Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Internet of Things - Innovations & Business Models

How many times have you’ll fought with your loved ones for – Leaving the water tap open, forgotten to switch off the lights, not buying the groceries on time,  leaving the plants un-watered etc. Well, to solve such many more problems & to make our lives easier here comes “Internet of Things”.

I happened to attend ThoughtWorks Converge Conference last Saturday, in this post I will share some of my learning on “Internet of Things”(IoT).

-          IoT term was first used in the year 1999

-          7 things a device must have to be IoT (Connectivity, Sensors, Processor, Security, Quality, Cost efficiency, Energy Efficiency)

Some of the disruptive Innovations in the space of Internet of Things:

Builders constructing Smart houses:

A house where your room temperature is auto set depending on the current climate temperature, will timely water your plants, lightings change as per your moods. All this is done without human interference with the help of IoT.

Connected Refrigerator:

Imagine your fridge scanning through your grocery items inside & preparing the grocery order list & sending a purchase order to Big Basket & when you come home all the materials are waiting at your doorsteps. Fridge sending out emails suggesting you based on the items present the Dinner menu to be cooked.

Google Car:

 Well google car needn’t be explained. That’s what I need as I am hopeless in driving. So practically eliminating driver’s cost you have a car which will follow google’s map & take you to your destination without any effort.

Healthcare enabled Smart watches:

 Today your Smartphone’s will warn you before your chances of heart attack, when your glucose level is going high & how much your BP is in control. Makes you feel your doctor is in your hand.


IoT Business Models:

Internet Business Models are revolving around Likes, Shares, Eyeballs, Views etc. With IoT there is an evolution of new business model:

-  Build a solution which will solve problems of people & they would be ready to pay for that solution

-    Solve the customer real time problem “now”

-    You may not have consumers directly paying for the solution, but have to identify a third party who would be ready to pay for it

-   Design BM around partnership & alliance for a bigger WIN


Some successful IoT Business Models:

  http://www.patientslikeme.com/

A community where-in people discuss about their health issues & all this discussed business intelligence is shared across clinics & hospitals so that can generate leads.

"The world's most intelligent doorbell." Chui's facial recognition technology replaces keys, passwords or codes, allowing you to disarm a security system with facial recognition

Top10 Internet of Things Startup 


Way to approach a problem via IoT:

1.       Identify the problem

2.       Come out with 10 diff IoT solutions

3.       Design feasibility study for each of the solutions & finalize one which is more doable

4.        Develop Business Model

5.       If you know your idea is profitable & scalable go ahead with it


Few Tips for business in IoT:

-          Never startup because you have a great idea, startup because you have a problem to solve

-          Find the most easiest technical solution

-          Don’t design solution just for one market – plan it as a global solution


Today Refrigerators can send Malicious Emails, so my question to you is - Are You Yet there ?