Each ‘thing’ in the term ‘Internet of Things’ refers to a device, and there are many types of connectable device, from cameras, scales, sensors, and home management systems, all the way to heart monitoring implants to cars or sensors monitoring livestock. The opportunities for interconnection are endless. For example, San Jose, California, has committed to creating a smart city that they claim will deliver the safest and most inclusive, userfriendly environment for its residents. The project promises to use an IoT platform employing transit vehicles and an infrastructure of smart sensor technologies to improve safety, mobility and optimization of the transit system. Science fiction writers once envisioned a world regulated via the interconnected devices used in everyday life. Today such a world is fast becoming reality. Take, for example, a security camera that starts recording when a motion sensor is activated and alerts your phone. Already we have a number of devices involved in maintaining a cloud-based service. In simple terms there is the device, the network to which it is connected, the device that controls or interacts with it – most probably a smartphone – and then there is the cloud service that either stores the data from it or is acting as a conduit to deliver the data to the phone. Potentially, one more component, a home management system comprising a master device or hub might be deployed, providing a single interface to manage connected devices that provide services around the home. There are several main scenarios for controlling and communicating with devices. As consumers, we are familiar with at least two of them: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. If for example there is a device that only needs to be controlled locally by a smartphone, then a short-range wireless technology such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi could be used. In home automation systems where a hub is used, it is common to find one or more of the Z-Wave, BidCoS and ZigBee, communication protocols that provides low-latency data transfer and power consumption lower than Wi-Fi. The hub is then connected through Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet, allowing connection from remote devices or cloud services.