 Your new post is loading...
Your new post is loading...
In an attempt to modernize the retail experience for sellers, four Nest alums are launching b8ta, a software-driven brick-and-mortar store in Palo Alto, to sell Internet of Things gadgets and products on Friday. The entire b8ta experience is technology-driven — from the way companies get their products into b8ta to the way customers interact with the products.
With b8ta, the goal is to get innovative products like the Gi Flybike, a folding electric bicycle, and Thync, a wearable for achieving mindfulness and boosting energy, into physical stores and enable customers to have real, tactile experiences with them....
The Internet of Things will be made up of many things that are constantly on the move.
Many of the connected objects will be stationary, of course, and a lot of those already are being put in place.
There are the obvious smart objects, such as connected thermostats at home and beacons in stores.
And then there are some that are not so obvious, such as the 100 Los Angeles street lights with Wi-Fi built in and the small cells inside manhole covers in Zurich that are linked to the landline infrastructure....
For a business to tap into the potential of The Internet of Things is going to require some buy-in from those at the top.
If a new study of one group of business leaders is any indication of the IoT state of adoption, some have a ways to go.
It turns out that the majority of top execs in Canada are not even aware of The Internet of Things.Most (53%) executives said they are completely unaware of the Internet of Things and even more (72%) find it to be a confusing concept....
The wearable computing industry has seen important activity this year on the public markets side. In March, Apple’s smartwatch was released, with some estimates pegging the device’s sales at 20% of all wearables units sold globally in Q2’15. In June, fitness band maker Fitbit went public at a valuation of $4.1B.
Despite these high-profile events, the funding climate for still-private companies in the wearable computing space has cooled off. Dollars invested in wearable technologies in 2015 are on track to hit $276M at the current run-rate, a drop of 72% compared to 2014′s total, according to CB Insights data, and the lowest annual funding total since 2010.
Meanwhile, deals are likely to finish the year at close to 50, down ~15% from 2014 numbers....
The future of wearables isn't just devices on your body. It's also sensors that you put inside your body to learn more about your health and interact with smart devices in your home.
Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman, speaking Wednesday at the Code Mobile conference in Half Moon Bay, said Jawbone has invested a lot of time and money into developing sensors. And the fitness wearable maker has looked at sensors you'd swallow or implant -- like something that would stay in your bloodstream to monitor your circulation and other factors -- for use in certain scenarios....
Among many other things, connected objects will allow consumers to buy things more easily.
The Amazon Dash button introduced several months back is a good example of at least the start of this.
The highly publicized buttons can be mounted pretty much anywhere, such as on a washing machine or near a coffee maker to remind a consumer to re-order supplies while in the context of using the particular device or appliance.
Somewhere between 300,000 and a half million of the buttons have been shipped since Amazon started sending them to Amazon Prime service members, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who sees them heading into the millions going forward....
Some of the numbers associated with the Internet of Things are striking.
They range from the millions to billions to trillions.
Earlier this week, I aggregated many of the percentages around the IoT, as I wrote about here (The Internet of Things by the Percentages).
While many of the percentages, especially around growth, are huge, they hardly compare to the sheer numbers, either by units or dollars.
So here for your edification are some of the numbers around the Internet of Things, with the source of each...
With the recent entry of key industry players like Apple into the wearables sector, the demand for these devices has risen. So much so that YouGov estimates that there will be 6.1 million wearable device owners in the UK by the end of 2015 and Juniper research says that global retail revenue from wearable devices will have reached $53.2bn (£34.9bn) by 2019. Of this, smart watches are expected to replace fitness devices as the most purchased wearables category by 2017.
With more and more consumers expected to purchase smart watches in coming years, these devices have the potential to become ‘consumer companions’ comparable to the smartphone. As a result, they provide brands with the ability to get, very literally, closer to their target customers.
The data collected by wearables will give marketers a unique understanding of audience behaviour on an individual level. For example, marketers will be able to identify where a user has been and the interactions they have had, as told by their geo-location data and the apps they have connected to. This will be invaluable for marketers in learning how to better target consumers, particularly if they can understand wearables within the context of other devices used in the wider purchase journey....
Internet of Things is the current hip phrase of technology evangelists, geeks and all kinds of clairvoyants. If, according to tech blogs and websites, 2013 was the year of big data, then 2014 certainly is the year of Internet of Things.
New projects, big funding rounds, the general hype and excitement are everywhere. And yet, we don’t really get the whole thing right. The general media seem more concerned with new smart thermostats design than how the concept of IoT is changing our lives. It’s time to approach this massive subject properly and start avoiding common misconceptions....
Manufacturers and suppliers up and down the value chain will be affected as the use of 3D printing expands over the next decade. As barriers to entry fall, smaller companies will challenge larger manufacturers with new business models that create a competitive advantage. To counter that, larger manufacturers should start preparing now with a situational assessment:Determine the drivers for 3D printing in your industry
Calculate the effects 3D printing could have on the supply chain, manufacturing, assembly, and other areas of the business.
Decide which components will benefit from being redesigned to take full advantage of additive manufacturing approaches.
Not every manufacturing application will be a fit, but companies need to build a strategy, find the sweet spots, and begin exploiting 3D printing within their own unique business contexts before the industry begins changing around them....
Beacons are primarily for customer interactions in one way or another while RFID tags typically are used to track products and affect pricing based on inventory and online pricing.
Leading retailers using the IoT are poised to gain a market advantage as they generate an ecosystem for IoT connections and interactions, according to Juniper.
Combining IoT revenue and cost savings, Juniper estimates the IoT opportunity to reach $300 billion by 2020.
The overall number of IoT devices installed is projected to increase from 13 billion devices this year to 39 billion within five years....
Just over half of marketers expect the Internet of Things, with ubiquitous, embedded devices constantly conveying real-time data, to revolutionize marketing by 2020. Along with this they see the power of real-time personalized mobile communication as one of the biggest trends.
Here are the trends that marketing executives see as having the biggest impact on marketers within five years: - 51% -- Internet of Things
- 50% -- Real-time mobile personalized transactions
- 29% -- Wearable technology
- 26% -- Virtual/augmented reality
- 13% -- Privacy backlash...
People don’t want connected watches and glasses as much as they would want their bodies online, a new study suggests.
The study was carried out by Element14, a distributor of technology products and solutions for electronic system design, maintenance and repair. Named ‘Engineering a connected world,’ the study asked 3,500 adults living in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America how the connected devices of the future will impact the way we interact with the world around us.
This report uncovers consumer attitudes towards the current and future direction of the Internet of Things, highlighting the areas of our lives where people believe technology and innovation should be focused, the report says, adding that the technology should be focused on healthcare, renewable energy and the environment....
|
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a phenomenon and an entity. It refers to the way Internet connectivity has expanded to include everyday objects and to how those everyday objects interoperate with our daily lives.
No longer do we “access” the Internet. The Internet is ever-present. It operates as an automated entity that can carry out functions that reflect and affect the physical world. We conduct business, live our lives, and dictate our affairs in its presence and based on its rules. Anything from your refrigerator to your key fob could be connected.
Forbes contributor Jacob Morgan wrote,
"If it has an on and off switch then chances are it can be a part of the IoT."
Increasingly, however, IoT devices may not even have an on/off switch.
In the wake of this ubiquity, massive implications exist for policy, safety, government, regulation, privacy, provision, and technology....
Among tech buzzwords, Internet of Things is currently one of the favorites ( Big Data is up there too). But the Internet of Things or IoT is not really an industry and is more of a theme with IoT companies attacking a wide variety of industry challenges. We put together a map of IoT startups that are attacking different industries.
While companies like Lockitron andCanary aim to automate your home, Proteus Digital Health and AdhereTech are trying to revolutionize medicine by improving patient monitoring. Below are some of the areas that IoT startups are attacking with a small sampling of companies for each IoT segment.
The US smart home market has yet to take off. Quirky's recent announcement that it was filing chapter 11 bankruptcy — and selling off its smart home business, Wink — highlights this well.
At its current state, we believe the smart home market is stuck in the 'chasm' of the technology adoption curve, in which it is struggling to surpass the early-adopter phase and move to the mass-market phase of adoption.
There are many barriers preventing mass-market smart home adoption: high device prices, limited consumer demand and long device replacement cycles. However, the largest barrier is the technological fragmentation of the smart home ecosystem, in which consumers need multiple networking devices, apps and more to build and run their smart home....
We know the Internet of Things is big and going to be massive in scope, impacting all aspects of marketing and communication.
Some recent data points from some of the very large companies fueling the growth yet again highlight just how big a deal this is.
Within five years, 200 billion so-called smart objects will be deployed, according to Intel’s latest guide to all things IoT. That translates to 26 smart objects for every human being on earth....
The internet has changed so much it can’t be quantified in a single word or even on a few levels. It changed education, business, telecommunications, correspondence, and interpersonal relationships.
You can now have a virtual phone system that doesn’t require wires and cables. Businesses are saving a bundle on moving their phone systems from the old PBX model to a virtual model that allows you to carry your phone number with you whether you’re using a phone, a tablet or even a landline. PBX providers like Switch have advantages over a land based phone system for its greater flexibility and low cost.
But the IoT doesn’t stop at phone systems, it is letting your refrigerator order your food, it lets your phone control your lights, your locks and a myriad of other things that you own. Between hardware and software, the IoT is projected to become the largest device market in the world. It will surpass mobile phones, tablets and cars. Between hardware, software, installation and management services, the IoT is expected to add US$1.7-trillion into the global economy....
The Internet of Things (IoT) presents a significant mix of opportunity and risk. Compared to the connected devices of the past, the gazillions of new IoT devices that are being predicted for our homes, transportation, cities, medical devices and elsewhere represent a unique set of security challenges for both companies and their users.
They also offer a host of new and attractive opportunity for attackers.
To start, IoT devices significantly expand the attack surface. Hackers can easily purchase any IoT device, which will often contain the same security features of other, identical devices already deployed in hundreds or even thousands of homes. Unlike servers or networking equipment, which are usually hacked through remote access points and reside in protected and monitored environments, IoT devices are more accessible to malicious threat actors....
Awareness of the Internet of Things is gaining a bit of traction, at least in some quarters.
There is now high IoT awareness in more than half (56%) of those in the retail industry, according to a new survey.
Overall, a majority (73%) of companies have deployed, or plan to deploy over the next 12 months, some types of IoT solutions, according to the 2,500-person, 15-country survey by IDC.
More than half (58%) say they consider IoT to be a strategic initiative....
The digitization of the physical world around us, dubbed the Internet of Things (IoT), is transforming how we do business and how we live our day-to-day lives. But when it comes to what consumers think about the IoT, there’s not much more important to them than their privacy, and that’s an important consideration for managed service providers (MSPs) as they think about how the IoT impacts the customers they serve. A recent report from the Altimeter Group bears this out.
The Consumer Perceptions of Privacy in the Internet of Things report questioned 2,062 American consumers about their perceptions of privacy issues around the IoT. The results should be eye-opening to MSPs, as they illustrate just how wide the chasm is between what consumers actually know about the IoT in general (which isn’t much), as well as their deep concerns about trust, privacy, and the security of their data.
For an MSP, this is valuable information, as it provides more proof that being able to promote top-notch privacy and security as one of its offerings will continue to be a game changer when it comes to having a competitive advantage in the marketplace....
While many have speculated positively on the value of the Internet of Things, a report from the McKinsey Global Institute projects an even more hopeful future for the catchall term for connected devices than previously predicted, especially in regards to local retail.
The report covers the full extent of IoT’s potential, projecting anywhere from $3.9 to an astounding $11.1 trillion dollar global economic impact by 2025. Of that, roughly $410 billion to $1.2 trillion will impact the retail industry and how local businesses and services interact with their customers
.Automated checkout systems alone could add up to $380 billion in potential value but combined with the many other retail uses of IoT, McKinsey believes the value could be anywhere from $410 billion to $1.2 trillion by 2025....
The Internet of Things will impact different people in different ways.
A good example comes from the new announcement that Under Armour is teaming with retailer Sports Authority to link together workout activity and customer loyalty.Under Armour’s MapMyFitness app, which can track activity from various fitness tracking devices from companies including Fitbit, Jawbone and Garmin, will include regular challenges for its users.
The first challenge issued was to run 10 miles or do three workouts in a week for a chance to win a gift card or points in the Sports Authority loyalty program.
Of course, anyone not using a fitness tracking device won’t be involved, but no matter.
The key is that this program neatly links together the value chain of consumer, wearable device, reward and brand....
The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t going to arrive one day with a big bang.Rather, it’s evolving through the introduction of many small connected things.
That is, at least in the case of what matters to brands, agencies and marketers.
For industrial things, the IoT is rolling through like a freight train, with sensors to track imminent rainfall, automatic regulation of heating, air conditioning and lighting, tracking of health and maintenance of commercial equipment and vehicles and countless other aspects that save energy.
Those solutions tend to be at a grand scale with immediate payback in savings....
Orchestrating social media can be likened to herding cats or catching greased pigs – there are so many sites, so many activities and so many connections to be made. Where do we focus, and why?
Focus on dedicated platforms – see Facebook and Parse below – or API’s for smart hardware. Why? Is it really a need for IoT and Social Media mix?
Most social media companies are already in advanced collaborations with IoT companies.
Commanding Attention. Social messaging apps are where many of us spend most of our mobile “screen time”. Through integration with wearable devices this bond will only grow stronger. It also positions the social app as not only the main communication interface, but as an alert and device control interface as well....
|
The Internet of everything is now a retail store in, where else, Silicon Valley.