IoT promised to transform the physical world. Ten years on, adoption still lags behind expectation.

Despite proven technology and successful pilots, most IoT projects never make it to scale, and the reasons are not what many expect.

IoT product expert and author Afzal Mangal joins the podcast to challenge how the industry thinks about IoT adoption, and to explore whether AI could finally unlock its potential, including:

• Why the device remains the biggest single point of failure in IoT projects

• How firmware, not connectivity, determines long-term success

• The awareness and cultural gaps still blocking enterprise IoT adoption

• Why AI has reached the mainstream while IoT remains invisible

• Whether an AI-first approach could finally make IoT stick

Tune in to hear why rethinking IoT through an AI lens may be the reset the industry needs.

Key Topics & Chapters

(04:01) Cisco roots and telco beginnings

(06:17) Launching narrowband IoT networks

(07:16) Early global IoT developer demand

(08:34) B2B onboarding breaks IoT scale

(10:14) Pilots succeed, organizations resist

(11:05) Education missing from IoT adoption

(13:29) IoT innovation demands device failure

(14:37) Hardware failure destroys time and capital

(15:35) Device failure breaks entire IoT stack

(16:19) Firmware audits before global connectivity

(17:17) Firmware governs SIM and modem behavior

(18:10) Awareness blocks enterprise IoT progress

(21:37) Proven IoT solutions remain unknown

(24:18) AI awareness versus IoT invisibility

(26:01) AI prepares workers, IoT surprises them

(27:44) Fifty billion things prediction missed

(28:43) AI has consumed everything apart from IoT data

(29:56) Sound sensors gain meaning with AI

(31:40) Can IoT companies afford AI

(32:38) AI-first healthcare transformation model

(33:31) Smart hospitals track patients, staff, and assets

(34:24) AI exposes hospital process delays

(35:37) Do AI builders understand IoT

(37:24) Can AI simplify IoT integration?

(39:12) Humans still define data connections

(40:19) LLMs ignore IoT use cases

(41:03) AI quality depends on device data

(42:27) Selling IoT through AI consultants

Show Links

• Follow Afzal Mangal on LinkedIn

• Follow Nick Earle on LinkedIn

• Visit our website

Can AI Fix IoT Adoption?