Value Creation in the Era of Smart, Connected Products

To avoid drowning in a deluge of indecipherable data, CEOs need to take the time to identify key criteria and develop a dashboard that will present the most-needed data in a meaningful way, asserted Jay Pittas, president and CEO of Remy International.

“Most processes and applications have a handful of critical parameters that define what you’re doing well or not doing well,” he pointed out. “So you have to put some smarts into what you watch. Otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed.”

However, the data you need now may not be the same data you’ll need tomorrow if your company should decide to pursue the new opportunities and markets that the IoT offers. “I think you’ve got to start with the business side first,” said Microsoft Business Solutions’ Colin Masson. “It’s understanding what it is, in your product or your portfolio, that you can turn into a service. Is your business system flexible enough for you to turn that into a product service offering; and if so, how do you price it?”

The exciting part of this opportunity is that it’s another way to enhance business models and the value proposition—and it’s not just for big companies,” agreed Hahn. “Everybody’s got a chance to play further down the economic ecosystem of the business [each is] in. It’s about understanding that economic model, that market map and figuring out how to use the tools you have to collect that
value. It’s a pretty exciting time.”