IoTization: Trends of Internet of Things Enablement

The IoT market is on track to hit $7.1 trillion in 2020, according to an IDC’s study. Are we ready for this massive demand? How can we deal with the challenges?

Some firms carelessly choose to take no action by claiming they are too busy with what they are doing, and there is no time for anything else. Some organizations blindly jump into it with no thinking or planning, under the assumption of acting quickly for better time-to-market. Some companies recklessly opt to take a bold stance to bet on something immature, in false notion of fail fast. Needless to say, these kinds of attempts are highly risky and naive to some extent. What is mandatory is an overarching and adaptive approach to effectively handling the rapid changes and exponential growth.

An IoTization method is formed to guide the systematic adoption and enablement of IoT implementations, composed of the following components: Prototype, Extend, Assess, Strategize, Formulate, Accelerate, Initiate, and Revamp (PEAS FAIR). Each component is described below:

• Assess
• Review the current state
• Analyze barriers and pain points
• Formulate
• Define the future state
• Identify gaps and road blockers
• Strategize
• Evaluate options and viability
• Construct a phased plan
• Initiate
• Find low hanging fruits to deliver quick wins
• Explore new trending areas of potentials and bigger impacts
• Extend
• Leverage existing technology elements
• Retool the present IT resources
• Revamp
• Rearchitect the current portfolio with IT and OT
• Revise processes to apply IoT in solutions 
• Prototype
• Test the technology of interest on a small scale in POC
• Carry out pilot experiments on selected candidates
• Accelerate
• Jump-start the end-to-end SDLC
• Establish CoE and build competency

The IoTization method helps organizations adopt IoT and IoTize in a holistic manner. The focus must be business impacts and competitive advantages, to get started. We ought to incorporate cross-disciplinary processes to be agile and forward-thinking. The emphasis is put on the pragmatic increments in an iterative way. Engineering practices need to be leveraged. Ultimately, it is not the devices in the IoT world, but the winning strategy and right methodology that help businesses transform their operations and even business models. Start small and get kicked off quickly, but never begin your journey without a clear vision and solid plan.

For more information, please contact Tony Shan (blog@tonyshan.com) or leave your comments below.

 ©Tony Shan. All rights reserved. All standard disclaimers apply here.