Here is the latest edition of the IoT Central Digest. Encourage your friends and colleagues to be a part of our community. Forward this to them. They can join IoT Central here. You can contribute your thoughts on IoT here.
Security in the Internet of Things - an Inconvenient Truth
Posted by Rob Dyke
The current political events in Barcelona provide us with a barely-needed reminder that we live in changing times. I was in the city as part of the Trustonic team exhibiting at IoT Solutions World Congress last week and took some time to speak with fellow vendors. I soon saw some fantastic product demonstrations that drew my attention - I wanted to learn more. Frequently though, the response to: “This looks great - how is it secured? How do we know the data is trustworthy?” was a puzzled look and a “It uses our cloud and we secure that” or “It runs on a secure OS”. Sometimes the response was worse: “It’s a closed network. You couldn’t attack it”.
IoT is Not Just IT - Focus on Customer Outcomes and Integrated Teams
Posted by Michael Riemer
Are your IoT initiatives doomed for failure? A recent study by Cisco suggests that 75% of IoT initiatives will fail. But with an estimated 80+ billion connected devices over the next half century, companies cannot afford to ignore the opportunity. Based on learnings from both wins and losses over the last 10 years, an integrated, customer-centric approach will help ensure smarter and more successful IoT investments. Here is a 5-step approach to consider:
Rise of the Intelligent Revenue Machines
Posted by James Branigan
An early theme of digital transformation was the notion of selling services rather than products. A contract with the “thing maker” to circulate cooling fluid throughout my factory rather than a purchase order for me to buy the pumps and filters needed to do it myself, for example. The contract lets me focus on creating products for my customers rather than maintaining the machines making this possible. I don’t want to spend time on the process (pumps and filters), I just need the outcome (properly cooled machines) in the least distracting way possible to my core business of producing goods, medicine, energy, etc. The contract lets you, purveyor of the connected pumps and filters, build a closer relationship with me, streamline your business, and avoid competing in an increasingly commoditized space.
Customers Want Better Outcomes, not Smarter Products
Posted by James Branigan
To paraphrase Geoffrey Moore, smart “thing makers” are investing in IoT solutions for their customers today in order to generate more revenue for themselves tomorrow. Traditional hardware vendors are being commoditized and replaced whenever a cheaper “good enough” option comes along. To thrive in the long run, your value must be “sticky”, embedded in your customer’s business, providing benefit to their customers as well. The “things” you sell now simply enable your customers to run their basic operations. Whenever a part breaks, customers make a decision to order a new one either from you or a competitor. How differentiated is your equipment from the rest of the market? Your business is constantly at risk.
How Robotic Process Automation helping Digital Age
Posted by Sandeep Raut
Digital has brought in so many technological advances to this age and one of them is Robotic Process Automation (RPA). A simple definition of RPA is, automation of business processes across the enterprise using software robots. Any repetitive task which requires some decision making is an ideal candidate for RPA. Automation has become an integral part of Digital Transformation. Implementing these software robots to perform routine business processes and eliminate inefficiencies is the key for business leaders.
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