Assessment of customer-end requirements for internet of things devices

Abstract

The Internet removed the aspect of physical distance, the Web 2.0 brought the concept of user participation, interactivity, social media and service orientation to the realm. Improvements in communication and wireless technologies removed the constraint of stationary co-ordinates. The next step - connecting inanimate things as a network. Combining these elements will provide a truly ubiquitous network anytime, anywhere, by anyone and anything , an interworked world of inanimate (things) and living beings. A technology that was developed initially with retail and logistics application in mind in order to replace the bar code, captured the imagination of the industry experts, academicians, business, et al has transformed and grown into the widely used term Internet of Things. Internet of Things continues to evolve. IoT buzz has been around for more than a decade; still, the technology adoption can take a decade, depending on the complexity and the hurdles. Advancements in mobile and wireless communication and quicker standardization of last mile communication, Internet of Things adoption rates will soon accelerate. In three industry verticals - retail, health care and infrastructure and utilities and over eight product categories, the authors, based on their studies and usage-specification translation construct, conceptualize product and product category specifications. The authors conducted Field Research Study for their primary research. The research was meant to gather end-user and usage-context , to understand and derive functionality and benefits desired by end users. From the so gathered details and by speaking to industry experts and practitioners, the authors arrive at specifications for the eight chosen products or product categories. As part of this study to understand the product and functionality that IoT technology companies are working on, the authors engaged with companies in the IoT ecosystem spoke to product manager working in IoT space in a few multinational companies, interviewed founders, CEOs, CTOs and employees of startups. Besides, to understand the end customer needs and benefits they seek, the authors conducted survey (and interviews) to understand the consumer preferences, commonality of their preferences and their propensity to adapt to IoT devices (and wearable). Section 2 provides an overview of Internet of Things its history, its scope, its ecosystem and trends. Section 3 discusses issues and challenges both from technology and business standpoint, while section 4 presents scope and limitations of the report. Section 5 discusses the applications of IoT that could pan out in the within the next decade. Section 6 presents market opportunities for IoT across eight industry verticals, while section 7 presents India centric perspective. Section 8 present value drivers and value network for consumer context and industrial context. Section 9 discusses usage specification translation construct and Product conceptualization in detail. Sections 10 presents the summary of the study. In section 11 authors share their perspective for IoT technology firms and section 11.4 presents recommendations. Sections 12, 14 and 15 provide the details of the field research study.