Internet of things : strategy generation : developing an internet of things strategy for avanade Netherlands

Internet of Things – Strategy Generation

Developing an Internet of Things Strategy for Avanade Netherlands

Author: Sangamesh Takkalaki (11151099) Contact: sanga.takkalaki@gmail.com

Supervisor: Dr. Jeroen Kraaijenbrink Program: Amsterdam MBA (Full Time - 2015-16)

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Internet of Things (IoT) has been one of the most prominent technology trends of the world for the last 5 years and according to many renowned researchers it is seen as the third innovation wave in the Information Technology industry that will redefine how the world functions. This study is focussed on the Avanade Netherlands (NL), whose aim is to adopt IoT as a technology firm and provide solutions for its clients that adds value to their business. As the potential and scope of IoT is vast, it is always difficult to choose what skills and industry sectors to start with and build up the credibility and capabilities within the IoT domain. Avanade Netherlands over the last year has been studying about IoT and assessing the potential route to market for it as a firm to be a strong player in the IoT domain. For the forthcoming year, Avanade Netherlands aims to establish IoT as a new revenue stream for the organization and also would be provided with revenue targets to be met from Avanade Global. In order to achieve these targets, Avanade Netherlands needs a strategy plan which can be used as a guiding tool for the next few years.

Although Avanade Global sets the yearly targets, each region is free to select its approach to achieve these targets and with the help of theoretical frameworks, the capabilities of

Avanade Netherlands as an organization and the opportunities, and challenges IoT poses are assessed. Tools such as internal case studies, research interviews, market analysis, etc. are made use of to gain an in depth view of IoT from a market as well as organizational

perspective. The information gained through this process is used to develop a strategy plan and a financial model to validate it, which is most suited for the organization that fits its overall strategy as well.

Internally, the strategy plan provides details such as the training needed for the employees, changes in the team structure, new assets needed, etc. and from a market perspective, provides details on the market segments Avanade Netherlands needs to focus on, the clients it should target, the partnerships it needs to build, etc. The financial model provides a

scenario based prediction for the revenue Avanade Netherlands could generate as well as the investment and resources it would need to achieve those predictions. Hence, with the strategy plan and the financial model, Avanade Netherlands would have a detailed approach to IoT and also a well-documented plan to show to Avanade Global.

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Executive Summary ... 1

I. Chapter 1 - Introduction ... 4

A. Background ... 4

B. Research Objective & Approach ... 6

C. Research Methodology ... 8

I.C.1 Secondary Research ... 10

I.C.2 Qualitative Research Interviews ... 11

D. Research Outline ... 16

II. Chapter 2 - Theoretical Background ... 17

A. Internet of Things ... 17

II.A.1 Internet of Things - Background ... 17

II.A.2 Internet of Things – Definition ... 19

II.A.3 Internet of Things – Application Opportunities... 23

II.A.4 Internet of Things – Ecosystem ... 24

B. Opportunities & Challenges ... 26

II.B.1 Competitive Edge ... 26

II.B.2 Business Models ... 27

II.B.3 Challenges... 31

C. Internet of Things – Strategy ... 33

II.C.1 Strategy Frameworks ... 39

III. Chapter 3 – Strategy Framework ... 42

A. Resources & Competences ... 43

B. Partners ... 44

C. Customers & Needs ... 45

D. Competitors ... 47

E. Value Proposition ... 49

F. Revenue Model ... 50

G. Risks & Costs ... 53

H. Values & Goals ... 55

I. Organizational Climate ... 55

J. Trends & Uncertainties ... 57

IV. Chapter 4 - Strategy Assessment... 59

V. Chapter 5 - Conclusion ... 64

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VII. Chapter 7 – References ... 67

A. Articles/Theoretical Frameworks ... 67

B. Websites ... 69

C. Figures ... 69

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I. C

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In the first chapter, background information is provided and analysed, highlighting the emergence of IoT as a technology trend, the overall technology maturity and acceptance within organization and the need for a well-defined strategy. The study objective is then presented along with the methodology & outline of the research.

A. B

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a buzz word that has caught the attention of the technology industry, engineering circles and has been a constant discussion topic for both the popular media and researchers alike. By 2020, an estimated 25 billion devices1 _around the world will be connected to the Internet. The ecosystem of 'things' would comprise of devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets & TV's, which we have come to accept as part of our daily lives, while also enabling connectivity with a wider array of devices such as sensors, actuators, and other smart devices that will empower us to monitor, control, analyse, and optimize our day to day lives.

Although IoT seems like a recent trend, technology progress through the years have built up the capabilities for it now to be actually realised. IoT leverages other technology resources such as cloud computing, data analytics and mobile network, but goes beyond the potential of those individual resources. This provides IoT unbounded possibilities and also opens up a world of business opportunities for players in all fields of work.

Porter and Heppelmann (2014), help to understand how IoT matures over time using the figure below, which showcases the different acceptance phases organizations go through. Each phase builds on the preceding one and organizations must on-board new capabilities in each phase to be able to provide their customers with a complete IoT solution.

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Fig. [1] - IoT Maturity Model

As acceptance for IoT increases, it promises to transform the way the world functions. Individual consumers can look forward to solutions such as smart homes, efficient and secure home solutions, improved healthcare, etc. with the help of connected home automation devices, energy monitoring sensors & wearable devices which monitor and transform the data they receive into intelligent actions. Enterprises meanwhile can look ahead to significant changes in agriculture, retail, and manufacturing industry with the help of information brought in by the connected sensors. Intelligent solutions like connected vehicles, smart traffic management, and sensors embedded in public spaces would help bring the idea of 'smart cities' to life, which would potentially reduce congestion and energy consumption. IoT not only brings about technological advancements like mentioned above, but also changes and helps create new business models as well.

The IoT concept has already been translated to reality by some players by the means of connected products, systems, and sensors, which make use of the advanced computing ability, commoditization of sensors and improved network connections to open up new possibilities and capabilities that previously did not exist. Industry experts and research organizations have contributed in projecting the impact IoT could have on the world economy during the next few years. McKinsey suggests that the financial impact of IoT on the global economy may be as much as $3.9 to $11.1 trillion by 20252_{. IDC predicts 4 billion}

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people to be connected through the network of IoT by 20203. Gartner meanwhile predicts 25 billion connected devices and 50 trillion gigabytes of data to be generated within the ecosystem by 20204. Different sources might predict different levels of impact and numbers for the near future but all of them do point to a significant impact and growth of IoT. Today a wide array of papers, reports, articles and conferences talk about the potential impact of IoT from new opportunities and revenue models to concerns about security & privacy for the consumers. As it stands at the moment, the IoT remains a domain which is yet to be fully explored for companies. It is still at its infancy and filled with uncertainties. With the potential impact being so huge and wide spread, the biggest question facing technology companies is how to define an effective strategy of IoT which can help firms to grasp the emerging opportunities from the IoT and improve their competitive advantage.

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In the financial year 2016 (starting September 2015 at Avanade Netherlands), Avanade Netherlands recognised the potential of IoT and initiated steps to adopt IoT as an

organization and also be able to provide solution implementations to its clients. A variety of tasks such as knowledge gathering, market analysis, internship studies, research of the domain from an academic view, etc. was done over the course of the year which brought Avanade Netherlands up to speed and increased its awareness and understanding of IoT. The drive and the interest created within the organization resulted in formation of a core team that is eager to build and provide IoT solutions for the client and also, activated the management team of Avanade Netherlands to start thinking of IoT as a possible revenue source.

Although being a bit late to pick up on IoT, with a full year spent on learning about the IoT field and trying out a few proof of concepts and so on, Avanade Netherlands is now in a situation where it can aim to provide IoT offerings to its clients and try and be an established player within the domain. For the upcoming financial year 2017 (starting September 2016 at Avanade Netherlands), in addition to the buzz IoT has created within the organization, the

3 _{http://www.idc.com/infographics/IoT/ATTACHMENTS/IoT.pdf} 4 _{http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2905717}

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management team is not only ready to provide the necessary investments, but also looking to leverage Avanade Netherlands’s capabilities and industry know how to explore the offerings it can provide for its clients and set up IoT as a new sales channel for the

organization. Hence, at this point of time, Avanade Netherlands is in need of an effective IoT strategy plan that can best make use of its assets and knowledge gathered so far and help create a pathway to the IoT market.

The objective of this thesis is to define a strategy for the Netherlands division of Avanade that shapes their IoT offering & provides a clear route to market for the next few years, with a special focus on 2017.Hence the key questions for this research that the IoT strategy plan for Avanade Netherlands should answer are:

• How should Avanade Netherlands go about building its capability and credibility within IoT?

• Which are the key industry sectors Avanade Netherlands should focus on for its IoT offerings?

• What are the recommendations that can be given to the Avanade Netherlands management team in order for the strategy for IoT to meet the targets specified by Avanade Global?

The main deliverables of the study have been: • Internet of Things Strategy Plan

• Financial Model (explaining how the targets set by Avanade Global can be met) In addition to the strategy plan, a financial model to estimate the sales, cost and revenue figures would also need to be developed. The model required data from the finance, marketing, sales department and other functions of Avanade Netherlands in order to achieve realistic predictions. A detailed list of targeted events, marketing approaches, clients, projects, etc. can then be defined in three different scenarios namely: optimistic, realistic and pessimistic scenarios. This complex and interconnected model helps to get an understanding of the investment, assets, resources, etc. needed and also the possible revenues that could be achieved in each of the three scenarios. Based on this, Avanade Netherlands would then either have a very clearly defined set of tasks needed to be done in order to meet the targets set by Avanade Global, or, a strong validated case to present to

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Avanade Global and show them that the expectations set could not be realistically achieved and therefore need to be revised.

The approach for developing the strategy plan that covers all aspects can be summarized using the figure below:

Fig. [2] - IoT Strategy - Research Elements

Information and data would need to be gathered from various sources and qualitative studies (detailed in the next section), which would then need to be analysed with the help of a strategy building framework (elaborated in the further sections), to develop an IoT strategy plan for Avanade Netherlands. This research studies the challenges from the aspects of technology, market and business, thereby making clear what are the opportunities the organization can take advantage of to make early inroads into IoT. Hence, this research can enable the management team of Avanade Netherlands in choosing a clear path for the organization to define and implement a strategy for the IoT.

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The process used to collect information for this particular study, in order to help in the process of making business decisions, is a combination of secondary research and qualitative research interviews. Owing to the fact that IoT is a field that is still evolving, secondary

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research alone would not be able to provide all the information needed and also since this research is being viewed from the eyes of a single organization, qualitative research along with secondary research is the most suited approach.

The table below (Table [I]), outlines the sources used for this research and the information gained from each one of them:

Research Source Information Research Reports (internal)

Internal IoT research conducted over the last year by stakeholders within Avanade Netherlands. Gives information regarding IoT domain as well as how

Avanade Netherlands views it as an organization.

Case Studies (internal)

Specific market application case studies developed within Avanade Netherlands for IoT. Provides information regarding the possible market segments Avanade

Netherlands can provide solutions for that leverages its capabilities.

Theoretical articles

Articles and papers published on IoT by researchers and well known organizations. Provides a background and all the necessary information to

understand IoT, its opportunities, challenges, risks, costs, etc.

Market Analysis Market analysis for IoT provided by well-known strategy and technology firms.

Gives an understanding of the current market trends and industry segments with high potential for growth in the near future.

Research Interviews

Individual interviews with Avanade Netherlands stakeholders representing various functions within the organization. A total of 10 interviews was done over

the duration of 3 weeks. Provides information from an internal perspective and presents new elements and thought patterns which might not have been taken

into consideration.

Table [I] - Research Sources and information

Information from respected publications on IoT market predictions, IoT strategy, analysis of current IoT players, etc. was made use of to a large extent. Furthermore, papers from

authoritative sources on strategy in general were used to assess the organizational strengths and make the best utilization of it to help consolidate a strong approach towards IoT.

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In addition to these, information from individual interviews with company experts from the different fields that help build IoT solutions was made use of to ensure the final strategy not only aligned with that of the organization but also it translated into action items that the organization could take in order to achieve its goal. Although this method is time

consuming, it provides valuable information from different stakeholders and presents new elements and thought patterns which might not have been taken into consideration if this research was restricted to secondary research alone.

I.C.1 Secondary Research

Crouch & Housden (2003, p.41), define secondary research as, "the summary, collation and/or synthesis if existing research". It mainly involves analysis and interpretation of primary research collected from various sources.

While organization specific information regarding IoT would have to be achieved through qualitative research, secondary research can help establish a very good understanding of the field in general and of the dimensions involved in developing the strategy plan.

Secondary research can be from both internal and external sources such as previous research reports, existing sources of information, publications, white papers, market research reports, etc., which can then be factored into developing and marketing the strategy plan. Sources for the information can be surveys, reputed publications, market research organizations, and educational establishments.

This approach helps to get a better understanding of the field in a very short period of time and also helps guide the qualitative research part of the study. For devising the Avanade Netherlands IoT strategy, previous research reports and the internal case studies were made use of in addition to the external sources of information.

Hence, the most suited approach in this case is to use secondary research to get a general impression of market size & trends, before using primary research to test out the ideas internally, and to devise the most suited IoT strategy for Avanade Netherlands.

Market Analysis

Market analysis done for this study, focused on information regarding the attractiveness of IoT within Netherlands. By studying the dynamism of the market and taking into

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consideration the different factors that influence the market, it helps Avanade Netherlands get a better understanding of how to operate its IoT business.

The first and most important step was to list out the strengths and weaknesses for Avanade in Netherlands which will help in understanding which factors to focus on. By doing so, Avanade Netherlands can get a clear idea of the opportunities that it can seize to make its operations successful and also the threats which might hamper its IoT business.

A thorough market analysis has certain dimensions which help provide a better

understanding of the IoT market and the most suitable way to operate in it. Some of the key dimensions are:

• Market size

• Growth rate of the market • Market trends

• Market profitability • Key success factors • Industry cost structure

Each of these dimensions along with the strengths and weaknesses analysis, provides Avanade Netherlands in-depth information of IoT market on a whole in Netherlands and how it can place itself within the market to make the most of the opportunities presented to it.

I.C.2 Qualitative Research Interviews

Denzin and Lincoln (2011, p.3), define qualitative research as, "The study of things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them."

The definition is in line with the ideas of Snape & Spencer (2003, p.1-23), who state that qualitative research aims at providing "an in-depth and interpreted understanding of the study area by learning from the circumstances, experiences, perspectives and histories involved". Cohen et al. (2007, p.105) adds to this by saying that this form of research methodology makes use of various procedures and methods for data collection which make the data "real, rich and deep".

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Qualitative research in this study is used to help foster new idea generation for IoT at Avanade Netherlands, investigate current or potential offerings, positioning and marketing strategy as well as to explore market segments, such as demographic and customer groups. Using this research methodology will help in identifying customer needs, understanding the language and imagery customers use to describe and relate to IoT, and uncovering potential strategic directions for IoT at Avanade Netherlands.

While qualitative research provides a variety of techniques for data generation such as focus groups, case studies, interviews, etc., for this research the one made use of is the semi-structured interviews.

Research Interviews

Prior to conducting the research interviews relevant for this research, a brainstorming session was conducted with the core team formed for IoT within Avande NL which consists of people with different expertise and varying roles within the organization structure as well. A representation of the roles involved in the team is shown below (Table [II]):

Role/Expertise

Group Manager Manager

Senior Consultant

Senior Analyst – Solutions Developer

Table [II] – Avanade Netherlands core IoT group - Roles

The brainstorming session assessed the steps taken by Avanade Netherlands over the last year within IoT and based on the knowledge and experience gained, outlined the direction and focus needed for the forthcoming year. This served as guiding tool for the research interviews and helped define a broad scope for the discussions.

Research interview is a qualitative method of data collection where the participants are presented with questions regarding the field of study, which in this case is, IoT for Avanade in Netherlands. The goal of conducting research interview is to understand the views, experiences and motivations of stakeholders within Avanade Netherlands with respect to IoT. Silverman D. (2013), argues that, qualitative methods such as interviews are seen to be

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most effective in situations where very little is known about the field of study such as IoT and deeper insights can be gained from posing questionnaires to the participants. There are three types of research interviews that can be used for the process of data collection: structured, semi-structured and unstructured research interviews.

Structured interviews are the ones where participants are asked a fixed set of questions

with very little room for follow up questions or a dialogue based on their response. While this method of interview is easy to plan and can be conducted in a short time span, it does not provide the in-depth information needed and is normally used in situations where the goal is to seek clarification or make a choice based within specific boundaries.

Semi-structured interviews are the ones where certain key questions have been pre-defined

to help explore the study area under consideration but provides room for follow up

questions based on the participant’s response so that the participant’s ideas can be further investigated. This provides a flexible approach to study the field of interest and helps in understanding the aspects that are valuable to the participant, that have not been taken into consideration earlier.

Unstructured interviews are the ones where conversations can take any direction and do

not have a fixed format to begin with. This kind of interview is built purely based on the responses provided by the participant and does not have any boundaries to the scope or direction of the conversation. Along with being time-consuming, such an approach is tedious to manage. This method is chosen when there is no information whatsoever available

regarding the field of study and ideas have to be generated based on the interviews alone. The most suited method for Avanade Netherlands is the semi-structured interview as relevant information for IoT can be drawn from secondary research and the interview itself can be used to explore ideas that might not have been previously considered during the process of the study.

The detailed process used to conduct the semi-structured interviews conducted at Avanade

Netherlands is as follows. Prior to the interview the background of the interviewee was

looked up so that their extensive knowledge can be used for IoT and also any particular bias can be accounted for as well. Some of the interviews were conducted via teleconference as interviewees were not available at Avanade Netherlands office during the specified time

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slot. In such cases, the confirmation mail sent out also included a link to join the conference call and to also share desktop in case it was needed. Additionally, a brief outline was sent for the interviewees to prepare and get them engaged beforehand.

The interviews were conducted in English and began with a brief introduction of both the interviewer and the interviewee. Although, information on the purpose of research was mentioned in the confirmation mail, it was repeated again. Following this, the semi-structured interview revolved around the below listed concepts (Table [III]):

Concept Question Set

IoT – Concept How would you define IoT?

Have you heard other terms being used for IoT solutions from customers or other stakeholders?

How would you define IoT ecosystem?

What are your views on the IoT ecosystem from a business and technical perspective?

Do you think Avanade Netherlands should provide IoT solutions?

IoT – Challenges

What do you think is the biggest hurdle Avanade Netherlands would need to overcome in order to provide IoT solutions?

What are the biggest challenges you face within your current function and how does that related to IoT?

How can we address standardization and interoperability?

How can Avanade Netherlands gain the necessary skills to execute IoT projects? Who do you think would be the potential competitors for Avanade Netherlands within IoT?

IoT -

Opportunities

What are the capabilities Avanade Netherlands has built up over the last year? What are the industry sectors Avanade Netherlands can target to provide IoT solutions?

Which client relationships can Avanade Netherlands leverage? How can Avanade Netherlands gain credibility within IoT? Who can Avanade Netherlands build partnerships with?

IoT - Route to Market

How can Avanade Netherlands raise IoT awareness within the organization and externally as well?

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What are the different marketing practices used by existing projects at Avanade Netherlands and which of those can be used for IoT?

What are the costs involved for the marketing practices and which one generates the best results?

Which are the internal and external events that can be used to showcase Avanade Netherlands IoT solutions?

What revenue and pricing model do you think Avanade Netherlands should use for its IoT offerings?

Table [III] – Research Interview – Concepts and Questions

Questions from one concept linked to another based on the responses provided by the interviewee. The above mentioned concepts were used to ensure the conversation does not deviate too much from the core research idea and based on the responses from the

participants, new ideas were further explored to get a better understanding of the factors that need to be considered for developing a successful strategy for IoT at Avanade

Netherlands.

Since IoT combines the knowledge of multiple domains within an organization, below mentioned (Table [IV]), is the role and area of expertise of the people chosen to be the participants for the interview.

Role/Area of Expertise

General Manager (Avanade Netherlands) Group Manager, Advanced Analytics Chief Technical Innovation Officer (CTIO) Sales Portfolio Lead

Platforms & Offerings Portfolio Lead Solutions Developer

Marketing Lead Finance Lead

Table [IV] – Research Interview – Participants role/area of expertise

A total of 10 interviews were conducted over the period of three weeks covering all of the different functions mentioned above. The ideas, views and data collected from these

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interviews along with information from secondary analysis was crucial in the process of developing a go to market strategy for Avanade Netherlands for its IoT offerings.

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The structure of this thesis paper is as follows:

Chapter 2 – Theoretical Background

To enable an academic view, the research will begin with a literature review of IoT,

challenges it presents & the various changes in business and revenue models it brings about.

Chapter 3 – Strategy Framework

This chapter discusses the framework most suitable for this particular research and

elaborates on each element that goes into the development of an effective strategy for the organization within the provided constraints.

Chapter 4 – Strategy Assessment

Aspects of the strategy are analysed in the light of an assessment framework to further solidify and tweak the approach needed for the strategy. Readiness of the strategy is evaluated and potential shortcomings are highlighted which might need to either be addressed immediately or during the process of strategy execution.

Chapter 5 – Conclusion

This chapter presents the closing statements, and recommendations are provided to the management team based on the strategy developed in earlier sections. Avanade

Netherlands can use the information in this section as a basis to decide on the path they want to choose for their future actions.

Chapter 6 – Future Scope

This chapter elaborates on the limitations and future scope for research, based on the study done for this case. Information from this section can be made use of for further explorations and establish new findings and aspects that the field of study in this paper will present in the future.

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II. C

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In this chapter, the theoretical concepts are introduced and reviewed. The first section of this chapter will provide background and definition for IoT. Following which, the challenges and changes brought about by IoT are highlighted. Organizations that assess their current technology strategy in the light of these challenges and define a clear approach for IoT will be better prepared to tackle the potentials risks and changes. To round off this chapter, the different options to go about developing a strategy for IoT are discussed.

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To give an overview of the topic IoT, this section will touch upon the background, definition, application opportunities for IoT and the new ecosystem that it can potentially create.

II.A.1 Internet of Things - Background

The term IoT first came up 16 years ago although it was not used in the same context as it is now. In 1999 Kevin Ashton5 _{coined the term to describe the then latest technology of RFID in} order to get the attention of his management during his work at Procter & Gamble. Although the meaning of the term has changed significantly over the years, the essential idea of 'connected devices' still remained the core of the idea.

Although the term was first used in 1999, the actual concept of IoT started to generate interest and popularity only around 2010. The graph below shows the phenomenal increase in interest in the concept of IoT since 2010 till date.

Fig. [3] - IoT - Interest over Time

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Gartner released their famous 'hype-cycle for emerging technologies'6 in 2011 which included the IoT as one of the emerging technology trends in the world.

Fig. [4] - Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2011

By 2014, IoT had already reached the 'Peak of Inflated Expectations' in the 'Hype-Cycle' which clearly indicated the rise of the IoT as a technology the world would embrace.

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Fig. [5] - Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2014

By 2012, LeWeb, one of Europe's largest internet conferences ran the theme of IoT. Even recognized tech related publications such as Forbes & Wired started to push out materials on IoT on a regular basis and the phrase 'IoT' became widely accepted by the technology community.

IDC, the market research and analysis firm that specialises in technology, published a report in 2013, predicting IoT to globally rake in $8.9 trillion in 20207_{. McKinsey global institute in} 2015 published a report that predicted IoT offered a potential world-wide economic impact of up to $11 trillion a year in 2025.8

As we see from the development over the years, IoT has achieved a large market awareness within a short span of time with potential effect on both B2C as well as the B2B markets.

II.A.2 Internet of Things – Definition

Once the background of the term IoT has been established, it is important to define what exactly IoT is. There are a variety of definitions provided by respected publications,

researchers and technology experts to help understand the term and what it encompasses.

7 _{http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131003005687/en/Internet-Poised-Change-IDC}

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Vermesan O. & Friess P. (2014, p.15), define the IoT as, "a dynamic global network infrastructure with self-configuring capabilities based on standard and interoperable communication protocols where physical and virtual things have identities, physical

attributes, and virtual personalities use intelligent interfaces, and are seamlessly integrated into the information network."

Fig. [6] - IoT Definition

This definition was published by the IoT European Research Cluster report and given the background of the organization, it focuses on the technical angle of IoT.

The below mentioned academic definitions also look at IoT from the viewpoint of a

technology and provides a deeper understanding of the elements that form IoT ecosystem as well.

Borgia E. (2014, p.1-31), defines IoT as, "a new paradigm that combines aspects and technologies coming from different approaches. Ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, Internet Protocol, sensing technologies, communication technologies, and embedded devices are merged together in order to form a system where the real and digital worlds meet and are continuously in symbiotic interaction."

Gubbi et al. (2013, p.1645-1660), defines IoT as, "interconnection of sensing and actuating devices providing the ability to share information across platforms through a unified framework, developing a common operating picture for enabling innovative applications. This is achieved by seamless ubiquitous sensing, data analytics and information

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While IoT has obvious technological importance, it is important to consider its involvement in business processes as well and the below mentioned academic definition provides a view on that.

Haller et al. (2009, p.14-28), defines the IoT as, "a world where physical objects are seamlessly integrated into the information network, and where the physical objects can become active participants in business processes. Services are available to interact with these 'smart objects' over the Internet, query their state and any information associated with them, taking into account security and privacy issues."

Having had IoT defined from an academic viewpoint, it is also interesting to see how advisory and consultancy firms define IoT and what according to them is of value and a couple of examples are mentioned below.

Gartner9 defines the IoT as, "the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment."

McKinsey Global Institute10 defines the IoT as "sensors and actuators connected by networks to computing systems. These systems can monitor or manage the health and actions of connected objects and machines. Connected sensors can also monitor the natural world, people, and animals."

Apart from the definitions derived from academics and consultancy firms, IoT can be defined as a convergence of Operational technology and Information technology combined with the potential of Future Technology.

Gartner defines Operational technology11 _{(OT) as, the combination of "hardware and} software that detects or causes a change through the direct monitoring and/or control of physical devices, processes and events in the enterprise."

9 _{http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/internet-of-things/} 10 http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/business%20technology/our%20insights /the%20internet%20of%20things%20the%20value%20of%20digitizing%20the%20physical%20world/unlocking _the_potential_of_the_internet_of_things_full_report.ashx 11 _{http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/operational-technology-ot/}

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Information technology12 (IT) on the other hand is defined as, "the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business or other enterprise."

Future Technology (FT) is the innovative technological trends based on the advancements in science and high technology at a particular instance of time. The future technology right now are new emerging technologies like unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), wearables or machine learning.

Fig. [7] - IoT Alternative Definition

The above mentioned definitions, clearly highlight the different views academics,

researchers and publications have on the topic of IoT and based on the background of the research author or the publication, the definitions themselves have strong links to either the business or the technical aspect of the term. Since this research is organization specific, while trying to cover both the technology and business aspects, Avanade Netherlands defines IoT as:

"Vertical software solutions built on top of Microsoft based backend platforms, leveraging data from sensor-based, interconnected "things", and consumed by clients as-a-Service to

achieve their business goals."

In contrast to the earlier definitions provided by academics and other sources, the definition of IoT by Avanade Netherlands is purely focussed on technology and specifically focusses on using the Microsoft platform which is the core expertise of Avanade. Most of the definitions provided earlier try to cover the idea of an IoT ecosystem which is not highlighted in

Avanade Netherlands’s definition. While it tries to cover both the technical and the business side of IoT, including the IoT ecosystem would give it a more rounded meaning.

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The key characteristics that make up the IoT for Avanade Netherlands are as described by the figure below.

Fig. [8] - KeyCharacteristics of IoT

II.A.3 Internet of Things – Application Opportunities

The application opportunities for the IoT are innumerable and widespread, like smart cities, automation of home/building, optimization of manufacturing facilities, smart energy grids, etc., which extend to almost all areas of day to day life for consumers as well as

organizations.

Sundmaeker et al. (2010), in their work for Cluster of European Research Projects on the IoT list out the potential application domains (Table [V]), for the IoT which covers applications not only for consumers and organizations but also society on the whole as well.

Table [V] - IoT Application Domains - Description and Examples

Although the potential application reach is quite widespread, quite a few publications and researchers such as McKinsey, Atzori et al. (2010) & Gartner indicate that industrial manufacturing (potential impact of $1.2 – $3.7 Trillion a year worldwide - McKinsey) and automation of public and consumer services (potential combined impact of $1.4 – $4.54

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Trillion a year worldwide - McKinsey) are the domains which will be the leading sectors to adopt & drive IoT solutions.

The IoT European Research Cluster, as depicted in the figure below, identifies the potential applications of IoT, some of which are already being tested out by various IoT players.

Applications such as smart cities, smart industry, smart living, smart health, etc. combine the physical, virtual and digital aspects of the world to provide innovative solutions which impact both Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) segments. The combination of these aspects also serves as a driving force for IoT to achieve faster growth and wider spread across the globe.

Fig. [9] - IoT Applications

II.A.4 Internet of Things – Ecosystem

Moore, J.F. (1996, p.1-29), took inspiration from biological studies and brought the concept of ecosystem modelling to the business context. Biological studies define ecosystem to be "a biological community of interacting organisms plus their physical environment with which they also interact". Deriving from this, Moore, J.F. (1996, p.1-29), defined a business ecosystem as "The network of buyers, supplier and makers of related products or services" along with the socio-economic environment, including the institutional and regulatory framework.

Through competition and co-operation, the organizations involved in a business ecosystem constantly look to improve each other by focusing on a specific platform, technology, etc. Business ecosystems according to Talvitie (2011), are connected to one another through a

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specific ‘core’ which is common to them. The core in question could be technology, processes, standard, etc. which is common and used by all organizations in a business organization.

In the case of IoT, the hardware, software or the standards used for connecting the different elements can be viewed as the core of the IoT ecosystem. Mazhelis et al. (2011) showcases examples of assets (Table [VI]) which can be considered as the core in an IoT ecosystem.

Table [VI] - Examples of IoT Ecosystem Cores

An IoT ecosystem as per Mazhelis et al. (2011, p.5) is defined as "a special type of business ecosystem which is comprised of the community of interacting companies and individuals along with their socio-economic environment, where the companies are competing and cooperating by utilizing a common set of core assets related to the interconnection of the physical world of things with the virtual world of Internet. These assets may be in a form of hardware and software products, platforms or standards that focus on the connected devices, on the connectivity thereof, on the application services built on top of this connectivity, or on the supporting services needed for the provisioning, assurance, and billing of the application services."

Hence, we can clearly see that when drafting or thinking about a strategy for IoT as an organization, it is not enough to think of IoT as just a product or a software or a hardware service but will have to be seen as a larger community or ecosystem made up of lots of different organizations all connected through a common asset. It is therefore highly beneficial to look for cooperation or partnerships possibilities with this ecosystem in order to not only gain a competitive edge but also to improve the capability within the domain of IoT.

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B. O

&

C

IoT while providing a whole new world of possibilities, brings along with it its own unique set of challenges and risks. In this section, starting with the view on the industry from

technology company leaders, we assess the challenges identified and also the opportunities that arise for organizations that want to pursue IoT and define their own path within the domain.

II.B.1 Competitive Edge

The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a survey in 2013,13 _{with respondents from all} over the world, majority of whom were C-level executives, to get their view on the IoT and the future it promised. The respondents were spread across not only in terms of firm size but also the industry sectors they operated in with financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, IT & technology and a lot more well represented. Key findings from the report are shown in the figure below.

Fig. [10] - The IoT Business Index

What was clear from the survey was that majority of the companies were looking to enter into the first phase of the IoT maturity model, detailed in Chapter I, due to elevated awareness levels, even if they did not necessarily share a common ground for the scope it provided. Business leaders seemed to confer that IoT will have a definite impact on how their companies currently functioned.

While an overwhelming 95% of executives expect their companies to adopt IoT in some aspect over the next three years, only a handful of organizations actually have engaged in

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IoT initiatives right now. This low level of investment correlates with a low maturity stage in the IoT lifecycle; however, it also presents a huge opportunity for companies that want to get an early start and gain a competitive advantage over the rest of the industry.

Although there are no established business models and each company is trying to find its way through adopting and implementing IoT within their organization, the opinion of a majority (63%) of executives is that IoT offers them a competitive advantage and if they do not implement IoT within their organization in the near future, they will fall behind their competition.

The biggest obstacle perceived by companies that want to implement IoT is the lack of skills and domain specific knowledge. Only a smaller percentage of executives think their

company's senior leaders fully understand IoT concept, indicating training and skills building is essential for organizations to successfully adopt and implement IoT.

Hence, to gain a sustainable competitive advantage within IoT domain, it is important to correlate the adoption with a designed training plan and implement it based on a well-defined strategy which details out all of these elements. Organizations will realise better results if they are able to put these steps into action faster than their competitors.

II.B.2 Business Models

As IoT presents a new world of business and practical implications, companies find that established frameworks and business models prove to be obsolete and are in need of innovation. To get the best out of the new opportunities provided by the IoT, organizations will have to break orthodoxies and rethink how they create and capture value.

Hui G. (2014), outlines the change in mind-set needed from the traditional practices to create as well as capture value in the case of IoT (Table [VII]).

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Table [VII] - IoT - Value Creation & Capture

As we can see, companies that provide IoT offerings like Avanade Netherlands, will need to become more proactive as they will need to address real-time and emergent customer needs and not react to fulfil their existing needs.

A key element to take into consideration is the fact that many of the IoT projects at least in the near future will be 'brownfields'. This means that the new IoT solutions provided by companies would need to take into account and co-exist with technology solutions already existing in their customer’s environment. Hence, in case of IoT, customers would look for more personalized products & services and companies that provide IoT offerings can no longer think from a commoditization point of view.

It is also highly essential that companies study and understand how other participants in the IoT ecosystem function and look for opportunities to co-innovate and create synergies rather than highlighting its own core competences and trying to compete with them.

In today's digital world, the importance of data and the value created by it is well documented. But, IoT takes the potential value of data to the next level. Unlocking the

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insights promised by IoT will enable faster and better decision making for businesses. To elaborate more on the point of data being the main driver for value creation, Porter & Heppelmann (2015), explain why it is essential to efficiently capture and generate valuable insights from data captured.

Fig. [11] - IoT - Creating New Value with Data

Data from actuators, sensors embedded into products need to be analysed and aggregated in a smart manner and previously followed practices such as excel files and simple database tables can no longer be used to do this. Companies can gain basic insights such as use patterns, asset availability, etc. by analysing the data produced by each individual asset. To gain more in-depth insights, advanced analytical tools need to be used to analyse the

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broadly classified into descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive each of which provides its own unique set of insights into the data.

Descriptive analytic tools provide information about the condition of the products, factory floor environment conditions and so on. Diagnostic analytic tools give in-depth information about critical points of product failure or highlight the reason behind reduced product performance. Predictive analytic tools help to detect patterns that would lead to an

undesired scenario such as device failure and inform the relevant user before it happens so that they can take the necessary actions to avoid it. Prescriptive analytic tools provide insights into how a company can improve or optimize its processes and ensure they do not run into a problem situation.

Data not only provides the direct benefits as mentioned above, but also helps businesses realise value indirectly such as negotiating better warranty agreements with their partners and having detailed history on their assets readily available, enabling just in time deliveries & processes.

Translating the above presented idea into the context of business, we can say that the IoT solutions and the data collected in the implementations produces direct benefits for companies through outcomes such as reduction of operating costs, avoiding unnecessary product shutdowns, extend asset lifecycle, monitor product and status across locations, etc. Similarly, the indirect or unconventional benefits can be realised through business outcomes such as enabling new uses for products and services, securing recurring revenue and user base, and so on.

Therefore, we can definitely say that companies would need to really think about their approach to IoT and the traditional methods followed in the technology sector will no longer be relevant. The strategy would hence need to be tuned to the needs of the domain and new business models would need to be defined to not only enter the domain but also to remain an active successful player for a long time.

The ideas presented here are further elaborated in Chapter 3 in order to come up with a new revenue and pricing model for Avanade Netherlands to get the best out of its IoT offerings.

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II.B.3 Challenges

IoT presents its own set of challenges and concerns that companies need to consider and be wary of in order to fully realise the potential benefits it can provide.

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey14 highlights the biggest obstacles that organizations currently face according to their executives in order to successfully adopt IoT.

Fig. [12] - IoT - Challenges As Seen By Executives

Ensuring privacy and regulatory compliance is seen to be the biggest concern for

organizations, as implementing IoT means having to deal with huge volumes of data, while consumers and enterprises are typically highly concerned with the security of their data. Most of the regulations and legislations regarding privacy and data security around the world right now are still based on a system that is not ready for the impact of IoT which means each organization can have their own interpretation of the regulations and legislations.

While there are recent efforts being made to update data privacy regulations, like the 'Safe Harbour Privacy Principles'15, which allowed a few US companies to comply with data privacy laws protecting the citizens of Swiss and European Union citizens, there are still a lot of grey areas to address before the world can have a common defined law or regulation for IoT. The 'Safe Harbour Privacy Principles' was declared invalid in October 2015 by the European Court of Justice, leading to the search for a new regulation to ensure data privacy of the

14 _{https://www.arm.com/files/pdf/EIU_Internet_Business_Index_WEB.PDF} 15 _{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Safe_Harbor_Privacy_Principles}

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consumers. This also indicates that IoT would also go through a phase of iterations before it can reach a stabilized state in terms of governing laws.

Acquiring the necessary skills to transform the large volumes of data into intelligent action items is seen to be the next biggest concern for the executives with organizations having to try out pilot projects and provide the necessary training to address this issues. Although the world is in a digital age, the growing volumes of data poses a new challenge to organizations and need to equip themselves with the necessary assets to manage it.

Porter & Heppelmann (2015), outline the greatest strategic challenges & risks for

organizations that want to seize the opportunities that IoT provides, a brief account of which is presented below:

Customer Needs

Companies will need to understand what customers actually need and are willing to pay for. Technology focussed companies sometimes tend to over complicate their offerings and add in features as it is technically feasible to do it. This might lead to diminished returns for the company as it does not represent a clear value proposition for their customers.

Security & Privacy Risks

As IoT starts to provide more important capabilities such as home automation & security, monitoring sensitive information, etc., organizations would need to increase their security controls on network, sensors and devices and also look to encrypt the information they hold. In order to achieve all the benefits that IoT provides, companies would need to completely understand the implications of security failure and hence create an effective IoT security strategy. This would initially vary from organization to organization as there is no standard practice and it would need to be tuned to the need and function of the projects.

Competitive Threats

Since IoT is a new field and its ecosystem comprises of a lot of elements, organizations can no longer only look at their main competitors and consider themselves to be doing better since they are ahead of the traditional competitors. New players can emerge with innovative products or business models and change the dynamics of the industry very quickly.

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Late Mover

While it is good to be cautious when entering into a new field like IoT, moving too slowly gives the competitive edge to competitors and possible new entrants to learn faster and gain a stronger foothold over the domain.

Overestimating Internal Capabilities

Organizations looking to embrace IoT will need to understand the demand it places on new assets, skills and processes that would need to be in place to successfully implement and realise its benefits. Organizations need to have a very clear picture of what their skill set is and where they would have to develop new skills either through training or by partnering with other companies in order to provide their customers with an effective solution. The various challenges and concerns highlighted in this section illustrate the definite need for a well-defined strategic plan for any company that plans to enter into the IoT field and is looking to be a successful player within this domain. These ideas are further elaborated in Chapter 3 from the context of Avanade Netherlands and how it can go about mitigating the risks and challenges it faces.

C. I

T

–

S

Having established a good understanding of IoT and the different opportunities and

challenges it brings along with it, this section will focus on the options and the key elements to be considered while building and fine-tuning a strategy plan that fits best with the overall strategy of an organization.

When you think of the factors that influence an organization during the process of drawing up a strategy plan for IoT, although there are a lot of elements that can be considered, Yuan Li et al. (2012), divides the factors into two main broad categories: Industrial Driving Force & Executive/Manager's strategic intent.

Industrial Driving Force

The key factors that drive the growth of IoT are seen to be technology push and market pull. Progress in technology will constantly drive the growth and development of IoT and also push the boundaries of what it can achieve. While technological progress plays a key role,

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commercialisation of the IoT market is another important factor that contributes to the progress of IoT.

Technology push can be seen as innovative developments that have a knock on effect on IoT

related technologies. Organizations in IoT domain gain hugely from such technical

advancements and provides them huge potential to grow. Advancements in sensors, cloud computing, etc. for example can help companies further develop and take their IoT business and solutions to the next level.

Market pull can be seen as new approaches that organizations take in order to fulfil an

existing or foreseen market need. With consumers and enterprises alike willing to take on the wave of IoT and the opportunities it creates, organizations will have plenty of market demand to cater to. Home automation, Customized health services, Smart transport, etc. are a few applications of IoT which have already created a huge demand and the trend is certain to continue with organizations having a huge array of market opportunities.

Hence, both technology push and market pull can be seen as the driving forces for the growth of IoT.

Strategic Intent

In spite of the rapid developments in the IoT technology and the potential opportunities it presents in the market, it also comes with an uncertainty for the organizations that look to operate within the domain. Lack of defined standards along with ever changing technologies and business models within IoT creates a huge uncertainty on both the market and

competition for organizations. Hence, an appropriate strategy must be chosen by companies to tackle these challenges. From the strategic perspective of managers or executives, they can either choose to get-ahead or play catch-up as their strategy options.

Get-ahead strategy is one where an organization chooses to plan and implement its actions

early in order to capitalize on the first-mover advantage in the IoT field. In this scenario, companies choose to be a leader and establish their reputation, get ahead of their competitors in the learning curve and have a better chance at partnering and forming a strong ecosystem to effectively differentiate and gain an edge over their competitors. Although this option looks very attractive, huge investments need to be made to

Page | 35 Catch-up strategy is one where an organization prefers to study and learn from the early

movers in the industry. The main focus of this approach is to focus on the quality and

efficiency as they cannot afford to make mistakes and go through the same learning curve as the early movers. Being efficient also provides them an opportunity to not only survive in the industry but also develop themselves at a faster rate and possibly challenge the early

movers.

Having evaluated the key factors, Industrial driving force and the strategic intent of the organization, Yuan Li et al. (2012), classifies four main categories of IoT Strategies that organizations can choose from.

Fig. [13] - A Typology of IoT Strategic Decision

Get-ahead strategy in market is a strategy option that lets companies take advantage of the

opportunities provided by the market demand by choosing to move early. The main aim of the organizations that choose this approach is to be seen as a leader by their competitors by deploying IoT solutions that have great market pull and gain early mover advantages such as gaining reputation and getting ahead of competitors in the learning curve.

Catch-up strategy in market is a strategy option that lets organizations take advantage of

opportunities created by the market by the firm choosing to be more efficient in its approach. In this approach, organizations will look to capture existing market demand by copying the early movers and trying to be more efficient and providing better quality than them.

Get-ahead strategy in technology is a strategy option that lets companies take advantage of

the access to new enhancements in technology brought about by IoT industry and also leverage its own capability to innovate and contribute to the technology by choosing to

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move before their competitors. Organizations which choose to adopt this strategy look to establish advantages such as locking down technology patents and development of the necessary skills in order to create new customer demands and gain more benefits.

Catch-up strategy in technology is a strategy option that lets organizations study their

competitors and make use of the readily available technologies created and established by firms that chose to be early movers. In this approach, companies look to learn and

effectively gain the necessary skills and technology on offer and try and create a differentiation for themselves by improving on this ready base.

Once the organization has assessed the challenges, opportunities and made a choice on the approach they want to take to implementing IoT, according to Mark Benson (2015), the next step would be to draft a comprehensive IoT strategy that takes into consideration at least the below mentioned areas:

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Business modelling and options

Organizations will need to find the business model or create one that not only brings the best out of the offerings and addresses the market needs but also fits with the overall strategy and goals of the company.

Competitive analysis

Detailed study and research needs to be done to understand and identify the competitors within the IoT domain. Organizations need to evaluate the product offerings and the market areas targeted by their competitors.

Intellectual property portfolio strategy

Companies will need to have a clear plan to deal with the intellectual property of their product offerings. It is essential to not only innovate and develop new offerings but also protect the intellectual rights of their current and future products.

Technology framework

One of the key elements in developing the IoT strategy is to identify the technology

framework that leverages the internal capabilities of the organization and also adds value to its offerings. This is key for both the companies that develop the IoT offerings as well as their customers who must ensure that the IoT solutions that they do implement can co-exist with the other technology solutions they have in their organizational environment.

Action plans

The strategy plan should communicate well defined action plans to the various departments within the organization such as development, marketing, sales, etc. in order to achieve the common goal of releasing high value IoT offerings to the market.

Checklist

While innovating product offerings it is also essential that the organization maintains standards which ensure the quality of all the current and future products released is maintained. Hence checklists for development, ensuring security, etc. should be developed and adhered to in any projects done within the domain.

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Operational readiness items

Before the strategy plan in executed, organizations need to ensure they have the necessary skills and assets in place in order to successfully execute IoT undertakings. Plans need to be in place right from the development phase to the deployment phase to make sure the companies do not face any hindrance and are fully ready.

Enterprise web-service federation

Technology companies need to evaluate their current portfolio of software offerings to understand which of those can aid in building up the IoT offerings. They must also have a clear understanding of which product offerings may be personalised and which ones needs to be rolled out as a standard offering.

Voice of customer

Through the means of round-table conferences, surveys, research, etc., organizations must stay on top of what the customer needs are and what their expectations would be from future offerings.

Engineering

The strategy plan should also define the role of engineering function within the process, in order to ensure it leverages its intellectual property as well as its technology capabilities which are unique to any given organization.

Marketing

Organizations also need to have a clear plan to capture and sustain the interest of the target market. They need to know the best way to draw attention to their product offerings and capabilities and in turn help develop a reputation within the domain.

Sales

The sales team within the organization should be equipped with all the necessary skills and information needed to differentiate and sell the IoT offerings as well as capable to build a relationship with the client base to enable repeat business opportunities.

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Business unit leaders

Business unit leaders should be made aware of their roles and responsibilities in order to make sure that each of their individual business units execute their part of the function well and helps in realising the IoT strategy defined.

Support

As IoT is a new field, a good support structure would need to be in place in order to ensure the customers are provided the necessary support. A support call line, website, usage documentation, etc. are examples of some of the support means that need to be put in place.

II.C.1 Strategy Frameworks

Having understood the importance of choosing an approach and the elements to consider while building up IoT offerings, it is important to establish a framework which would form the basis of developing the strategy for IoT at Avanade Netherlands.

In order to develop an effective IoT strategy plan for Avanade Netherlands, there was a need for a theoretical framework which would combine all the aspects of technology and business and also address the risks and opportunities discussed.

The first framework assessed was the one defined by Yuan Li et al. (2012).

Fig. [15] - Conceptual IoT Strategy Model

As shown in the figure above, the framework connects various elements that go into building a strategic approach for IoT. A combination of factors such as information sharing within the organization as well as within the network of partners, the exploratory and exploitive

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capability of the firm and the industrial driving forces in IoT business are shown to be important in the decision making process of choosing a strategy for an organization. While this framework does touch upon a few key areas, the challenges and opportunities presented by IoT are much more diverse and this framework is not sufficient to help develop an effective strategy plan.

Hence, in search of a more complete tool, the ‘Strategy Sketch’ from Kraaijenbrink J. (2015) was taken into consideration. Although the framework was not created as a specific tool to develop strategy for IoT, with the combination of ten elements of strategy, it provides a well-structured and coherent way to generate an effective strategy plan which enables to address the challenges and opportunities outlined in earlier sections.

Fig. [16] - Strategy Sketch

The left hand side of the ‘Strategy Sketch’ presents the organization’s ‘means’ while detailing the resources and competencies it has and the current and potential partnerships it can build. The ‘means’ of an organization defines what an organization can offer. The right side of the ‘Strategy Sketch’ presents the organization’s ‘market’ by detailing out its competitors

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and its customers & their needs. The ‘market’ of an organization defines the kind of value that is being asked for. The core of the ‘Strategy Sketch’ is the ‘value proposition’ which defines the products and services offered by the organization and how they provide its customers added value. The combination of these elements represents how the organization creates value.

Above the core element of ‘value proposition’ the ‘Strategy Sketch’ provides information on what an organization gets in return for its value. This is done by detailing the ‘revenue model’ the organization has to choose and the ‘risks & costs’ the organization has to be vary of. Below the ‘value proposition’ the ‘Strategy Sketch’ gives additional information about the organization itself by detailing elements such as ‘values & goals’ and organizational climate’. The final element to complete the ‘Strategy Sketch’ focuses on ‘trends & uncertainties’ which provides details from the context of the organization and its offerings.

The next chapter provides detailed information on each of these ten elements of ‘Strategy Sketch’ from the context of Avanade Netherlands and helps generate the necessary information in order to develop an effective strategy plan.

IoT provides arguably the biggest opportunities and challenges faced by companies from all sectors of business in the foreseeable future. Organizations can give themselves the best chance to flourish in this domain by getting a deep understanding of the opportunities, and risks they face and by carefully selecting a framework, and generating an IoT strategy.