IoT is all about seeing the needs from the customers eyes

Understanding customer needs and being able to address them in a simple yet effective way is applicable for most things. However, when it comes to IoT, and the possibilities of IoT, it really stresses this point. This is what Gerhard Loots, who heads up the consumer and enterprise IoT division at Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications provider had to say about their IoT journey and business, and how to work with customers to understand their needs and help them in the most efficient way.

What to do with IoT?

About five years ago, Telstra recognized the potential impact IoT would have on the world. The company saw that a sea change was coming for the role of the telecommunications provider and that if it didn’t want to be left behind, it would need to adapt well beyond just providing connectivity and SIM cards. The company committed itself to transform from a telecom provider to a data management provider. This meant the development of new software, operating systems, and data and device management.

Once Telstra decided they wanted to play a key role in reshaping the way society lived and worked, they knew they would have to go all in on IoT. The first step was building competency and setting up the right relationships.

Getting started

Telstra started their IoT journey by identifying common needs across many industries, or horizontal needs as sometimes referred to. The company’s research revealed that Australian companies lost roughly $4.3 billion AUD in misplaced assets each year.

Asset tracking proved a wise starting point, as it was a challenge that affected every industry from manufacturing to utilities and offices. Showing a willingness and drive to develop IoT solutions, and more importantly, work and learn, side-by-side with a customer established Telstra as a partner that wanted to be much more than a SIM card provider. Telstra created relevancy for themselves by demonstrating they were able to provide real solutions to help businesses be more efficient.

"And it was a perfect match between customer need and what our technology could help solve" Gerhard says. With Narrowband IoT we could offer coverage where it was previously difficult. Battery capacity was no longer an isssue. And with chipset prices at such a competitive level Telstra had what they needed to address the problem.

Land and expand

Once Telstra demonstrated that they were an experienced partner who was not just able, but motivated, to work with enterprises and agencies, they investigated ways to expand their portfolio. Starting with their asset tracking solution, Gerhard says, "if you add in a bit of telematics (information from sensors, like temperature or pressure) capabilities, your technology is then able to help supply chain and logistics companies." And from there, Telstra realized that it can go anywhere the water flows.

Hence, utilities came next, and the company went to work to help the Australian water industry reduce the 20% loss of the precious resource that occurs between the dam and tap.

Gerhard admits that Telstra knew nothing about water management when they first sat down to discuss the possibilities with prospects. However, the passion to learn was apparent and helped differentiate Telstra in wanting to understand the utility customers challenges and work their way backwards from there to how IoT could help solve for these challenges.

5G: Accelerating the future

IoT is an available technology today and being developed at scale globally. When asking Gerhard what he sees he role of 5G is at is being rolled out he broke it down to three items:

●     Low latency - Being able to remotely operate a device from hundreds of miles away as if you were standing next to it. It will enable incredible use cases, especially with robotics.

●     Massive capacity - 3G and 4G networks were designed for voice. 5G was designed with machine-to-machine communications in mind and can therefore accommodate an immense volume of devices with ease, ensuring better reliability.

●     Bandwidth - Building a network that can transmit a high volume of data from devices like HD video cameras to a server without choking the network is where 5G’s benefits will really make an impact. Previous generations required the laying of trenches and fiber, resulting in huge capital investments. With 5G, we can reduce the capital investments up to 90% for some use cases.

To hear the full story, including Gerhard's advice on what's the one thing to double down on from the outset, the next big thing in IoT the coming years and more, tune in to this episode of the Talking IoT with Ericsson.