067: Why IoT Failed (And What's Finally Working) | Alistair Fulton on Microsoft Azure IoT, Semtech LoRa & Building IoT Ecosystems

Alistair Fulton has spent 25 years watching IoT make nearly every mistake possible - and he's not shy about calling them out.

From incubating Microsoft's Azure IoT platform to quadrupling Semtech's IoT division to $300M revenue, he's learned one hard truth: brilliant technology means nothing if you don't understand the customer's actual problem.

In this conversation:

• Why inflated market forecasts ($7T → $1.7T overnight) poisoned the industry
• The LPWAN wars and "one technology to rule them all" fallacy
• Why telcos completely failed at IoT despite owning connectivity
• How successful IoT companies don't even use the word "IoT"
• Regional reality check: US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East
• Why AI is about to repeat IoT's worst mistakes
• His advice: work within existing industry players, not against them

Blunt, pragmatic, and refreshingly honest about the gap between tech hype and business reality.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:13 Alistair's Background in IoT

00:42 Career Journey and Key Roles

03:06 Insights on IoT Industry Challenges

06:38 Early IoT Market Missteps

10:44 Collaboration and Ecosystem Building

11:18 Technological Wars and Lessons Learned

18:44 Current State of IoT

20:03 Naive Optimism and Realizations in IoT

21:10 The Shift from Tech Talk to Business Solutions

22:28 Challenges and Risks in IoT and AI

24:43 The Evolution of IoT and Industry-Specific Solutions

31:52 Global Perspectives: IoT in the US, Europe, and Asia

43:15 The Middle East: A Promising Market for IoT

52:45 Reflections and Future Outlook

Video Podcast available on YouTube - and stay tuned for 15+ "60 Second Highlight" videos that will be released on YouTube over the next week.