• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, November 10, 2016

The Internet of Things has no geographical boundaries.

We often write about various research studies here, some of which are based on worldwide IoT trends and some that are U.S. only.

Like the Internet itself, the mass of things that can be connected to the Net is global in nature.

Key is that whatever is learned from an innovation in one market may be translatable in other markets an ocean away.

In many cases, those innovations are being institutionalized in various markets.

For example, Microsoft just launched its first IoT innovation center for Asia in Taiwan. The purpose of the center is to foster technology transfer, strategic alliances and business model transformations.

Microsoft said the center is a starting point for capturing the booming IoT opportunity in Asia.

Besides IoT innovation labs and accelerators popping up around the globe, the underlying infrastructure to facilitate the connection of more things also is being put in place.

For example, Kyocera just announced that it plans to create an inexpensive IoT network in Japan by tapping more than 500 wireless data hubs around the country. Kyocera partnered with Sigfox, a French startup that uses low-power communication technology, already commercialized in the U.S., U.K. and France.

And in yet another collaboration, ecommerce powerhouse Alibaba is working with Intel to develop IoT products and services. Alibaba recently created a smart traffic management system using real-time data from video capture to provide consumers with the best travel routes at any given moment.

The innovation centers and joint efforts are becoming massive in scope.

Innovations from many of those ventures will end up becoming the core of the new conduits for marketing and messaging. And that’s worth keeping an eye on.