Parasite: “A parasite is an organism that lives in another organism, called the host, and often harms it. It depends on its host for survival.”
I can’t say that Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” movie (in Korean, Gisaengchung) had been my film of the year, but I recognize that it opened my eyes to the capitalist and unequal society from South Korea.
South Korea is a nation that is among the 15 largest economies in the world, where life expectancy is among the highest in the world and almost half of the population has higher education. However, its citizens have trouble finding employment. And surprisingly there are no robots neither smart cities in the movie, only rich and very poor families.
The movie makes me think about survival stories of startups (parasites) that use their imagination and abilities to survive approaching large corporations (hosts). It is an unequal class struggle where unfortunately not all parasites will have their place.
Please note that I have written this article with all the good intentions of the world and I do not pretend influence in my readers about which hosts or parasites you should love or hate.
IoT Hosts
It is easy to identify the IoT hosts. They have magnificent headquarters and nice offices around the globe where you would like to work. These hosts organize fabulous events and shows and have hundreds or thousands of friends (partners).
Just read articles like “Which Top IoT companies lost, kept and won its charm in 2018? Or “The Best IoT Companies To Work For In 2019 Based On Glassdoor” to identify who are the preferred IoT hosts for parasites.
IoT parasites should carefully analyse the potential hosts because not all hosts can guarantee their survival. Moreover, hosts must be capable of supporting parasites growth. In my opinion host PTC has not gotten the parasites ThingWorx, Axeda to develop their full potential and now itself can become the parasite of the host Rockwell Automation.
If you have been following IoT mergers & acquisitions during these years, probably you remember stories of IoT parasites like NEST, Xively or Fitbit changed their lives once they enter to work under their Host Google.
I have closely followed the stories of many parasites of the IoT platform class, many found their host (remember «Be careful of the Walking Dead of IoT«) but there are still many without so much luck out there.
Some parasites of different classes (hardware, connectivity, platforms, database solutions, and even integrators) found accommodation on the same host. They are great stories of generous hosts like ARM, Sierra Wireless, Cisco, Altair.
Other stories of parasites with great aspirations have been lost in our memory. Do you remember Jasper, Bit Stew, SmartThings?
IoT Hosts should not forget that IoT parasites can cause many illnesses because some parasites could multiply freely in the market and become a threat for them.
IoT Parasites
Previously I have indicated some stories of IoT parasites that have found their shelter in friendly IoT Hosts over the last years.
But not all parasites think they need a host to survive. Some have dreams of greatness and believe that they will become Unicorns. In “The potential Unicorns in IoT – Will they resist against the Industry Giants? “ I consider that not being a IoT unicorn is not a tragedy. For those parasites that have a great potential there will be always room in the big houses of the Hosts.
While the list of parasites has not stopped growing, the number of Host decreases year after year. My advice to these parasites is not to think too much about your solo survival adventure, and since everyone is not going to find Hosts of the IoT aristocracy, look for their refuge in the middle class.
I would like to think that my parasitic friends who have fought so hard to change the world with the IoT are going to survive in this disappointing market even if they have to leave their low floors like Gi Taek’s family and move to the wealthy houses of the Park.
Thanks for your Likes and shares.
Paco Maroto's IoT Blog 