July 201619 Harnessing the Potential The strength of the customer value proposition varies greatly depending upon the technological ecosystem. While companies are making leaps and bounds in the connected home and autonomous cars, there are other areas like connected cities, healthcare and the broader agriculture value chain where there is the opportunity for greater development.Generally IoT devices, platforms and protocols are all fast-evolving, with popularity and adoption based on consumer tastes and preferences. To innovate successfully, companies need to focus on a robust customer value proposition over inventing uses for popular technologies. Genuine innovation will come from a deep understanding of the customer and how you can leverage this insight to enhance and evolve the customer experience. The platform at the centre of the IoT experience is the real source of value as opposed to the end device. This is because the most popular technology devices used to gather the data or provide this functionality are likely to evolve over time. In order to develop a truly innovative or disruptive product, it is essential to look beyond the product to the broader value chain. Adopting a test and learn philosophy and being open to failure or reinvention is also key. Investing significant time and resource in developing an extensive solution without testing an idea or prototype with customers will likely come at great cost or mean when the solution is redundant before it launches. Likewise, the implementation plan needs to be flexible to emerging protocols, standards and devices as they enter the market. Otherwise there is the risk that the device may become obsolete in a very short lifetime. Leading the ChargeThe true potential in the IoT lies in the ability to transform everyday as-pects of life into more engaging and con-nected experiences. The two main spaces where companies are playing are in au-tonomous vehicles and connected homes. Major players like Samsung, Apple and Google are already beginning to deliver new product innovations, like the Samsung Smart Things toolkit which enables the user to monitor and control their home from anywhere. An interesting overlap between the two ecosystems is Tesla, who through battery powered cars and the PowerWall is looking to reshape how homes generate and consume electricity. This development has the potential to significantly disrupt power companies in much the same way that IP networks have impacted traditional telephone services.The collaboration between Google and Levis for Project Jacquard proves it is not just the technology companies leading the charge. Project Jacquard redefines the word wearables through transforming fabric into an interactive surface which can be tapped or swiped to control a mobile device. This trans-formative technology creates a new way in which to connect our devices to the clothes we wear.Looking Ahead The measure of success for the IoT will be the ability to make it native to its environment ­ in a similar way we have adapted to the smart phone. Companies which create seamless and subtle inter-actions between people and technology will thrive. Those who look beyond products to create new ecosystems which provide a better con-nection with the world around us will be the big disruptors. IoT devices, platforms and protocols are all fast-evolving, with popularity and adoption based on consumer tastes and preferencesPeter Bonney
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