The Internet of Things (IoT) offers tantalising and practical opportunities for a better world, according to panellists at the recent Social Media Week in Bangalore. With the theme ‘Reimagining Human Connectivity,’ the five-day event featured speakers on a range of topics: mobile social media, digital marketing, political impacts, online news, Internet business models, storytelling formats, startup opportunities, brand positioning and predictive analytics.
Seven tips for IoT success were shared by speakers from industry heavyweight Intel along with energy solutions firm Green Cosmos as well as IoT startups CarIQ and IoTNow. See also earlier YourStory coverage of IoT forecasts for 2015, opportunities in India and innovation insights.
1. IoT begins at home
Every citizen needs to know the pattern of power and water consumption in their house on a regular basis. IoT helps them not just monitor these patterns but also save money by taking corrective actions, and gives them a larger sense of achievement in conserving energy and resources.
2. IoT on the move
Cars have always been sources of important data on vehicle status and navigation patterns, but for the first time it is possible to download and analyse that data in a convenient manner, thanks to smartphones. Via IoT, car analytics and geo-tagged databases, it is possible to detect when components like batteries will fail and where the nearest replacement is possible, thus providing car owners with better decision-making power and security.
3. IoT in industry
While much hype understandably focuses on consumer IoT scenarios like wearable health devices or even fridges ordering vegetables when the shelves are empty, the real visible action is industrial IoT. Sensors on oil rigs can help better utilisation of drilling equipment and detect leakages and spills; power tracking and optimisation on outdoor ads and remote hoardings ensures that lighting is reliable and consistent.
4. Understanding IoT
One reason for the relatively slowly adoption of many IoT-based tools and services is that it is hard for consumers to understand how the solutions work. Visualisation will play an important role in helping consumers understand what IoT streams of data mean and how to react.
5. Monetising IoT
Many startups are flocking to the IoT bandwagon, but to monetise these tools they need to be clear on sources of revenue streams. For example, in the case of automotive IoT, who is paying for the service: the car owner, car manufacturer, components manufacturer, systems integrator or fleet owner?
6. Delivering IoT
Customers don’t necessarily want to pay for something called an IoT solution, so it is important for startups to devise service-level agreements (SLAs) for customers to better understand how IoT actually delivers value, eg. how much it costs for solutions for better energy usage and early identification of defects. In the case of the India market, a good example is solutions for monitoring and operating diesel generators in a cost-effective manner during the frequent power cuts.
7. Have a larger vision
The onus is on us to pass on the world to the next generation in a better shape than it is now. Solutions powered by IoT can help create a more sustainable planet by reducing the carbon footprint. This can be achieved by smart management of road traffic and optimised control engineering for solar and wind energy.
The panel discussion was followed by a round of questions from the audience and on Twitter. Overall, SMW Bangalore was supported by over 40 event partners and 150 speakers, and the discussions online featured over 6,500 contributors curating more than 53,000 tweets.
“It was wonderful to see SMW Bangalore truly living up to the concept of crowd sourcing,” summed up Rohit Varma, Founder of R SQUARE Consulting, and Director of SMW Bangalore.
About the speakers:
Manoj Dey, Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives, Intel
Manoj Dey has 19 years of industry experience in conceptualisation development and product delivery to MNC customers in the areas of embedded devices, IoT solutions, tablets/netbooks and networking/communication. He has led cross functional teams to drive complete product portfolio management and high level customer relationship management across product segments.
Sagar Apte, CEO, CarIQ
Sagar Apte started CarIQ in 2012 to build India’s first connected car platform. He has over 16 years of experience across diverse domains such as product management, sales, support, operations and marketing. He is an avid reader and loves driving.
Sarita Mishra, Founder Director, Green Cosmos Energy Solutions
Sarita Misra is a nuclear science and engineering graduate, and worked at Department of Atomic Energy, India at BARC as a scientist. She has 15 years of experience in India and the US. She has a Masters in Chemistry from North-Eastern Hill University and an M.S. in Computer Information System from Eastern Michigan University. She also holds a certificate in Management Program for Women Entrepreneurs from IIM Bangalore (First Prize winner).
Divyanshu Verma, Co-Founder, IOTnow
Divyanshu is cofounder of IOTnow, an industrial IoT-focused startup. The three-month old company based in Mysore has developed solutions in solar energy management and fuel measurement. Divyanshu has close to 17 years of experience in the technology industry in India, the US and Europe. He has worked with Fortune 500 organizations such as GE, Dell and Broadcom, where he led the design and architecture of global products. He graduated from IIT-Delhi and IIM-Bangalore and holds two patents.
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