Internet of Things – a quick overview for product managers

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I am amazed at what we are technically capable of given the last short decade of advancement. The iPhone was introduced in 2007 and created a whole new capability that has been widely copied by Android and to a lesser extent, Microsoft. Computing power was unleashed from the desktop and is now at anyone’s fingertips 24×7 in any location.

I mention mobile at the beginning of this article since it has really enabled the growth of IoT. Many IoT capabilities are derivatives or are enabled by the use of mobile technologies.

The Internet of Things actually began in 1999 with the introduction of the IPv6 standard.

All of this convergence sparks my creativity in thinking of new and novel ways technology can help us create better customer experiences.

Here are some areas where the “Internet of Things” or IoT is beginning to make progress:

• Agriculture: AGCO has a great story of using IoT in farming.
• Cybersecurity: This is becoming one of the hottest topics, with Blockchain promising to solve some of the problems.
• Energy: Power when you need it, conservation when you don’t
• Fitness: Apple watch, Jawbone, Atlanta’s own Wahoo Fitness.
• Software/Networks: Watch the Software Defined Networking space.
• Healthcare: CrossChx is determined to up-end traditional medical records systems.
• Retail: Beacons, Beacons, Beacons. Estimote has been forging a path for the past few years, but there are many players.
• Smart Home: Crestron has dominated the high end market for a decade, but Apple could invade this market if their ecosystem of vendors ramps up more steadily.
• Industrial: SAP, SAS, IBM, each have interesting solutions in industrial internet. Can you imagine a real-time supply chain embedded in your ERP system? It’s available right now. (Of course, you’re going to pay for it dearly with an SAP solution, but they are the Rolls-Royce solution.)

Here are some questions to ask yourself when thinking of these new capabilities:

• How can we use these new technologies to ease or enhance our customer experience?
• What barriers can we easily remove from our current customer experience?
• Can we increase the efficiency of our processes by obtaining real-time data? (Don’t just obtain real-time data without a plan to make it pay off! That’s a waste of disk space, processing power and bandwidth.)

Here’s an example. Let’s say I own a hotel chain. Customers currently have to book online with a website. When they arrive to check-in (time unknown to us), the front desk has to look them up and determine which room to assign. Papers are signed and payment methods secured. A room key is assigned and a physical key or card key is given to the patron. Let’s stop there.

What if: The patron has a mobile app that they have given us permission to see when they enter a very broad geo-fence around our property. Say, 5 miles. Not a specific location, just that they are within 5 miles. What can we do with that information? What if: We have beacons installed in the lobby? Could we not pull together the reservation and information before the client even approaches the front desk based on their mobile app triggering their arrival? Wouldn’t it be top customer service if when someone gets within 5 miles of the property, events are triggered to announce their arrival. When the patron enters the lobby, the front desk clerk can warmly welcome the patron and inform them they are all checked in and can proceed to the room assigned in their mobile app (or given to them on a nice card – whatever privacy and policy dictates). At the room, the patron’s mobile phone could use the hotel’s app via beacons or near field technology to open the door. No keys. Kind of like walking up to your car with the key in your pocket and the car knows it’s you and lets you unlock it and drive it away.

What does all of this service do for the corresponding cost? Increased customer loyalty, decreased materials cost (door keys), increase efficiencies, automated ERP entries, decreased human error. The list goes on.

This exercise can easily be completed for any of the categories of IoT above.

As a product manager, not only do you need to create these new user stories, you need to determine if your organization is capable of delivering. There may be more to it than simply throwing a few new user stories over the wall to development. I’ll talk more about this in a future post.

This is a fascinating subject for me and I would love to help your company put these capabilities into action. Please give me a call!

© Mark Travis – All Rights Reserved      http://www.travis-company.com

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