Shaping interoperability for the IoT : the case for ecosystem-tailored standardisation

No matter how good a smart device may be, it remains useless outside the context of a digital ecosystem. Internet of Things (IoT) environments are possible as long as services and products can interconnect smoothly and exchange data in real time. Therefore, interoperability ranks high in global policy agendas, with the promise of bringing an end to network effects slanted in favour of ecosystem orchestrators. Recent regulatory initiatives and antitrust remedies introducing interoperability obligations risk falling short, or even generating unintended effects, in the absence of a coherent approach to standardisation. Against this backdrop, relying on the UK Open Banking experience, the article makes a proposal for workable interoperability in IoT ecosystems aimed at ensuring market contestability without undermining incentives to innovate