Accelerate Digital Transformation with Integrated IoT

Abhijit Kishore, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Vodafone Idea Limited

 

Internet of Things (IoT) is fast emerging as a real enabler for digital across industries and businesses. From fuelling cashless transactions at Retail PoS to powering smart meters, intelligent assets and connected vehicles, IoT today has a wide range of use cases across industries, communities and lives. The possibilities with IoT are endless and it is estimated that there would be about 2 billion connected devices in India by the end of 2021. Come to think of it, the journey of IoT has just begun!

 

The Adoption Challenge

 

Enterprises have started to realise that IoT-enabled digital transformation makes their journey more data-driven by making their assets intelligent, thus enabling better visibility and manageability. However, the adoption of IoT at large has been found wanting, due to the inherent challenges associated with the value chain.

 

The IoT value chain, which includes chipset, module, device, application, network connectivity, platform, application, and managed services, is wide and fragmented, with a mix of both generalists and specialists. One argument is that this is good as innovation is open and is happening at the edge. More about this later.

 

A fragmented value chain means that sourcing and deployment of IoT are not well-stitched at the design stage. This leads to numerous challenges such as complexity of working with multiple IoT partners, finding & choosing certified partners for IoT projects with a proven track record through relevant use cases & demonstrable ROI, lack of uniform security standards across the value chain, and insufficient expertise at the customers’ end in adopting the IoT journey.

 

In our IoT Self-scan, spanning 34 industries, we observed that 89% manufacturing businesses agree that there is a need to build a connected factory ecosystem. But only 41% manufacturing companies currently have the technical expertise and the agility for Technology Change Management.

 

The Definitive Shift

 

Our customers have expressed a strong desire for an end-to-end IoT solution framework, aggregated across the ecosystem - right from advising on current IoT maturity, drawing a blue-print, co-designing a tailored solution to implementing and managing it. This can be only delivered by players in the ecosystem who step up to being an Integrated IoT Service Provider; and calls for a pioneering effort.

 

For us, at ViTM Business, we call it the shift from being a Telco to a Techco; from being an IoT connectivity provider to an Integrated IoT solution provider - made possible through a continuous effort over the past few years with the right investments in people, solutions and partners, and building oneself to being a truly valued & trusted partner to businesses.

 

The need of the hour in the industry is to make IoT-enabled transformations - right from concept to launch - as simple as pressing a button!

 

Keep it simple

 

Driving simplicity in the adoption of IoT is only possible with an Integrated IoT solution provider bringing to market, a well-orchestrated engagement model and solution stack.

 

At ViTM Business, we are proud to have taken a lead on this and brought together, an industry-first, Integrated IoT solutions portfolio. With this industry-first initiative, we have become the only telecom company in India to offer secure end-to-end IoT solutions that include connectivity, hardware, network, application, analytics, security, and support.

 

The offering, with simplification at its heart, is brought alive through our

 

Engagement model - We engage with customers in a consultative manner through our IoT assessment model to build their IoT journey, while also providing a one-stop delivery and service model. This is critical for customers as they can then focus on their business growth without having to worry about operational challenges.

 

Partnerships – We work with the best-in-class in the ecosystem to tap into open innovation at the edge and work towards a seamless end-to-end offering for our customers.

 

Propositions – We bring to the table cutting-edge product offerings across industries and high demand areas viz., automotive, infrastructure and utilities

 

People – IoT is about deep expertise and empathy for business challenges coupled with an understanding of the customer’s needs. We have a highly skilled team of IoT professionals and experts, with multi-industry know-how, deep technical skills, and the ability to engage and deliver high impact digital solutions.

 

Doing the Right Thing

 

Driving business value and end customer experience is at the heart of our Integrated IoT approach, by enabling enterprise customers through

 

Our end-to-end ownership

 

Easy implementation and integration

 

Lower Total Cost of Ownership

 

Better business outcomes such as cost efficiency, revenue enhancement and differentiated customer experience

 

Choosing and implementing an IoT solution should be as simple as pressing a button and I am glad we are powering this shift, starting with our three industry propositions - Smart Mobility (for automotive, transportation, and logistics), Smart Infrastructure and Smart Utilities.

 

We must always aspire to harness the immense power of technology and deliver impact beyond business, to our people and our society. I truly believe that IoT can help us do this.