Despite the seemingly daily
release of new, smart, connected products, this trend has barely begun. Cisco's
CTO, Padmasree
Warrior estimates that we have reached just 1% of things that will be
connected over the next decade. At the start of mega-trend it's worth thinking
about a simple equation to drive success.
SCP = (CJ x C x N2 x
AI) x T
Once we've identified the job
that the customer is trying to do and the way in which the smart connected
product can create value, Connectivity then becomes the second element of the
equation. The embedding of a SIM card, chip, beacon or sensor opens up a world
of possibility for users to interact with their product, gaining information
and insight or allowing a remote control function. However, many smart
connected products stop here. They offer simple connectivity to allow customers
to, for example, remote control their central heating but little more… At this
stage of the equation a great deal of potential value is left on the table.
In order to unlock additional
value, it's worth thinking about networks and the value of the data contained
within them. A connected fitness monitor, thermostat or jet engine is
fine, but one that connects with a broader network is able to release far
greater value, allowing users to generate insight from comparative benchmarks
e.g. engine or fitness performance against peers. Most fitness monitors do this
well, allowing users to compete against both their friends and other users of
the network.
Connecting multiple networks can
unlock exponential value. For example, connecting a network of thermostats to
networks containing electrical appliances, weather forecasts, energy prices,
carbon emissions, pollution levels etc gives users far more than just a remote
control for their thermostat. Furthermore, by adding artificial intelligence,
products can become genuinely smart. Picture the smart thermostat plugged into
a network of thermostats to group buy energy based on an algorithm that
predicted price rises and discounts, and worked out exactly when to power
appliances around the home based on their energy consumption.
The final element of the
equation, however, is arguably both the most important as well as the most
overlooked. Trust is something that can take years to build up, but can be lost
in an instant through a cyber attack, a data privacy breach or an ethics
breach. Once it is lost a negative trust score is disastrous and renders the
preceding equation entirely worthless.
Without question, smart,
connected products offer companies the potential for radical innovation and disruption.
Entire business models and propositions can be re-written. But success rests
not only the attention given to innovation around customer jobs, connectivity,
networks and AI, but also on Trust. Without trust, a smart, connected product
is nothing but a ticking time bomb for the share price.
No comments:
Post a Comment