The Internet of Things (IoT) is creating entirely new businesses and disrupting old business models. It’s fascinating to watch entire new business models emerge and track the companies that will shape the next wave of IT technology – connected products.
The impact of IoT is not confined to individual market segments. It will reshape entire industries in the eco-system. Professor Michael Porter from Harvard University has published articles on the technology waves of IT-driven transformation. The first wave of IT innovation occurred in the 1970’s and drove changes in the order processing, computer aided design, and ERP. The first wave was driven by data processing for activities and the standardization of processes across companies. The second wave occurred in late 1980’s with the rise of the internet and ubiquitous connectivity. It allowed global integration across the supply chain.
We are now entering the third wave of IT transformation. IT is becoming part of the product. This is a result of low cost sensors being deployed in cars, shipping containers, medical devices, utility meters, and other products across a diverse set of industries. Combining embedded sensor technology with cloud computing platforms expands the market opportunity for value creation for companies in the IoT ecosystem. It opens up new markets because the supply value chain is expanded to systems and not simply discrete products or services. Today we are in the era of connected devices. Figure 1 provides a simple diagram on the evolution of the connected automobile. The future IoT market expansion system will grow well beyond the existing market today which is essentially focused on the individual automobile manufacturer. Future markets will expand to include transportation optimized services.
IoT Service Enablement Platforms are an integral part of optimizing and expanding the market opportunity and transforming businesses. The IoT Service Enablement Platforms must provide management of the connectivity, device management, and sensor management. This includes activating, on-boarding the device, and performance monitoring of the M2M devices. Sensor data provide advanced analytics for control decision and usage analysis.
The evolution of the IoT market and the expansion opportunities will bring new competitors into the market. Technology companies will disrupt the supplier market in each vertical industry. Google is exerting its position as an OS supplier. In the automobile industry GM, Honda, Audi, and Hyundai have joined the Open Automotive Alliance to utilize the Android operating system. AT&T is opening up its network to provide a platform of APIs to allow developers to create new cloud-based solutions on top of connectivity. It includes vehicle remote controls, child safety innovations, theft control and e-commerce from the vehicle.
Look for future blogs and in-depth research in IoT Service Enablement Platforms in the coming months.