There are two different ways to play the Internet of Things: vertically and horizontally. CalAmp (CAMP -2.14%) is the vertical strategy; Splunk (SPLK) is horizontal.
CalAmp has a couple of industries it knows really well, and it wants to use the Internet of Things as a tool to optimize those industries. For its mobile resources management offering, CalAmp can promote to its customers their returns on investments by saving fuel and optimizing routes if CalAmp's telematics devices are installed in their heavy industry vehicles.
Meanwhile, Splunk is looking at unstructured machine data. Any device that can transmit a signal, whether it's a cell phone or an airplane, can use Splunk to better monitor its performance -- and therefore allow those in charge to make better managerial decisions for their businesses.
In this episode of The Next, Motley Fool tech analyst Eric Bleeker and Rule Breakers analyst Simon Erickson break down the stock performances of CalAmp and Splunk in 2014 and what they might hold for the future.
