Several companies (Aeris, PTC/Thingworx, Alcatel Lucent, and others) are working on or developed an Internet

of Things (IoT) market place platform. The platform enables operators and third party companies to quickly

develop and launch a marketplace for IoT solutions. Features include custom layouts and branding, partner

portal, product listings, detailed product features and marketing information, billing, direct order, shipping,

contacts and related services. The platform productizes a Marketplace tool and reduces the time and cost that a

company would have to invest to build this capability in the traditional IT model. It also simplifies the investment

required to start a market place through various licensing and support models. The Marketplace platform

simplifies a company’s ability to launch a marketplace similar to Application Enablement Platform (AEP)

simplifies a company’s ability to develop IoT applications.

The Market Place is an online market for Business to Business IoT solutions where services and products can

be easily found and purchased directly from multiple providers. It also includes solution finder capabilities to

enable search for various categories of solutions as well as partner offers for third party services. The IoT

market place is similar in concept to Amazon or Alibaba for consumer products. The difference with the IoT

market place and consumer market place is the complexity of the solutions. IoT solutions may require hardware,

connectivity, maintenance, support and ability to manage connectivity as needed as well as system integration

into existing enterprise systems. Some level of customization may also be needed to meet specific business

requirements. IoT Solutions include many components provided by an ecosystem of partners which also adds to

the complexity.

The marketplace simplifies access to providers, solutions, components as well as provides insight into various

options available. Marketplace offers a guided tour of potential solutions and a structure to assist businesses to

resolve questions and address concerns. A market place backed by a reliable brand and organization provides

partners and customer ease of mind and some level of security in purchasing IoT solutions.

Overview

What types of Solutions can be included in the marketplace?

Solutions in the market place range from simple plug and play options such as a Smart thermometer or health

monitoring devices to complex layered solutions. One example of a complex layered solution is the Logistics

solution with geographical information system (GIS) capability integrated into a transportation management

system (TMS) such as Oracle TMS. Simple solutions are already fully integrated while complex solution require

additional support and integration

The key to a successful market place will be the ability to aggregate all of the components required to

successfully deploy the complete solution. This will include:

Downloadable application for data visualization

Multiple provider options

The ability to secure multi-national connectivity (SIM and data plans)

Integration services where the current version of the application needs to be customized or extended to

meet the specific use case

Plug n play option for ease of use

Support services options for on-going maintenance

List of all required hardware with the option to purchase directly through the market place

Ability to purchase required hardware in required quantity with the push of a button

Multi-language support and self-service capability to change language as needed

Who benefits from the market place?

IoT solution can be complex and providers are often newcomers to the market. Customers want a reliable

company who will be around once they invest in a solution. As a result, Operators are well positioned to offer

the market place since they have name recognition and trust. They also have the infrastructure in place such as

the network, billing systems, support centers and retail outlets. Retail outlets can be leveraged to distribute

items to potential customers. Operators can also leverage their online distribution systems.

Market Place can also be offered through third party independent companies. Many companies offering IoT

solutions today align with mobile operators for connectivity in local markets. They can also align with companies

like Aeris, Kore (E2E IoT providers), Telefonica and others for global connectivity

Deutsche Telekom (DT) is one operator which currently offers a market place. DT’s market place is self-service

channel which connects business customers with the IoT market place. Services offered include

Hardware - modules, terminals, sensors and gateways

Software – tracking, monitoring and analytics

Connectivity solutions – Multi-SIM, with roaming options

Services - Tools, Training and Certification

Operators like Deutsche Telekom offers end to end solution which includes all required hardware, software,

cloud, and system integration required for a turnkey solution. The solution can be sold in an OPEX model

(subscriber pays a monthly recurring cost) for the solution and the operator or partner provides a simple to

access application on web-enabled device. The alternative is the capex model where the customer pays for

the hardware and application in a lump sum payment and pay recurring cost for cloud, connectivity and other

services.

Benefits to the Operator

The market place can assist operators in significantly boosting IoT revenue by enabling them to share all related

services versus the current state which limits them to connection revenue. Operators can share in the hardware,

application and services revenue by taking a percentage of sales executed through its platform. The concept is

similar to the Play Store model where the operators or store provider takes 30% of the revenue for the

applications sold while the provider gets 70%. In the consumer space, Amazon gets 15% to 20% of each items

sold through its site. Loten, Angus and Janofsky, Adam ( 2015, January 14) Sellers Need Amazon, but at What

Price. Wall Street Journal P. B4. Retrieved form http://www.wsj.com/articles/sellers-need-amazon-but-at-what-

cost-1421278220. Each operator will deploy a business model which aligns with the market and their internal

margin requirements.

Benefits to the Hardware Provider Many hardware providers are faced with the challenge of selling just the equipment without a comprehensive

solution. The market place provides hardware OEMs another sales channel since their hardware can be

packaged with applications for a complete offer. Hardware OEMs can expose their device APIs for ease of

integration by application developers. The market place can also be used as a venue to promote their unique

features and capabilities as well as target specific verticals.

New Market Opportunity for Legacy Industries, Developers and

New Startups

Non-traditional IT companies like General Motors (GM) can also leverage the market place to offer services to

wider customer-base and to develop new offers. For example, GM can sell data collected from its smart cars to

developers to create new services. Other companies with large amounts of data in Oil and Gas, Agriculture or

other businesses can leverage the market place to offer their verticalized services to targeted and new

customers. They can offer APIs to their data and generate new revenue streams from these businesses. They

can also package and aggregate their products to reach specific target segments. This can provide a new

channel to distribute their products and services through service warranties, new service models and product

life cycle management. Traditional companies like Chevron or BT can gain new business by exposing their vast

databases to developers who can aggregate this information with current data to make new offers in the market

place.

Entrepreneurs and developers with new products and services can leverage the market place to launch their

products and reach specific target customers. They can also shop for new data sources to build solutions

around.

System Integration Services: Each solution offered in the market place should indicate whether the offer is completely plug and play or if

system integration is required. If system integration is required, then it should list the approximate number of

hours required. For example, solution x will be require 5 hours of SI work to complete. Then there could be a list

of SI options and providers as well as approximate rate and contact information. Each SI will have a customer

rating system to indicate the level of satisfaction from past customers. The rating would indicate past customer

experience with this provider and SI. A system should be in place to independently validate ratings to ensure the

overall success of the program.

System Integration services can be offered in simple, defined packages. Each solution which requires system

integration should list level of effort in terms of number of hours required to integrate the different components

and overall IT integration hours. This would enable the customer to have insight into the overall solution cost

before investing.

Requirements for Marketplace Success:

Marketplace platforms are still in a nascent stage. Providers such as Aeris, PTC/Thingworx and Alcatel Lucent

will need to be more aggressive in selling the value to operators. Even though newer companies may be more

agile and creative, they lack the brand recognition and trust to quickly grow the market place. Many operators

already have a solution finder and other mechanisms in place but they lack a true market place where business

customers around the globe can easily purchase IoT solutions offered in the market.

Solution Finder pages offered by many operators simply provide contacts for partners offering the solution and

some hardware related content. They lack the simplification and details needed to drive sales. The sites are

often difficult to navigate and lack the ability for direct purchase from the site. In addition, they add to the

complexity of finding an IoT solution.

A successful market place will be easy to navigate, include rich product visuals, multiple language options, tabs

with key features, technical details, and provider information. It will include multiple payment and shipment

offers, and include a feedback mechanism which can be used to rate the various partners and offers. It will

enable direct access to providers to expedite problem resolution. Market place should also provide buyers with

an indication of the complexity of the solution and different purchasing models based on the solution complexity.

For example, Plug and Play solution would state that no system integration is required. More complex solution

would suggest a number of system integration work required before the solution may be deployed in production

environment.

The true value of the marketplace is its ability to increase sales for its partners and increase loyalty and trust of

its customers resulting in repeat sales and strong margins for the ecosystem of partners.

Nadine Manjaro

Internet of Things

(IoT)/(M2M) Program

Director at Tech

Mahindra

Education

• University of Kansas (M.S, Engineering Management)

• The AJI Network Business Professionals Course – Certified

Business Professional

• Rutgers University-New Brunswick, B.Sc, Industrial Engineering and

B.A. in Economics and Statistics

Experience

18 years

Strengths

Specializes in Machine to Machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (IOT),

Cloud Computing and wireless infrastructure

Telecom executive with global industry experience across diverse

multinational operators and original equipment manufacturers.

Experienced in working across technical & business organizations from

engineers to CXO levels in executing and delivering technical projects.

Demonstrated thought leadership in IoT and multiple wireless

technologies. Drive ecosystem partnerships and strategies to create and

market solutions across multiple vertical industries. Previous experience

as a Telecom analyst, researcher and consultant with expertise in

Internet of Things (IoT) or M2M, Cloud Computing, and wireless network

architectures including LTE, HSPA, CDMA, WiMAX, Backhaul, and IP

Multi-Media Subsystem (IMS). Other areas of expertise include wireless

spectrum, and global cell site analysis.

Quoted in the Wall Street Journal.com, Forbes.com, Barrons, IDG, RCR

Wireless and several other publications.

Authored research reports on the following: Long Term Evolution (LTE),

IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS), Managed Services, Global Radio

Frequency Spectrum, Global Cell sites, Mobile Backhaul, and other

wireless subjects.

Presented at the following events: Avrens International Backhaul

Conference, LTE Forum, PCIA, Fierce Wireless Backhaul Panel.

Prior to Tech Mahindra

• Verizon

• Huawei

• ABI Research

• Sprint Nextel

• Century Link

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