Q: How big of a role will data analytics play in the emerging IoT market? How should solution providers view data analytics when thinking about IoT?

NIJHAWAN: Data analytics will play an extremely vital role in IoT. IoT is likely to be the next big play for analytics as it will now be taken out of the enterprise and into homes, hospitals, factories and other consumer-focused facilities.

Solution providers should get ahead of the game and start partnering with IoT technology vendors to provide a more compelling joint-value proposition upfront.  Whether it's for the data acquired through smart appliances, home security systems (or) manufacturing systems -- analytics solution providers should be thinking ahead about utilizing this data to predict better, more accurate outcomes.