When the life-changing device is an epic fail: the pet feeder

The surge to constantly develop innovative products is stealing the show not only from security, but also from developing flawless devices that actually work.

6.4 billion connected devices will be in use globally in 2016, with a total services spending of $235 billion, predicted Gartner. 4 billion alone will the in the consumer sector. Although the professional category is currently ahead of the game, the highest growth rate will be in the connectivity and consumer services.

But where do the major fails come in? Meet the auto-feeding app PetNet which does exactly that: it feeds your pet while connected to the internet. It figures out proper dosage, feeding time and food stock. But when their servers went down for a few hours, so was the app leaving hundreds of pets hungry and their owners enraged. Owners had zero control, but the company didn”t have a backup system either to handle this type of malfunction.

The extensive publicity of IoT devices has led to a variety of consumer-oriented products, from household appliances, baby monitors or smart doorbells to expensive wearables. Still an emerging market, wearables will produce an estimated revenue of $28.7 billion in 2016.

“IoT services are the real driver of value in IoT, and increasing attention is being focused on new services by end-user organizations and vendors,” said Jim Tully, Gartner vice president and analyst. “Aside from connected cars, consumer uses will continue to account for the greatest number of connected things, while enterprise will account for the largest spending.”

But where does that leave security or spotless technology? As IoT involved malware attacks are expected to grow especially in the enterprise sector, researchers expect a shift in focus soon, particularly when it comes to life-changing devices.