"Most SMBs aren't storing petabytes of data, and they need only a reasonable amount of reliability," says Brian Geisel, CEO of Geisel Software. "The [high] cost really comes in around how quickly your data can be recovered."

Brian Geisel, boss of US IoT development firm Geisel Software, told the BBC: "I think there's a lot of things in the agricultural and fish markets they haven't even thought of yet because there was no way to do it. But now the tools are showing up. The reduction in cost of sensors means you can put one almost anywhere now."

Brian Geisel, a developer of 20+ years, stresses the importance of career development for technology-heavy roles, saying "Career development is important in all aspects of software, but especially when you're working in modern technologies such as web and mobile development.

Scott Miller, the former iRobot manufacturing executive who runs Dragon Innovation, tells me he is planning to unveil Dragon Launcher sometime next month, with a carefully-chosen set of five to ten hardware products.  Geisel Software of Shrewsbury is helping out on the Dragon Launcher site.

[Geisel] adds that the field is continuing to grow and diversify, especially since you can now work on everything from the robots that handle the warehouses to stock WalMart stores to assisting with a NASA (or private) mission to Mars.

But Brian Geisel, the CEO of Geisel Software, a developer of mobile, Web, and embedded applications, thinks that even though they might resist now, the popularity of Apple could eventually compel automakers to partner with Apple or other major tech companies.