IoT Waikato November Meetup

At the last IoT Waikato Meetup of 2017 we heard about the challenges of scaling an IoT deployment with the example of connected farms, early stage IoT development, how to increase the chance of raising capital from investors for technology innovation initiatives and the importance of an IoT business strategy.

Greg Shephard kicked off the evening with an update on the Spark Connecting Farms pilot and then moved into the realities of scaling an IoT deployment of this size. We heard about the importance of considering the phases of maturity as organisations (and cities) move from single instances of data managed in isolation to leveraging data from across the business to inform business strategy, how various network connectivity options compare when it comes to real-time data and power usage, and saw a coverage map of the existing Spark network in the Waikato.

Greg ended with lessons learnt and understandings from his experience to date with the Spark pilot including the importance of funding across all components of the IoT stack, the fast paced development of the LoRaWAN device eco-system, and that collective collaboration is critical.

Kotahinet founder Vikram Kumar shared some valuable lessons and insights from several IoT initiatives the company has deployed. Projects included several conservation initiatives in New Zealand as well as work with the primary industries both here and overseas. We were all wanting to reach for a connected device when he announced that the Kotahinet network was already up and running in an area of Hamilton.

Vikram candidly spoke about both successful and unsuccessful projects and advised those looking at developing IoT products to use an IoT Decision Framework developed by Daniel Elizalde. The Framework prompts Product Managers to ask the right questions and to consult widely.

We then heard from Julian So of Enterprise Angels who talked about what investors are looking for when investing in technology innovation initiatives and how to increase the chances of raising capital. Julian discussed investments that Enterprise Angels had made to date including ideas that perhaps not everyone would consider innovative but that have been well received by the market, the process involved in evaluating a pitch and common themes that will turn investors off. 

Our last speaker of the evening dialled in from Australia to talk about the importance of shaping an IoT business strategy. David Goad is a Lecturer at the University of Sydney Business School and in 2017 co-authored a book titled “Thinking of...The Internet of Things from the Director's Perspective? Ask the Smart Questions”. David spoke about the 4th industrial revolution, how IoT is not IT and the reality that delivering IoT can be complex. Through several case studies and some insights about the future David discussed the importance of an IoT business strategy and organisations considering the impact of initiatives on stakeholders as business models are changing.

IoT Waikato is a group for innovators, thought leaders and organisations interested in developing the Internet of Things (IoT) and digital technology in the Waikato.

An opportunity to get together, share, collaborate, contribute and co-create, or just come along and find out what is happening with the IoT and other digital technology and what it means or could mean for the Waikato.

IoT Waikato Meetups are held monthly, to join visit www.meetup.com/IoTWaikato.

You can also follow @IoTWaikato on Twitter.