Smart home technology has certainly come of age. I saw it everywhere at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas last month.

Today’s world bombards us with data. Whether it be looking for information, reading or watching the news or being inundated with advertising, it can be overwhelming to sort through the “haystack” for the desired “needle,” especially when it comes to making sense of technology.

It was almost two years ago when I wrote my first Smart Insights article touting the arrival of the smart home and likening the elements of the smart home to pieces of a puzzle that needed to be solved. Since then, that market certainly has exploded. The smart home and smart office are here to stay.

Some folks may not know it but I started my own integration business, The Automation Link Inc. (TALI), in 1989 and put on the side of my van, “The Leader in Home Automation.” I was 20 years ahead of my time.

The word smart has been partnered with high-tech for many decades. I remember Inspector Gadget and his handy Swiss Army-like devices. Or what about The Jetsons and their time-saving contraptions to help them get dressed? And the old TV show, Get Smart, with a wireless phone in the bottom of a shoe? And of course, the smart home.

One of the hottest topics for discussion with many opportunities emerging around it is the Internet of Things, or IoT. It’s not just change or progress. It has the potential to disrupt and, in many instances, already is disrupting work, home, travel, play, and just about every facet of our lives. But what is it and what does it mean for the security industry — in particular, your business?

It’s been bandied about for 30 years — just about as long as I’ve been in this industry — but it’s still a hot topic and I have yet to see a solid solution. Interoperability is a key issue that keeps coming up.