The smart objects themselves can be classified into the following type of capabilities (following the works of . Kortuem, G., Kawsar, F., Fitton, D., Sundramoorthy, V.: Smart objects as building blocks for the internet of things. Internet Computing, IEEE 14(1), 44–51 (2010) :

1. Sensing only
   
2. Interactive system
   
3. Process execution (follow script)
4. Decision execution (actions based contextual inputs)

The objects themselves displays different capabilities depending on what has been packaged on the smart devices, e.g. sensors,  actuators, GPS chips, etc. It follows that when we go down the list above from sensing to decision making, the smart objects themselves gets 'smarter'. This when mapped into the following mobility classes for each smart objects provides an idea of how each smart objects can be classified and positioned:

1. Stationary smart objects - for fixed location deployments
   
2. Mobile or semi-mobile smart objects - for attachment to mobile objects or being mobile in itself
   
3. Autonomous smart objects -self-driving car

The following table provides an example of each type of IoT devices currently offered in the market. NOTE: some of the objects could have a combination of capabilities. 

Most IoT deployment currently favors the use of Bluetooth low energy and Wifi for connectivity purpose. Hard wiring will be uncommon except for perhaps stationary use cases. As the LPWAN technology matures, more geographical dispersed IoT devices will also be deployed. 

Example of currently available Smart object offerings are highlighted in the Smart Objects section. 

The IoT marketplace is just at its infancy and is set to go through tremendous changes over the next few years. In recognition of that, major tech companies are flocking in with hopes of driving the IoT development direction - much as smartphone technologies have developed over the years. In the following list, I've picked up on 5 IoT heavyweights. Each of these companies approaches and position IoT technologies in their business strategy  very differently. 

By the launch of iPhone, Apple's iPod and iTunes is already a dominant force in the portable media players market - which literally redefined the digital entertainment industry. Apple made good use of these capabilities in the launch of iPhone project. Their undisputed edge in combining art with science meant that they can create many more sexy products. However, good looking product can only do so much but great products carries with it great utility value. Likewise iPod was a great product because of its revolutionary user interface and Apple's leadership in driving a whole new way in which digital medias are bought and consumed. Apple took these lessons and used it to create some of the most exciting product in the history of mobile communication - the iPhone.

The iPhone business strategy and architecture is probably very widely analyzed and documented. What the following article will do is provide an insight into how Apple will continue to engage its customers and build stronger product/profit pipeline, well beyond the iPhone success story.

Strategy & Architecture That will go Beyond Building the Apple Watch Empire
At the onset of the Apple Watch launch, Apple is already a dominant force in Smartphones and Mobile computing through iPad and Mac. They have geared up product integration by moving services up the cloud and offered most of their key productivity suites as giveaways. The mobile telecommunication standard is continually being challenged by smartphones and in particular the high standard that iPhone has set while. Apple at this point is not contend to settle with just the iPhone success and is already on its way engage a very different market segment - the wearable market.

Step 0: Positioning
Similar to baby years of iPhone, Apple Watch needed accelerated adoption. To achieve that, the barriers of adoption must be lowered - cost, usability, interoperability, learning curve, etc. Unlike other vendors, Apple had their eyes fixed on creating pipeline not one-time blockbusters. This time, however, the strategy will not be about moving customer to the highest service stack (as in the case of iPhone) but towards a more sophisticated and highly evolved strategy - the ecosystem strategy.

Apple's initial foray into the SmartWatch market can be broken into two groups of target customers:

1. Those hiding behind industry verticals and;
   
2. Those individuals who are direct consumers of tech gadgets - this is either an existing Apple attached customer or simply new buyers.
   

Phase 1: Provoke & Accelerate adoption 
The continued build up of Industrial-level cooperatives and partnership showed that a high degree of market re-engineering is required for this device to be highly successful. This is precisely what Apple does best and is already doing over the past months leading to the official launch of Apple Watch. The Apple move is also seen as extending out of the directly linked markets - such as with its ResearchKit, CarPlay, AppleTV and HomeKit.

Phase 2: Build presence and Ecosystem 
For a start, the watch itself will be of limited capability and requires integration with other devices to create new meaning and deliver new insights. Apple would continuously enhance the Apple device ecosystem integration as an ongoing effort to draw in more industrial relevance.

While device enhancement through sensors and other technology pieces provides the key enabling technology, software that allows the devices to interact with one another is key too. This improvement is performed in parallel to design decisions to counter movements by other Smart Watch players. Nonetheless, all these could just be a smokescreen of what Apple is actually building.

By this phase, Apple would have slowly but surely be moving customer to a new platform that is not even a single product to begin with - but a platform of a diverse digital ecosystem.

Phase 3: The Ecosystem Battlefield
The industry partners may or may not be aware that at this point, Apple would have locked itself in the value chain of a few key industry verticals. Their customers are now part of Apple's ecosystem platform subscriber. These industry never have the means to connect with their customer and have never been so dependent on a consumer product manufacturer in its value chain. Probably more than a few industry would have been disrupted by now. Competitors and industry incumbent will be scrambling to develop their own Ecosystem platform to counter or take advantage of the disruptive wave.

The Apple Watch would continue to evolve and gain new level of device sophistication through addition of hardware and software capabilities. The combination of hardware, software, developer and industry participation meant that the Ecosystem is continuously being enriched and evolves.

Phase 4: Prepare for the Next Big Launch
If Apple successfully executes on its vision and the Ecosystem became a reality, we would be witness to probably the first consumer-product driven IoT. Not only would Apple products become ubiquitous but the level of industry integration will be unparalleled. Yet, I bet you that Apple would have its eyes on the next big launch and is already laying the foundation for that.

Horizontal Service Chain
In the early days, when mobile devices are not 'smart' and internet accessibility was limited, these devices and their respective VAS providers provide the critical 'service-chain' in order for customer to receive full telecommunication service experience (e.g. content delivery, voice mails, call chargeback, etc.). These VAS services and sales of handsets creates additional revenue to telcos. Partnership with mobile device manufacturer have not only allowed telco's to earn additional revenue out of handset sales but also created a steady revenue stream by packaging voice, data and messaging services into contracts. In return, handset manufacturer gain access to local markets without needing to build expensive retail presence and cut short the sales and adoption cycle. 

Technology Forces Breaks Service Chain
As smart phone technology and internet services evolved, this service-chain by telco is gradually broken. The emergence of IP-based data access as the dominant form of service consumption enabled OTT players to dominate. This is possible as services can now exist in a higher plane than that of the transmission and access network - decoupling of the service layers in good old OSI-fashion. 

To VAS or not to VAS
Although OTT have long existed and was mostly confined to desktop/laptop computing, the threat to telcos came to light when mobile handsets themselves wield the technology and communication capability required for OTT players to offer disruptive telco services. The OTT players are now dominant in voice, video, messaging and other familiar telco revenue territories. The telco-VAS alliance is weakened as OTT continues to erode their operating margin.

With fundings and revenue opportunities, the OTT industry continue to attract new players. Now, you can almost find an OTT service provider for each class of services offered by a traditional telco (a short list is as shown in the diagram below). The challenge was not so much the entry of the OTT themselves but the value driven business model that they are pursuing by taking advantage of the internet. 

OTT Service Stack 
OTT services are not a single stack of services. It is a combined complementary stack of technology advancement. The OTT service stack consists of:
1. Communication Devices HW Platform - the one directly above communication service stack 
2. Operating Platform - the one above HW device stack 
3. Device Independent services - the one above the Operating platform stack

In order to drive more traffic to OTT services, they have to focus on attracting large user base by value adding heavily. Their revenue model is also mostly asymmetrical in nature in that they cross subsidize one product in order to attract subscription or revenue in another. Some times, the OTT service providers rely only on advertising revenue.  Telco needs to understand the impact of OTT service stacks.

As-a-Platform or As-an-Ecosystem
Today, the OTT themselves have evolved and have mostly settled in either a platform (OTTP) or ecosystem (OTTE) format. Some have a combination of both (OTTEP).

Apple as OTTEP
Take for example, Apple's combined ecosystem and platform approach. The apple ecosystem is an engine that drives revenue from both the Apple Services platform and Apple Hardware platform stack but offers Apple Software stack for zero direct fees. In other words, Apple is giving away its software platform in order to drive sales at the top and bottom stack of its ecosystem. Some of these software services are in direct competition with Telco services - e.g. Facetime.  As a device manufacture, Apple also allow other device independent services to operate atop its software platform e.g. Facebook and Whatsapp. More to the appeal of Telco is the revenue opportunity by "subscribing" into the Apple ecosystem model - hardware sales & data subscription/consumption. Less important is the extent of Value Stacking and Platform establishment by Apple and the amount of control that Telco will cede to Apple's ecosystem. The irony here is, each devices that the telco sells potentially erodes the revenue from telco services.  

Telco willl continue to focus on its core capabilities that is providing connectivity and access. While their focus is still fixated on current blockbuster product/services, their value proposition will be limited as they choose to operate within their service-chain boundary.  The digital world requires telco to rethink their role within the industry and along the service stacks. There is already evidence of their eroding role as the cost of delivering data services is not equaled by what they have earned from selling data.