IoT

The Smart Products Playbook – Using data to create compelling experiences

In the previous post of this series, we explored ways by which recurring revenues can be obtained from connected products. In this post, we extend the investigation to Smart Products. Two questions immediately come to mind. When does a product become ‘smart’ rather than simply connected? And is does being smart really equate with being useful? Do smart products, which make use of some form of machine learning or another form of artificial intelligence capability, really help users? Equally of relevance, … Read more…

Finding the best Digital Business Model for IoT. A Quick Guide.

This is the first of a three-part series on how consumer products companies can extend from providing connected products to truly smart products, considering the impact on business models and organisational capabilities.  The past five years have seen an explosion in the growth of connected consumer products. This was first noticeable in the smart home space where start-ups in the US like Nest, Ring and Canary brought in a wave of app-controlled devices. These were stylish, design-led products, intended to appeal to … Read more…

The journey to becoming a Consumer IoT Player

So far in this blog I have touched on many areas relating to the technology and leadership challenges of working in high-speed tech environments. While these musings were shaped by my experiences, it is perhaps time to look closer to what I have been doing in my day job. I lead the product development at Drayton, a Schneider Electric company focused on building temperature control products for homes. Until recently, our products consisted of thermostats, boiler controls, and valves used by anyone … Read more…

Amazon Dash – this genuinely deserves the ‘Internet of Things’ tag

The Internet of Things hype continues unabated, with companies allegedly hiring Chief IoT officers, though a quick search on the Indeed website failed to throw up any ads. However, today I came across a news item that genuinely deserves a bit of hype. While all sorts of technologies and products get pitched as an IoT play, Amazon’s Dash service is a genuine internet of things application. In a nutshell this service allows companies to use Amazon as a fulfilment service … Read more…

Please welcome the Wireless IoT Forum

It is a new week (well, nearly) so it must be time for a new Internet of Things consortium or standards initiative. Please welcome the Wireless IOT Forum which is being established with William Webb, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) as its head. Wireless IoT Forum launches to drive Internet of Things development This blog has already addressed the multitude of standards in the Internet of Things space. In fairness this new grouping aims to bring … Read more…

IBM – $3billion in IoT and Weather Company tie-up

While there is nothing particularly exceptional about an Internet of Things – related announcement, this one is pretty big, at least in dollar terms. IBM has announced this morning that it will create a new Internet of Things business, consolidating its existing activities in its Smarter Planet and Smarter Cities initiatives. The numbers are quite striking – $4 billion to be invested over three years, and 2000 consultants, developers and researchers assigned to it. The key capabilities IBM will bring … Read more…

ARM, IBM and Freescale in new IoT partnership

In the quest to get mindshare of the maker movement, ARM and IBM yesterday announced an Internet of Things starter kit based on an ARM Cortex M4 powered board, connected to the IBM BlueMix cloud service. ARM’s aim, similar to a previous initiative by Intel covered on this site is to help migrate the IoT enthusiasts who may be the founders of the next big thing away from Arduino towards ARM-based development platforms that can then be easily productised. Intel’s Edison-based development … Read more…

IoT Network Sigfox secures $115 additional funding

Sigfox, the low-power wide area network being deployed by Arqiva in the UK secured a new round of funding to drive its international expansion. As discussed in a previous post, Sigfox allows devices to remain in contact with a network for several years using normal AA-style batteries, and represents a much lower cost alternative to cellular networks for applications such as metering. This makes it quite interesting that NTT Docomo, Telefonica and SK Telecom are amongst its investors, clearing seeking to … Read more…

The Internet of Things – A conceptual model

Earlier this week, we saw how TechCrunch attempted to model the Internet of Things ecosystem. In this post I propose an alternative model, albeit one quite similar in structure . I will not attempt to reproduce in comparable detail the vast number of companies and organisations involved, but will simply provide a representation on how the overall model can be represented. In common with many other models, I too split the connected things ecosystem into industry verticals and horizontal enablers. … Read more…

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