Advice for startups : in iot people shouldn’t think only about founding, they should have a clear vision

IoTor Internet of Things, as a domain, is expected to replace several mid-tier jobs and improve efficiency across sectors. Entrepreneur India interacted with the newly appointedCEO of Reliance Group’s IoT business- Juergen Hase, on the market opportunity of this sector and the early adoption methods of thistechnology. Hase, a telecom veteran, came onboard earlier this year at Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

Where is India today when it comes to adopting IoT?

India has a huge opportunity to be one of the leading countries of IoT in the coming years, because it already has most of the tools and resources on-board. It isn’t necessary to pass all the learning curves others have done. India can implement best in class IoT services directly. This makes it much smarter when it comes to going live with new IoT services.

On the other side, the decision-makers are open for new services and applications, including a mind shift in business modelling, which is a must for IoT. Last, but not the least, there are many well-educated people in India who like technology and who want to participate in this digital transforming of the world.

Who could be the possible adopters of this technology?

There will be many adopters, because to win the game of IoT, means to orchestrate the eco-system. It’s never a vendor-customer relationship; it is much more than that. All layers and players will have a significant role, starting from connectivity, via service layer, application layer, developer tools, and coming to vertical expertise including analytics etc. So, it only works if all adapt to IoT. But somebody has to offer all of it together to the customers and I am sure that, service providers like us, will be able to make it happen, smart and secure, for them.

Could government organizations be potential customers/adopters of this technology?

Yes, and you can see that the Indian government has already done a great job. They have founded and supported Smart Cities projects and start up companies in a way I have never seen before. For me the government is on the correct path to make the new India all digital.

According to you, what are the market opportunities for this technology in India?

I have worked in many countries around the world in the arena of IoT in the last 10 years, but I have never before seen such a high potential of opportunities like here in India. The enterprise customers are willing to implement IoT, because they can see the huge advantages attached to it. This also is leading them to be flexible and execute the technology at a much faster rate, , faster than many others are doing it worldwide. You will find many opportunities per segment like Energy, transport & logistics, healthcare, industrial automation, automotive and consumer driven verticals like wearables etc., but that’s only one side of the coin! IoT is growing with ideas, ideas which are coming from all of us and coming from the crowd. Here I see the real potential. This is the power for IoT made by India.

What’s your advice for startups venturing into this space?

My lessons learnt from the last few months, is that especially in IoT people shouldn’t think only about founding, they should have a clear vision where they want to be in 3 or 5 or 10 years. While you need to be flexible on one hand, on the other hand, you have to be very upright about the execution of the plans that you have. At the end, you need something you can sell; a service, a product or whatever, and this has to be as smart and simple as possible, for the potential customers. Never forget customer experience, as that is the base of any business if it wants to survive and triumph.