MANAGING IOT SYSTEMS

ABSTRACT

The Internet of Things Systems, or IoT Systems, can have the potential to add substantial value to institutions, such as university campuses, cities, and corporate campuses. However, if these systems are not thoughtfully selected, implemented, subsequently managed, they can instead bring substantial risk to the same. This erosion of value manifests itself in negative ROI on the systems as well degraded cyber risk/cybersecurity posture for the institution, city, or corporate campus. Amongst all of the excitement of what added value IoT Systems can potentially bring – all of the ‘bling’, it is easy to miss the nuanced, but substantial systemic costs that acquisition, implementation and operation/management of these systems bring. The aggregation of this systemic loss can bring the whole value proposition to its knees, both in terms of lost financial and resource investment as well as appreciably degraded cybersecurity posture. IoT Systems are sociotechnical systems that encounter systems loss, as do all systems. As such, they need to be reviewed in that context to serve the needs of the institution, city, or corporation. This article will review differences between IoT Systems and traditional IT systems, what IoT Systems implementation success looks like, systems of systems, boundaries and seams between systems, the importance of manageability of IoT Systems, IoT vendor relationships and vendor management, planning considerations, and strategy.

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Notes on contributors

Chuck Benson

Chuck Benson is the Director of IoT Risk Mitigation Strategy at the University of Washington. He has been at the University for over 15 years with experience in facilities IT, healthcare IT, and central IT. He has testified before the US-China Economic & Security Review Commission on IoT risk mitigation for institutions and cities, chaired university task forces on IoT Systems risk mitigation, and has provided national leadership by chairing a national task force on IoT systems risk management for Internet2 for Higher Education institutions across the country. Chuck has written multiple articles, has been interviewed for articles, has blogged for several years on the topic at longtailrisk.com. His first book, published July 2019, is “Managing IoT Systems for Institutions and Cities” and is also a contributing author on IoT Systems in the book, “Creating, Analysing, and Sustaining Smart Cities – A Systems Perspective.” Chuck is also a member of the University of Washington’s drone policy working group, has an electrical engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, and an MS computer science degree from Eastern Washington University. He is a former Marine Corps Captain and helicopter pilot.