Intel now has an Internet of Things platform of its own

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Intel is a bit obsessed with the Internet of Things (IoT). Connected gadgets were all over Intel's booth at the last CES, and it's one of the fastest growing portions of the company's business. The chip giant also kicked off an IoT consortium together with Samsung, Dell, and others earlier this year. Now, Intel is taking another major step in this arena with the launch of its IoT Platform, which it says will help companies to more easily test, deploy, and secure smart devices. Everything the company is doing is a direct response to Qualcomm, which stole the mobile chip market from Intel and is already well-poised to take on IoT with the AllSeen Alliance and AllJoyn standard, both of which aim to unify the fractured IoT market. But it seems Intel has learned the dangers of being late to a potentially lucrative new market (even if it did so the hard way).

It's already partnered with Dell, Accenture, and others around this new platform, and you can bet that it's going to work hard to score more deals. The company also debuted a few new IoT software and hardware offerings that should make life simpler for its partners. Yes, Intel's approach will butt heads with Qualcomm, but hopefully their competition will lead to some truly useful connected devices. A smart baby onesie isn't going to cut it anymore.

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