The four essentials for a winning strategy to unlock the potential of the Internet of Things

1. Creating a Playbook to
Exploit the Long Tail of IoT
The four essentials for a winning strategy to unlock the
potential of the Internet of Things

2. Global labor productivity growth has been in
decline for over a decade. Across Western Europe,
Canada, Japan, Korea, and the US, productivity
growth between 2004 and 2014 was lower than the
previous decade, according to the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The slide has impacted both big and small compa-
nies in virtually all industries.1
Even in the midst of recent innovations delivered
by the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Uber, “it is
into meaningful changes in the economy’s largest
sectors, such as healthcare, manufacturing and
transportation,” according to David Rotman, Edi-
tor of MIT Technology Review.2
There are many hypotheses for the lackluster pro-
ductivity. Some pundits argue that the workplace
already been realized.3
Others suggest that social
technologies, such as collaboration tools, search,
and even email have yet to deliver on their full
potential. 4
The next game changer on the horizon is the Internet
of Things (IoT). It has been touted as perhaps the
most significant and transformative set of
technologies since the internet, with the potential
example, McKinsey & Co. estimated that IoT could
potentially generate up to $11.1 trillion a year in
economic value by 2025.5
While IoT’s potential is enormous, it has largely
remained just that: potential. The reason is that
a meaningful economic impact takes years to
materialize. The value IoT delivers will be meas-
ured in the aggregation of thousands of use cases
across many industries. The vast majority of these
use cases are to be found in relatively small, niche
markets—the “long tail” of IoT. (See Figure, Page 6)
the long tail of IoT are not afraid to experiment
with combinations of nascent technologies that
have the potential for high payback, even if they
are yet to be validated in the marketplace. By
focusing on rapid application development, these
companies learn quickly and design and launch
competitive products to keep pace with fast-evolving
technologies, business models and customer
expectations. They know what the long tail looks
like, and they are agile enough to seize the moment
to enter a market when the opportunity presents
itself.
The Playbook
In the process, they are writing—and constantly
revising—the long-tail playbook. There are four
pages to the playbook that capture the fundamen-
tals for long-term success.
Creating a
Playbook to Exploit
the Long Tail of IoT
2
Unlocking the market potential of the
Internet of Things requires business
acumen and technological expertise
coupled with the ability to learn fast and
pivot quickly. The most lucrative oppor-
tunities for companies that master these
skills reside in the long tail of the IoT
market.

3. IoT competitors will emerge from all
directions and backgrounds. In virtually
all markets, new entrants will bring
unorthodox perspectives that challenge
incumbents and transform markets.
Being blindsided by a new competitor, or
not taking them seriously, will result in
lost market share or worse.
The same battles are taking place in every niche
market in the IoT long tail. The greatest opportu
nities for success by innovators in these markets
is to target opportunities where the potential for
Consider an Industrial Internet Consortium test-
bed project being developed by Bosch and Cisco
called Track & Trace. The testbed aims to manage
facilities used for drilling, welding, tightening and
other functions. Equipped with wireless connec-
tivity and indoor localization, the tools can capture
and share measurement data to be processed that
helps improve equipment efficiency and production
quality. In addition, programs can be deployed to a
tool located in a specific location in the plant so it
is equipped to perform a specific task.
9
A Profound
01
3
The vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications
market is a case in point. Competitors include
legacy players such as General Motors and
Toyota, and new entrants such as Google and
Tesla. The stakes are high, because the promise
of ubiquitous connectivity depends on near
universal adoption. GM has an edge, as its
2017 Cadillac CTS will be the first new vehicle
in the United States with onboard V2V capabil-
ity. Toyota is taking a slightly different tact,
and has recruited top robotics researches to
focus not on full autonomy but on applications
where drivers and cars cooperate. Meanwhile,
Google and Tesla are both developing fully
autonomous vehicles.
8
7
6
Competitive
Landscape
Knowledge Of The

4. It will be some time before the dust
settles to reveal the technologies that
will dominate in the IoT market. Until
that happens - which may take years -
companies need technology roadmaps
that offer many possible avenues
into the future. This will give them the
foresight to quickly shift direction as
competing technologies emerge and
fade.
For example, cellular IoT is now a viable option
since the advent of Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT).
Just a few years ago, it was private networks on
unlicensed spectrum that were all the rage. Yet
even as cellular IoT picks up, use cases for chipsets
that support the new standards are still years out
for deployment by service providers. The network
in the mobile sector is being totally re-architected
too, from the access to the datacenters. One emerging
technology paradigm is locating micro-services much
closer to the service invocation, be it the car, the home
or the user.
10
02
4
Another battle is taking place in the silicon solutions for
artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Intel, for
example, recently introduced its next-generation Xeon
Phi coprocessor, which is designed for deep learning.
Meanwhile, Nvidia—one of Intel’s competitors—has
established a strong presence in AI by focusing on
deep-learning algorithms. Nvidia’s graphics processor
cores run algorithms more efficiently than a general-
purpose CPU. Such differences in approach is an
example of the age-old dilemma of choosing among
diverging strategies to address the present challenge.
Embrace Extreme
Volatility

5. IoT revenue models and profit-sharing
strategies are in their infancy and will
evolve as companies gain experience.
In general, successful innovation
ecosystems typically have a diverse
set of partners that share both the risk
and the reward of their collaborations.
They evolve complementary capabilities
to develop new products and services
that benefit all. At the same time, power
shifts within the ecosystem are occuring
all the time, which can impact business
models.
For instance, you would think the semiconductor
-
lions of connected devices. Instead, the traditional
business models of the 20th century have simply
been upended. Chipmakers are facing intense
pricing pressures on integrated circuits, modules
and chipsets. Margins on sensors, for instance,
are razor thin and getting thinner, which means
ever-larger sales volumes are necessary to turn a
11
Similarly, AT&T is spearheading the software-de-
-
ization (NFV) initiative called Domain 2.0.12
It
has the potential to upend the network equipment
supply chain much like Facebook upended the
datacenter market. Facebook, meanwhile, has
released hardware specs for the Open Compute
Project and is driving a very large ecosystem that
includes silicon vendors, original design manufac-
turers (ODMs) and the open-source community.13
Accept Commer-
cial Uncertainty03
5

6. Figure 1. Predicted number of units installed 2020, Source: Gartner Prediction Report 2016
The right business model and the right technolo -
gy are worthless without a culture that embraces
speed and flexibility. Companies need to run fast
and conduct a lot of experiments. They need to
focus development resources on applications
where the potential for significant upside is high
and the potential for harm is low. Every trial,
whether it succeeds or fails, provides valuable
insight and may uncover new long-tail market
opportunities. Companies should formalize the
learning process, as well as systematically utilize
the insights gleaned during development of
future product iterations.
In 2010, Intel co-founder Andy Grove wrote:
“Equally important is what comes after that myth-
ical moment of creation in the garage, as technol-
ogy goes from prototype to mass production.”14
That observation holds true for companies today,
particularly for startups that are scaling up. These
-
pline that limits their ability to innovate.
Nest is one example. The break-out smart devices
company has successfully combined software and
hardware to transform an experience as simple
as changing the temperature in a room. The lack
of new product categories to embrace this inno-
vation, however, has resulted in stagnate growth,
increased competition and an inability to scale.15
04
6
Be Fast, Agile
And Flexible

7. But the company is not standing still. It is looking
over the horizon to prepare for the next generation
of disruptive technologies. Specifically, it is revising
its product roadmap to have a solution ready as
NB-IoT picks up steam and carriers start deploying
the new standard. Timing this pivot to take full
advantage of the new technology solutions requires
experimenting with emerging technology options
and being prepared to navigate the many scenarios
that may unfold as market opportunities occur. It
also means answering a few specific questions,
including:
01 — Where and when should we deploy NB-IoT
modem modules?
02 — If we add NB-IoT as a connection option, do
we build out an NB-IoT network or will our
utility customers?
03 — What is the viability of low-power, wide-area
(LPWA) technologies such as SIGFOX and
LoRa?
Case Studies in
Exploiting IoT’s
Long Tail
77
A U.S.-based industrial electronics company
markets and sells to municipalities and utilities
the meters and modules used to sense leaks
and, if need be, shut off gas, water and electricity.
It has the latest connectivity technologies,
including ZigBee mesh and GPRS/HDSPA/LTE/
EVDO backhaul. It utilizes home- and neighbor-
hood-area networks (HAN/NAN)—the state-
of-the-art topology for smart metering—and it
supports the automatic reading of gas and water
meter modules using the proprietary encoder
receiver transmitter (ERT) (@900 MHz) protocol.
Preparing for
Transformation in The
Smart Meter Market
Virtually every industry is in some stage of rein-
vention as a consequence of IoT developments.
They are all looking to take full advantage of sen-
sors, machine intelligence and new business mod-
els. While early movers have a leg up, choosing
the use cases to maximize revenue and margins
requires iteration, adaptability and patience. Here
are three examples of companies that are using the
playbook to position themselves to capitalize on
long-tail opportunities:

8. Finding Wiggle
Room In The
Wearables Market
8
Consider the challenges of a semicon-
ductor company seeking to scale in the
wearables market by focusing on
long-tail opportunities. Its target is to
create a wrist-watch communications
device for young children, aged 3 to 6
years old, that is a quality, cost-effective
platform through which parents monitor
their children. Service options will
include geo-fencing and sensors to track
location, as well as interactive games. Of
the products currently on the market,
many have significant flaws: units that
are too large for a child’s wrist, functions
that are not intuitive, lack of carrier
certifications and poor overall device
quality.
The company understands there is no crystal ball
to reveal customers’ optimal set of attributes. It
also knows there is little chance of quickly
capturing a dominant share in the already
crowded market. As such, the company’s focus is
on developing an agile platform in collaboration
with its partners, which include an ODM, leading
silicon vendors, hardware and software companies,
and service providers. The IoT platform’s design
will address a variety of use cases and scale not
only service offerings but also domain-specific IP
and capabilities across multiple vendors.
Such an agile platform, coupled with a rapid
product deployment cycle, enables the company to
gather valuable market feedback from iterative
product releases, learn from the insights that
feedback uncovers, and then quickly test and
launch the next use case. A key factor used to
determine the success of each iteration of the
product is fast “time to joy” for the consumer—
both parent and child. The company’s strategy also
sets it up to pivot quickly to exploit long-tail
opportunities in tangential markets it uncovers.

9. A software vendor that develops and
sells over-the-air (OTA) software to the
industrial and consumer electronics
sectors is now developing applications
for the automotive sector. Its focus is
to offer carmakers and their tier-one
suppliers intelligence gleaned from
the enormous amount of data vehicles
generate, which totals more than 5
terabytes a day, according to the compa-
ny. Although carmakers are eager to
make use of this data to improve vehicle
performance and reduce costs, they do
not have the internal resources to collect
and analyze it efficiently.
By working closely with its partners—an ODM,
automakers and suppliers—the vendor adapted
its OTA platform to meet the exacting require-
ments of vehicle applications. Among them are the
OTA firmware and software updates that are
critical to patch and update products. With the
OTA software, the time to complete these tasks is
measured in hours versus the weeks or months
older technology requires. Such quick turnaround
also helps meet customer expectations. OTA up-
dates are now part of the vendor’s tailored DevOps
capability for connected devices and services that
streamlines software product quality and asset
management, as well as accelerates release cycles.
Because the vendor adapted its business model at
the same time, it is able to generate revenue from
a combination of gateway sales and a data analyt-
ics service component. This also ensures revenue
growth as its customer base grows.
These examples capture how companies are
adapting their business models and technology
platforms to take full advantage of business op-
portunities in new, narrowly targeted IoT market
segments. The set of capabilities needed to pivot
quickly and create sustainable value from long-
tail opportunities impacts all functions within the
company. It includes resetting business priorities
and changing product development processes.
The four pages of the long-tail IoT playbook pro-
vide a foundation for developing and launching
and technologies evolve, the solutions must evolve
in step. Flexibility, adaptability and speed are
paramount.
Pivoting To Expand
The Business Value
9

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and post- crisis.” Organization of Economic Con and Development,
May 26, 2016.
http://www.oecd.org/std/productivity-stats/newoecdindicatorstra -
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ductivity-indicators-22252126.htm
2. Rotman, David. “Dear Silicon Valley: Forget Flying Cars, Give Us
Economic Growth.” MIT Technology Review, June 21, 2016.
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601682/dear-silicon-valley-
forget-flying-cars-give-us-economic-growth/.
3. Thibodeau, Patrick. “Economist: The Internet of Things will deliver
surge of productivity.” ComputerWorld, May 5, 2015.
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2919040/inter-
net-of-things/economist-the-internet-of-things-will-deliv -
er-surge-of-productivity.html
4. By Chui, Michael, Manyika, James, Bughin, Jacques, Dobbs,
Richard, Roxburgh, Charles, Sarrazin, Hugo, Sands, Geoffrey and
Westergren. Magdalena. “The social economy: Unlocking value and
productivity through social technologies.” McKinsey & Co., July 2012.
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/
the-social-economy
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6. Vasan, Paula. “What did one car say to the other car? If you make
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dont-turn-left-turn-yet/.
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turn-on-autonomous-cars/
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http://www.nearshoreamericas.com/show-money-really-makes-
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le-alphabet.
References
10

11. Contacts
Walid Negm is Aricent’s chief technology officer and is based in
Washington DC.
Email: walid.negm@aricent.com
Twitter: @walidnegm
About Aricent
Aricent is a global design and engineering company innovating for the digital
era. With more than 12,000 design and engineering talent and over 25 years of
experience, we help the world’s leading companies solve their most important
business and technology innovation challenges - from Customer to Chip.
© 2016 Aricent. All rights reserved.
All Aricent brand and product names are service marks, trademarks, or registered marks of Aricent in
the United States and other countries.
11
Contacts
Scott Runner is VP of IoT Business. He is based in Redwood City,
CA, USA.
Email: scott.runner@aricent.com
Giri KK is VP and Practice Leader for IoT & Embedded Systems.
He is based in Bangalore, India
Email: giri.raju@aricent.com