Interoperability in the Age of IoT

[Commentary] At its most fundamental level in the context of the digital ecosystem, interoperability is the ability to transfer and render useful data and other information across systems, applications, or components. As a concept interoperability is central, and yet often invisible, to many parts of a highly interconnected modern society. The fact that someone can make a seamless international telephone call without thinking about things like “signaling standards” or transoceanic cables, and can send and receive the same e‐mail on a phone or in a browser regardless of device manufacturer or Internet service provider, is a tribute to ICT interoperability.

But as interconnected as things currently are, they will grow dramatically more so thanks to the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT). This new technology will not only create new forms of interactions with end-users, but connect devices to one-another. As such, IoT is built primarily on a single concept: interoperability. In order for a car, a jet engine, a parking meter, or a pill bottle to send and receive important data, it needs to be able to seamlessly connect to other systems and networks in ways that are meaningful and secure. For that reason it is critical to develop a shared understanding how interoperability functions, the potential costs and benefits of increased levels of interoperability, and the variety of approaches for encouraging interoperability.

[Urs Gasser is the Executive Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University]