Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Growth, Innovation and Leadership: Silicon Valley


Monetizing the IoT: How Organizations are Making or Saving Money with IoT


MODERATOR
Dilip Sarangan, Industry Principal
Internet of Things
(IoT)
Frost & Sullivan

PANELISTS 
Sukamal Banerjee, Executive Vice President and Head of IoT,
HCL Technologies
Jesse DeMesa, Venture Partner, Momenta Partners
Christoph Inauen, Vice President, IoT, GTM, SAP
Makarand Joshi, Director, Product Management, IoT Platform, Schneider Electric
Abhi Rele, Director, IoT Product Marketing, Samsung
Faraz Shafiq, Associate Managing Director, Global IoT Practice, Verizon Enterprise Solutions
Pavan Singh, Vice President & Business Head, IoT Security, Covata

SESSION ABSTRACT
IoT transcends industries and vertical markets with solutions that range from automotive to healthcare to energy. This panel discussion featured industry leaders discussing how they work with organizations from the planning stages to deployment and post-deployment with the goal of helping them save money and monetize their investments in IoT.

KEY TAKE-AWAYS
  • Proven ways that IoT could help your organization save money
  • Use cases illustrating how organizations have maximized their potential with IoT
  • An assessment of the relevance and importance of IoT
  • Key areas where IoT could help your organization save money
  • Use cases illustrating how organizations have maximized their potential with IoT

OVERVIEW
The purpose of the discussion was to help the audience gain a deeper understanding of monetizing on IoT deployments. Most of the panel believed that the easiest current opportunities present themselves in the cost reduction cases. Revenue generation will be the next step. As illustrated in the chart below, a recent Frost & Sullivan global survey of 1,980 IT decision makers across verticals revealed that 34% of companies have already invested in IoT solutions, and 39% plan to invest over the next 2 years. Over one third of the respondents are providing small trials and proof of concept; live services with customers, distributions, and suppliers; and deploying next-generation solutions.


  
Some industries are further along the IoT curve than others, but almost all are on the path.

BEST PRACTICE 
Each of the panelists shared case studies to provide success stories around IoT to the audience. Below, please find highlights:

Christoph Inauen, Vice President, IoT, GTM, SAP:

Customer cases are categorized into 3 areas:

1)  Save money – Port of Hamburg
  • Problem: The increased capacity of the port created huge problems with traffic flow due to the additional number of shipments and vehicles.
  • Solution: They deployed sensors along the port and in parking lot areas that needed to be managed. The also installed dashboard units in the trucks to notify them of accidents in real time and then give them instructions on where to park or where to go to avoid congestion.
  • Results: In the one year they have been up and running, they have improved conditions and enhanced capacity.

2)  Create revenue streams – Trenitalia (The primary rail transport company in 
     Italy)
  • Problem – They needed to increase efficiency - every car that had battery issues had to be taken out of commission.
  • Solution – Sensors can now share the status the battery, allowing trains to stay in the system much more of the time.
  • Results - Trenitalia saves 7% of maintenance costs. 

3)  Change business model – Under Armour was discussed as an example of a   company that had reinvented itself. Its vision is connected life. They are embedding sensors into shirts and shoes to monitor health and give each consumer tailored recommendations on their body. Specific diet plans can be provided to each individual based on their personal data and goals. This gives the company new revenue streams.

Faraz Shafiq, Associate Managing Director, Global IoT Practice, Verizon Enterprise Solutions:

 “We, as in Verizon, can’t just focus on cellular; with IoT we have to be network agnostic.” The platform can take care of IoT needs for cellular as well as fixed lines with connectivity and security. A key question is “what do you do with the data?” 

Shafiq gave an example of a situation where there were hundreds of containers on a ship and fourteen people to monitor the containers. With a small form factor sensor attached to the container, they no longer need monitors on board, but only the mechanics to fix any problems when they are alerted. The devices also provide preventive information so problems can be fixed before they become huge ones. Another benefit of this solution is that any data can be sent to customers on their mobile phones. Customers can always check in on their shipments. This reduced operating expenses  and capital expenditures.

Makarand Joshi, Director, Product Management, IoT Platform, Schneider Electric:

Schneider makes Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) products for data centers. Often these were returned to Best Buy because buyers failed to read the manual. Now, buyers have the capability to register their UPS purchase on theirs smart phones and Schneider can monitor their usage. This way, Schneider can tell the customer when the battery runs out and it needs to be changed. This prevents buyers from simply throwing the UPS’ out. Also valuable is that when there are a lot of UPS’ low on battery, the utilities can be informed.

Sukamal Banerjee, Executive Vice President and Head of IoT, HCL Technologies:

A medical devices company wanted to track and trace inventory and equipment needs for surgical cases. The ability to manage inventory and ensure all the equipment needed for the surgery, and for potential emergencies, is in the surgery room, is critical to maintain costs, and save lives. Previously, a lot of time was lost, when the right tools were not in the operating room when needed. 

TAKE-AWAY 
The barriers to deploying IoT include security risks, cost of integration, managing data protection and privacy requirements, cost of connectivity and the time it takes to develop the solutions.

This should not deter companies in any industry from taking action today to capture the opportunities that lie ahead with the integration of IoT.  Start with implementing solutions utilizing IoT to reduce costs. At the same time, start planning for how to create new revenue streams, or how to change a business model.

The key drivers for investment include the ability to boost customer service and marketing programs, automate manual processes, collect customer usage data, and optimize field or on-site operations. 

Ecosystems are going to be critical for IoT to really take off. Below are some key quotes from the panelists:

 “If you can connect the ecosystems and work together, it can really make IoT implementations successful.” -- Jesse DeMesa 

“What’s different about Samsung’s IoT solution is its end-to-end solution, which includes hardware modules, IoT, cloud, and partner ecosystem. It is integrated (saves 9 to 24 months), interoperable (you don’t have to “do the plumbing”), and easy (everything is API driven).” -- Abhi Rele

“Someone who understands the whole ecosystem is important for the solution.” Verizon has implemented a new strategy where the professional services group, rather than the sales team, is the front door to discussing opportunities that IoT can create. These are multi-year engagements, so creating the right relationships is very important to the success of this solution. -- Faraz Shafiq

ACTION ITEM
  1. Use the case studies you heard about as a starting point. Consider how these case studies can be applied to our organization.
  2. Discuss IoT implementation costs with your executives – especially the ones that are no-brainers.
  3. Plan for ways to utilize IoT to create new revenue streams or new business models.
  4. Understand that every industry is already looking at IoT opportunities – now is the time to get started on your roadmap.
  5. Talk to Frost & Sullivan if you have any questions – we can support you in a number of ways throughout your planning, implementation, and monitoring process.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM THE PANELISTS 
“IoT is not something you can buy. You buy solutions such as sensors that alert you when there is a problem or you add predictive features that warn before things happen.”
--Christoph Inauen

“The common denominator is information; value of information depreciates with time. Aparking spot won’t wait for you for a half hour. [The] right application and analytics in real time is critical.” -- Faraz Shafiq

“Once you implement IoT, it’s critical to recognize that it has to be run in a very different way than you run IT because it has to be a much smaller percent of the cost for each transaction.”
-- Sukamel Banerjee

“Why now? [More] connectivity available, [the] cost of sensors down, cost reduction needs, [and] we can process a lot more data effectively. [We] need to position IoT based on industry trends. Data exchange is a big part that IoT will drive towards when the connectivity issues become resolved.” -- Pavan Singh

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Innovation Benchmarking: How Innovative Are You?




PRESENTER
Richard Sear, Partner
and Senior Vice President,
Visionary Innovation 

Frost & Sullivan





SESSION ABSTRACT
The term innovation is heavily used and more truthfully, it is heavily over-used. This session explored just what being a world class innovation company means. Richard Sear identified the core stages of an innovation system and introduced participants to the Innovation Maturity Model, a benchmark by which you can gauge the gaps your organization has in its capabilities, and more importantly, determine how to go about the process of addressing them.

KEY TAKE-AWAYS
  • A key framework to understand the seven stages of a world class innovation system
  • Key benchmarking tools to relate your organization to world class companies
  • Best practices for implementing innovation techniques in your organization
  • Personal techniques to address innovation, even if your organization does not support it
  • 60% of companies will not see a 10-year anniversary
  • If you do not have a clear big-data strategy within the next 3 years, over the 10 years beyond that point, there is a 50% chance your organization will fail
  • If you’re looking for new areas of innovation, you need to start with big ideas, not small ones. However, you do need to break down big ideas into specific strategies that  can be implemented in a clear 3- 5- or 10-year plan
  • The best companies in the world have the innovation team members embedded throughout the organization to see the innovation process through from start to finish 
  • Innovation is the ability to create and sustain a competitive advantage in existing and emerging markets. It is a process of developing an idea into a commercial business solution
  • In a competitive business world, it is essential for organizations to pursue consistent innovation in order to remain ahead of competition. 
  • An innovation culture cannot be established overnight due to the abundance of obstacles. It is a long journey through various stages of maturity
BEST PRACTICE
The Technology Innovation Continuum has five levels of maturity:
  1. Ad-hoc innovation
  2. Defined innovation
  3. Supported innovation
  4. Aligned innovation
  5. Synergized innovation
There are three capability requirements on the Innovation Continuum that contribute to an organization’s maturity level:
  1. Innovation Process: This refers to the complete innovation lifecycle
  2. Knowledge & Competency: A knowledge system that allows an organization to innovate consistently
  3. Organizational Support: Infrastructure, resources, metrics, leadership, policies and strategies required to support innovation
EXAMPLE: This Innovation Process From GE Has Seven Key Steps:
  1. Input – Ideas going in, captured in a way that it makes it easy for the  organization to digest
  2. Insighting – A review level for captured ideas that seeks to understand the foundation of the ideas
  3. Problem Definition – What is the problem that we are looking to overcome?
  4. Solution Generation –Coming up with multiple different ways to tackle the problem
  5. Qualification – How do we qualify the end need? Where are the opportunities and problems we could face?
  6. Research & Development – Putting numbers to the idea, coming up with a business plan
  7. Implementation
TAKE AWAY
Know your Innovation Readiness Score, based on the following factors 
(ratings from 1- 7, where 1 = poor and 7= excellent):
  • Do you have no problem finding white space growth?
  • Is your industry is being disrupted and do you have a plan to prosper?
  • Are you strategically developing new business models?
  • Do you have a clear 10-year vision plan?
  • Do you have a fully optimized innovation pipeline?
  • Organizationally, do you react quickly?
  • Does every employee know your innovation process?
FINAL THOUGHT
The problem is that most innovation teams only have the first piece of the innovation process in place. The best companies in the world have innovation teams involved in the entire process to hone the ideas, work with the ideas, and cultivate the ideas. Moreover, most organizations are unable to reach a maturity level 5 unless they were established as a level 5 with all the organizational support for innovation from the beginning. Google is an example of this. Without being established from the start with the infrastructure, leadership, policies, and culture of innovation and change, organizations are typically able to reach level 4, which will still put your organization in the top percentage of innovative companies worldwide.

Finally, the one thing that will harm your organization faster than anything else, even faster than having bad ideas, is having ideas and not implementing them fast enough.


Friday, May 13, 2016

CASE HISTORY Proven Ways to Incubate New Business and Product Opportunities





PRESENTER

Shawn Williams
Vice President
Research & Development

Rogers Corporation




SESSION ABSTRACT

In this session participants learned why successful companies struggle to maintain an innovative spirit, where new entrepreneurial vigor can be found, and how to get the best of both worlds. Rogers Corporation found that the best means to cost-effectively maintain a vital product portfolio and a robust pipeline of next generation technology was to separate core product R&D from more collaboration-focused innovation efforts and to leverage both university and start-up-based relationships to nurture these opportunities.

KEY TAKE-AWAYS

  • Lessons learned on why it is hard to change behaviors that have traditionally led to commercial success, and how ‘R’ and ‘D’ may require different skill sets
  • Outcomes of how a 180 year old company injected reinvigorated its creativity, implemented new discipline for product development and portfolio management, and created a next-stage opportunity pipeline with a value of >$500M
  • Best practices for early technical/commercial opportunity assessment and incubation of next generation businesses & technologies

ACTION ITEM
Shawn Williams of Rogers Corporation, a large, legacy company with mature product lines, discussed his organization’s need to re-evaluate, change, and innovate in order to remain relevant and competitive in their industry.

Specifically, he addressed the following keys to innovation:

  •  Overcome the “accountability trap” 
  • Avoid rivalry with Business Unit Research and Development (R&D): In his organization, central and divisional R&D complement one another
  • A hand-off isn’t tossing it over the fence; have a planned transition strategy
  • Don’t make it defensive – the first thing you can do is measure, and then improve
  • Simplicity versus System – there is so much more to driving discussions than a big complicated spreadsheet
  • Less is more, and number projections are always just a guess

TAKE-AWAY
Rogers Corporation has successful, mature product lines, a business to maintain. New market share is harder to find, and incremental improvements are necessary to help offset commoditization. The challenge they have is that the projects are too small in potential, and resources are spread out across too many platforms. Rogers took intentional steps to re-invigorate R&D and initiate a strategic dialogue. The first thing they did was to evaluate expectations and set new ones. New expectations for Rogers Corporation needed to be set in order to see bigger changes (e.g. base case revenue = $11M/project, new aspirational revenue = $50M/project).

How do you turn things around and get people comfortable with new things? A generational strategy can help: first look at making incremental changes (18-24 months), then evolutionary changes (24-36 months), and then revolutionary changes (36-60 months). Rogers Corporation created an innovation center to develop nurturers and subversives in symbiosis. Most important to the innovation center is having people who are unaccountable for current business. If this doesn’t happen, 9 times out of 10 the organization goes for the safer bet (current business) rather than taking the risk of innovation and new ideas. Portfolio Management Tools were used to maximize the decision-making power of data. They help drive strategic discussion, and help define the shape of portfolio needs and gaps.

ACTION ITEM

  • What do you need to believe? A simple analysis to help set level expectations always helps. Identify your opportunities, and put numbers behind them to understand potential gain. These exercises can be extremely motivating and help prioritize projects. Example: 1 billion cell phones per year sold x 2 antennas per phone x 50% antennas addressable x 0.30 per antenna = $300 million opportunity
  • Getting people on board is more important than taking a stand and telling people what to do
  • Handoff includes moving products from an innovation center to the product development process, and that’s not just dropping it off, but transferring knowledge

FINAL THOUGHT

It’s hard to incubate without a strategic perspective. It’s even harder to win without a strategic dialogue.