The MQTT Protocol: An Introduction for IoT Beginners

1. Automated factories, smart home systems, self-driving cars: Different as they may seem, all these technologies have something in common. They rely on devices that communicate with each other. In other words, they share data.

2. For that data to do anything—whether that’s executing an order on a smart CNC machine or tracking a shipping container—your devices must send and receive messages according to the same rules.

3. These rules are codified by messaging protocols. During the early days of IoT, a lot of competing protocols were floating around. You might find IoT systems based on:

• DDS (Data Distributed Service)

• CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) 

• AMQP (Advanced Message Queue Protocol) 

• QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) 

• And others

4. None of these technologies offered the ideal blend of features for IoT, which requires a protocol that excels at:

• Sending small amounts of data over unreliable networks;

• Operating with limited bandwidth and connectivity;

• Using a minimal overhead and small code footprint;

• Functioning well in devices with limited processing power, memory, and battery life.   

5. Luckily, such a protocol was developed in 1999. It’s called MQTT, and it’s become the de facto standard for IoT communication—both in consumer devices (wearables, smart home products, e-mobility, etc.) and industrial IoT, or IIoT (smart factories, asset tracking systems, smart utilities, and lots more). Why is MQTT becoming the dominant IoT messaging protocol? Is it the right technology for your IoT/IIoT deployment? And if so, what do you need to build an IoT system that uses MQTT?

3 common barriers to AI adoption and how to overcome them

 1. There’s a growing consensus about the need for businesses to embrace AI. McKinsey estimated that generative AI could add between $2.6 to $4.4 trillion in value annually, and Deloitte’s “State of AI in the Enterprise” report found that 94% of surveyed executives “agree that AI will transform their industry over the next five years.” The technology is here, it’s powerful, and innovators are finding new use cases for it every day. 

2. But despite its strategic importance, many companies are struggling to make progress on their AI agendas. Indeed, in that same report, Deloitte estimated that 74% of companies weren’t capturing sufficient value from their AI initiatives.

3. Nevertheless, companies sitting on the sidelines can’t afford to wait any longer. As reported by Bain & Company, a “larger wedge” is being driven “between those organizations that have a plan [for AI] and those that don’t—amplifying advantage and placing early adopters into stronger positions.”

4. So, what’s holding companies back from capturing AI’s value? While there are plenty of barriers to AI adoption, from our experience, three tend to be the most common causes for concern. Here’s what those barriers entail, and why leveraging automation as the ‘muscle’ that allows you to operationalize the ‘brain’ of AI is the most effective approach to realize value from the technology.

Georgia FDI drops by 24% in 2023; Foreign investors losing interest

1. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia reached $1.59bn (La4.22bn) in 2023, dropping by 24% following a year in which the country recorded more than $2bn in inflows.

2. FDI in Georgia reached $1.59bn in 2023, data gathered by the National Statistics Office of Georgia shows.

3. The number is 24% lower than the previous year when the country recorded slightly more than $2bn in total inflows.

Thailand releases draft Top-up Tax Act to implement the global minimum tax rules under BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two

1. On 1 March 2024, the Thai Revenue Department released a draft legislation for an adoption of the Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules (GloBE rules) in Thailand, aligning with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 Pillar Two project. The draft legislation was open for a public consultation from 1 March 2024 to 15 March 2024.

2. This draft legislation is a response to the Cabinet's resolution on 7 March 2023 to collect the Top-up Tax in Thailand for in-scope multinational enterprises (MNEs). The Cabinet assigned the Thai Revenue Department with drafting the associated regulations and guidelines. (For background, see EY Global Tax Alert, Thailand plans to implement global minimum tax rules under OECD BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two, 10 March 2023.)