The document discusses ecosystems, platforms, and openness in the Internet of Things (IoT). It defines ecosystems as being built on foundational platforms that allow interdependent firms to develop interrelated products and services. For the IoT, ecosystems are still immature as no dominant platform has emerged, but standards, interoperability, and open APIs can help accelerate development by enabling different components to work together. The UK's Connected Digital Economy Catapult aims to advance the IoT ecosystem by focusing on areas like cities that generate large amounts of data, and by supporting infrastructure and existing investments through an open approach.

1. Ecosystems, platforms & openness in the #IoT
Accelerating the Open Source IOT ecosystem
22 October 2013
Dr. Maurizio Pilu
Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme

2. Connected Digital Economy Catapult
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Set up by the Technology Strategy Board
Applied R&D&I centre in the digital economy
Non-for-profit, based in London, national remit
Focussed on data value chain
Deveop enabling capabilities and projects for wider UK
innovators benefit
• £10m p.a. of core investment from TSB + matched
funding
• Critical mass: overtime 100+ technologists
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3. 3
WHAT IS AN
ECOSYTEM?

4. 4
I will take one particular angle
(that I like)
throughout the presentation …
….but there are others!

5. A way to look at it:
Platforms as the foundation of ecosystems
“Industry platforms are technological building
blocks (that can be technologies, products, or
services) that act as a foundation on top of which
an array of firms, organized in a set of
interdependent firms (sometimes called an
industry „„ecosystem‟‟), develop a set of interrelated products, technologies and services”
(Gawer, 2009)
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6. Where do platforms emerge?
Common features (Gawer 2009):
• Complex technological systems
• Fast evolution of technology
• Importance of interoperability and integration
• Require collaboration among several firms
Sounds familiar?
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7. Ecosystems as two-sided markets
“…economic platforms having two distinct
user groups that provide each other with
network benefits …”
“…Products and services that bring together
groups of users in two-sided networks are
platforms…“
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8. Examples of platforms & two sided markets
Advertisers
Retailers
App
developers
Eyeballs
Customers
Users
8

9. On ecosystems, killer apps and the “A” word
[Apple] “found that the killer app
wasn’t a single service, it was the
ecosystem. Apple introduced that
ecosystem, and changed the game
completely” (1)
(1) Nesta: What‟s a App, 2010
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10. Not so simple ….
• Guess what? Lots of people trying …. 
• Many companies try to build ecosystems around their
(sometimes proprietary) platforms (e.g. with subsidies)
• Winner take-all dynamics and ecosystems wars (e.g.
ebay: network effect hard to replicate)
• BTW, two sided-markets can have multiple platforms!!
• Or there can be one (e.g. a standard) which can spur
innovation and competition on both sides (e.g. the PCI
board)
• What does it mean for long tail?
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SO, WHAT IS AN
IoT
ECOSYTEM?

12. IOT Ecosystem?
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13. Multiple identities …
Pervasive Internet
Connected Environments
Smart Places
Smart Cities
Connected Cars
Ubiquitous
Computing, Everyware
Connected World
Physical Internet
Smart Homes
Smart Meters
Wireless Sensor Networks
Ambient Intelligence
Machine to Machine
Web of Things
The Future Internet
............

14. … and personalities …
It‟s about sensors & devices
It‟s about M2M
It‟s about a big IT system that controls stuff
It‟s all about data value chains
It‟s about new services
It‟s the Internet – no such thing as IoT
It‟s about the user experience
It‟s about growth-opportunities
It‟s about new business models
14

15. A traditional technology “Stack”:
(not necessarily and ecosystem!)
15
End users
£
Business
sectors &
application
areas
£
£
Solutions,
Infrastructure
& platforms
£
Technology
capabilities
Apps &
services
£
£

16. What are the two sided markets in IOT?
Tech providers
Developers
Developers
Developers
Developers
End users
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A bit to early to say: ecosystem immature
• There is no dominant platform/player in IoT
• But it‟s normal of early markets: fragmentation, lack of
standards, bespoke solutions, etc.

18. 18
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
Accelerate
AN ECOSYTEM?

19. First: it‟s about people

20. Second: business models and incentives are crucial

21. On a more technical level ….
 “network effect” enablers
DOING THINGS “INTERNET STYLE”
• ACCESS TO DATA
• OPEN SOURCE
• OPEN APIs
• INTEROPERABILITY
• STANDARDS
• RAPID PROTOTYPING
21

22. Computers, Internet:
intrinsic interoperability problems and opportunities?
Interoperability references in literature
(Philip Parker, INSEAD)
Computers!
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23. 23
Open APIs and Interoperability:
an
“Internet style”
example

24. Example: IFTTT tools
• Connect different web services from competing
organizations
• Based on publishing metadata catalogues and
APIs to data
• Simple rules: If This Then That (IFTTT)
• Example used here: Zapier
• Example of service construction:
Email me every time a note is created in Evernote
with the tag #cdecatapult
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25. e.g. Zapier: select services
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26. e.g. Zapier … select rules
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27. e.g. Zapier: Select actions
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28. Zapier: service directory …
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29. 29
Imagine
something like this in the
IoT

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Low moisture in my flower pot?
Send me a whatsapp message and turn down heating

31. This “deverticalizes” …..
• Open source, APIs, access to data, interoperability
help to abstracts role & enable scaling
• Hardware developers
• Middleware / platforms
• App developers
• Which is broadly how modern “Internet style”
ecosystems develops
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Open APIs and Interoperability
across platforms was
broadly the approach followed when
architecting the £6m
TSB IoT Ecosystem
investment

33. TSB‟s IoT ecosystem investment
• Develop a network of Internet
of Things clusters
• Incentivize more accessibility
to IoT data
• Adoption of „information hubs‟
• Interoperability between hubs
• Become a platform for
collaboration
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34. 34
The Internet of Things Demonstrator
• Results of £6m investment
announced by David Willetts on 11
March 2013
• Investing in 8 IoT clusters to
demonstrate ecosystems in specific
application areas
• >40 organizations involved,
including Intel, ARM, BT, IBM,
NEUL, Cisco, EDF, Carillion,
LivingPlanIT, and many SMEs

35. 35
Hypercat
Basic interoperability
profile agreed and
developed by the 8
#tsbiot consortia
© Pilgrim Beart, 1248.io
http://www.slideshare.net/1248_io/hypercatintroduction-15-mins

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And finally a few more words about the
Connected Digital Economy Catapult
in the IoT context

37. The data value chain – our „field of play'
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38. CDE Catapult: Our #IoT angles
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• Cities & communities – it‟s where lots of data, verticals,
people come together, in high density
• Data, data, data - #IoT will generate huge amounts of
data (e.g. “cities generate more data they know what to
do with”)
• Next generation infrastructure, in particular
• M2M
• Whitespace communication
• Connecting & supporting existing investments (e.g.
from TSB, EU, RCs)

39. Some open questions
• How do we all drive forward an “open” agenda for
IoT
• Interoperability, open source, open access
• But keeping in mind sustainable business
models!
• What capabilities & facilities UK‟s innovators need?
• What strategic (i.e. for wider benefit) projects does
the UK need to move forward?
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Thank you!
Dr. Maurizio Pilu
Partnerships Director
CDE Catapult
Maurizio dot Pilu at cde.catapult.org.uk
@maurizio_pilu
@cdecatapult
Catapult is a Technology Strategy Board programme