google so far is able to deliver tangible results based on a large scale, cross - linked, contextual data.

The #3 is why they bought Nest. They bought a gateway to the IoT world. A gateway that will be implemented as a Trojan horse in houses and venues. This Trojan adjective does not necessarily has to be considered negative. If it offers me more comfortable life, at the same time letting my things contribute information to their creators to keep improving my experience, I'm happy to let them do so. I'm willing to accept the Nest (or whatever the gateway will be) to connect them to the Internet.

Long term #3 has potential to create most of the value. After all recognizing patterns and acting upon them, on a planetary scale, covering humans, machines, and things, sounds extremely powerful.