The 5 ecosystem partners you need. provides an end-to-end platform to device (“thing”) manufacturers, app developers, carriers and enterprises to deliver Internet of Things (IoT) solutions

1. IoT Forum 2015 | March 11-12, 2015 | Cambridge (UK)
The Ecosystem Partners You Need
To Build A Successful IoT Business
PHANI PANDRANGI
CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER

2. First – an overview of IoT
solution types
Then – decisions you make
while building your IoT solution
and business
Finally – key ecosystem
partners you need to be
successful
This Session

3. @phanipandrangi
About me
phani@kii.com
Chief Product Officer
18 Years In Product Management & Development
San Francisco Bay Area
UC Berkeley (MBA), Oregon State (MS Comp Sci)

4. Founded in 2007 after MBO
from Nokia
HQ in Tokyo with offices in
Silicon Valley, China,
Taiwan, Hong Kong, Spain
Extensive ecosystem
partners in Asia and beyond
Who is Kii?
provides an end-to-end platform to device (“thing”)
manufacturers, app developers, carriers and enterprises to
deliver Internet of Things (IoT) solutions

5. Typical IoT Solution
Thing
Service
App
A device with
sensors, connectivity
etc.
Interface to users
Service backing the
solution
Wi-Fi Camera
Cloud DVR
Camera App
Example

6. Smart Devices,
Services And Apps
Open Smart Device
Platforms
Interoperable Smart
Devices
1 2 3
Types of IoT Solutions

7. Smart Devices,
Services And Apps
1
Device manufacturer
creates smart,
connected things
and solutions.
b
a
c

8. Device manufacturer
opens APIs of the
device to enable 3rd
party apps and
services
Open Smart Device
Platforms
2
Third party app or service developer
1. Get device kit for the
open device
2. Use device APIs along
with other Kii APIs
3. Create apps and
services
a

9. Device manufacturer
opens APIs of the
device to enable 3rd
party apps and
services
Open Smart Device
Platforms
2
Third party
app or
service
developer
1. Device manufacturer
exposes data collected
thru devices to third
parties
2. Third parties use APIs to
consume data
b
APIs to
expose
device data
… …

10. Interoperable Smart
Device
3
Device manufacturer
wants to smart
devices and services
that can interoperate
with other devices
and their services
a
b
Interoperability via Cloud
Interoperability
logic in the
cloud as
server
extension
Proximal Interoperability
Gateway/Hub
Interoperability
Logic

11. • Semiconductor
• ODM/EMS
• Operating
System
• Standards
• Connectivity
• Platform
• Protocols
• Data Center
• Standards
• Operating
System
• App Store
• App Developers
Each of these has
an impact on the
overall success of
the IoT solution …
Decisions … Decisions …
…
:
: … and this is all
just in the building
phase!
There’s more …

12. More Decisions …
YourIoTSolution
Go To Market
Monetization
• Is there a channel?
• Direct sales?
• Put on Kickstarter and pray?
• Retail? Wholesale?
• OEM?
• Geographical approaches?
• Device priced or free?
• Subscription or one-time?
• How to get subscribers?
• Geographical approaches?

13. Ecosystem Partner # 1
Platform

14. Libraries or agents that run in firmware to establish bi-
directional communication between the device and the cloud
Cloud enable
your devices
Device Management Services help you manage the
device configuration, updates and firmware remotely
Remotely
manage device
deployments
Create services
and apps for your
devices
Backend Services help you create scalable, performant,
cloud backed mobile/web apps for your device use cases
Analyze and
Optimize device
services
Analytics and Optimization Services help you analyze
and optimize your device based services
1
2
3
4
What You Need From The Platform

15. Send Data & Events
Receive Config
Receive Notifications
Onboarding
Agents
Analytics
KPIs
A/B Testing
Dashboards
Analytics
Device Management User Management
Data Management
Push Notifications
Geo Locations
Server Extensions
Core
Backend
APIs Portal
Remote
Device
Management
Backend
Management
Analytics &
Dashboards
An Example Of An IoT Platform

16. Platform Characteristics
Any Type of
Deployment
Any Hardware/Firmware
 Public Cloud
 Dedicated Cloud
 Private Cloud
 Any Chip
 Any OS
RTOS
Any Use Case
 Direct/Paired/Gatewa
y connect devices
 Open Platform
 Interoperability
Scales
 Few devices to
millions
Open
 Integrates with
other
services/things

17. Ecosystem Partner # 2
Manufacturing

18. You can design and build
the solution but …
Know someone here?
Who will
manufacture the
prototype units?
Who’s will
manufacture the
10M production
units of your
device?

19. Find a good Prototyping and Mass
Production partner – or let other
partners help you connect
Platform partners with ecosystem (like Kii) – or your
incubator/accelerator can potentially help.

20. Ecosystem Partner # 3
Distribution

21. • Who’s your target user?
• Who they have existing
subscription accounts with?
• Can your IoT solution be sold
thru that channel?
For many IoT scenarios (esp. Smart
Home, Smart Living etc.):
The ISP or Carrier of your target
audience could be a great channel

22. Advantages of having
carrier/ISP as a distribution
partner for your IoT solution
…
• Existing subscriptions, user base
• Recurring revenue
• Subscribers used to add-on services
• Multiple distribution channels – online, retail
etc.
• Vested interest in succeeding (revenue)

23. Ecosystem Partner # 4
Connectivity

24. Depending on the IoT scenario,
the connectivity partner is the
ISP or Carrier again, however
think about:
• Global Connectivity (US, JP, EU, India
etc.)
• Unified Connectivity (2G/3G/Wi-Fi/Low
Power Radio etc.)
• SIM activation and monitoring across
networks

25. Ecosystem Partner # 5
Developers

26. • What services does your solution
expose?
• Who consumes those services?
What do these 3rd party developers
build?
• How do these 3rd party developers
benefit?
• Is there a clear monetization model
for them?
• How does your IoT solution benefit
from 3rd party apps and services built
on top of it ? YourIoTSolution
Services
3rd Party
Apps
3rd Party
Services

27. YourIoTSolution
Services
3rd Party
Apps
3rd Party
Services
• Hub-app extensions
• Interoperability apps
• Cloud based integration logic
• IFTTT recipes etc.
• Great UX that you might not
have thought about
:
:
 Better adoption and
engagement for your
product
 Better monetization

28. Build
Operate
Distribute
AmplifyEcosystem
Partner # 1
Platform
Ecosystem
Partner # 3
Distribution
Ecosystem
Partner # 4
Connectivity
Ecosystem
Partner # 1
Platform
Ecosystem
Partner # 5
Developers
Ecosystem
Partner # 2
Manufacturing
Your Solution & The Key Partners

29. Happy To Entertain Your Curiosity …
@phanipandrangiphani@kii.com
Thank you! Questions?