CEA gathered a panel of four significant leaders at CES to discuss the current state of the Internet of Things. Panelists from Cisco, Verizon, the city of Los Angeles, and the Zigbee Alliance all see momentum building for a connected world; however, at this still early stage of adoption the most significant and meaningful inroads are happening on a macro scale. As Cisco’s John Chambers noted during a CES keynote panel, the Internet of Everything becomes most meaningful when there is broad participation.

The panelists in this session suggested from their comments that it is the large-scale systems of urban centers, countries and large organizations that will likely be the first to recognize the real potential of a connected world.

Panelists included Joseph Bradley, VP Global IoE Practice at Cisco, Kevin Link, GM China for Verizon, City of Los Angeles CTO Peter Marx, and ZigBee Alliance President and CEO Tobin Richardson.

While connected consumer products are just beginning to enter the marketplace, governments and world leaders are already incorporating IoT/IoE technology into planning. In almost every case, they see rising GDP as the fundamental driver, with IoT enabling more efficient use and delivery of services.

Bradley was perhaps the most enthusiastic of all, imagining a world, for instance, where no children would ever get lost and where unemployment would be virtually eliminated by better matching between workers and work. Marx spoke of the common urban goal of zero traffic accidents as a result of smart cars and other connected measures.

Bradley’s concluding comment captures the significance of this moment in time. “Every hundred years or so there is a time that makes history. We are in that time now.”