Completely Connected Systems with Zach Supalla

An all-in-one connectivity platform is essential to make the most of IoT devices. Zach Supalla, Founder & CEO at Particle, joined Industrial IoT’s Mat Ackley to talk about Particle’s Platform as a Service model, which makes it easy to build connectivity between IoT software and hardware. 

The oil & gas industry is one market segment ripe for IoT connectivity. From upstream extraction to downstream distribution, IoT connectivity solutions can play a role in many areas of concentration. “The best way to evaluate the opportunity with IoT is to pick any individual problem people try and solve along the way and think of how you could solve that problem more effectively with connected systems,” Supalla said. 

As to which types of solutions to IoT connected systems solve best, Suppalla said IoT is great at creating efficiencies. From industrial manufacturing to oil & gas extraction and devices for the home, if the solution creates a faster, cheaper, and more efficient process, it’s a win. “IoT is increasingly becoming a technology that one uses to solve some of these problems,” Supalla said.  

The widespread availability of wireless networks and sensors provide a perfect opportunity to create connected systems solutions. As costs of connectivity and computing come down, Suppalla sees a day when everything is connected. Still, Suppalla follows this rule of thumb: “I think things should be connected when there’s a reason to, and not everything needs to be connected. Does a toaster need to be connected? And not everything needs to be connected to everything else.”  

Connected systems should be more than window dressing. Establishing these connections does take money, resources, and time, so a strategic approach to IoT will win the day. “It’s a question of which assets are the ones that create a lot of value, store a lot of value, and consume a lot of value.”