Driving Enterprise Value Through Smart Connected Devices: Forbes Insight

Forbes Insights, the strategic research and thought leadership practice of Forbes Media, today released its new report: Driving Enterprise Value Through Smart Connected Devices. The study, sponsored by Hitachi Vantara, interviewed 20 chief technologists and other senior executives at major corporations who have made or are making significant Internet of Things (IoT)-led transformations.

The report details how the Internet of Things is creating game-changing breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and robotics. Due to growing momentum, IoT protocol ran out of its 4.3 billion addresses and was replaced with a new protocol. This groundbreaking technical change should strongly indicate to executives that a true transformation in the industry will soon follow

To keep up with the growing momentum of IoT and stay relevant , executives must ask themselves three essential questions:

1.  What is going to be the impact of smart connected devices within our industry?
   1. How will our organization have to reposition itself to maintain market leadership within the new industry dynamic?
   2. What is the pathway we need to follow for a successful Internet of Things (IoT) deployment that yields the maximum value from the smart connected devices and the ecosystems within which they connect?

    Key insights from the report include:

   •  Every company’s business model will change due to IoT.
   • Every company needs to reconsider its core competency and product value proposition to include an “as-a-Service” dimension based on the data from connected devices.
   • IoT is not about “big data” alone but high-value “small data” and “dark data”—data that was otherwise inaccessible yet when captured creates new process, ideas, markets, or relationships.
   • By understanding how the four pillars of Cost, Control, Connectivity, and Curation contribute to an IoT-led market-leadership position, companies can better assess their unique path to capitalizing on these technologies.
   • Alignment is key, not only the alignment of the IoT technology with the strategy of the enterprise but also among the human capital, the new work practices, and value drivers.
   • Alignment is a top-down exercise, not a bottom-up one: It is driven by executives who build an overarching strategy and enterprise architecture to support that strategy.
   • Technical choices early on matter, as they will be determinants of and constraints upon the enterprise’s future IoT business models.
   • Security is a foundational requirement, not an afterthought bolt-on.
   • Executives need to understand they are building a new business model, not just building out a new system.
   • The technology alone is never the answer. Technology should be used to craft a business model that solves a problem.

   To view the full report, visit: