If you can put a significant cost on a problem that affects a significant amount of people then you might have a real market. The next wave of the Internet is being called the Internet of Things (IoT) or the Industrial Internet. Billions are being spent on acquisitions to build IoT capability, billions are being spent by VCs to take a position but is it a real market?
Here are 10 real problems with a real cost that the IoT type solution is solving:
- As the owner of Europe’s largest aquarium I need to automate the measurement of physical and chemical parameters in the tanks, and improve the reliability and frequency of the data collected.
- As the leader of a major city I want to measure parking availability and transform congestion.
- As the owner of a global manufacturer I want to control CO2 emissions from my factories.
- As a the CEO of a major Health Group I want to communicate patient records in data/voice/video between ambulances and my hospitals in real time.
- As the chairman of a major nuclear power plant, I want to understand the radiation levels of my plant automatically, and communicate using wireless mesh technology all of the data back to my command and control system.
- As the owner of a national refinery, I want to continuously monitor the security of my 20 mile pipeline through video and data feeds in real time.
- As a leading City Fire Chief, I want my fire fighters to be able to communicate with each other, with the Incident Commander and the control center, no matter the intensity of the conditions.
- As the owner of a global mining business, I need a safety system to monitor and support underground mining operations.
- As an innovative local government leader, I want to issue timely traffic warnings electronically to the public accommodating the need for the relevant approvals.
- As a healthcare provider, I want to collect health data in real time and then use advanced predictive analytics techniques to uncover what will happen next.
The above are real problems being solved by real companies and not just by the big guys but almost always involving several parties collaborating to deliver compelling outcomes. Check out Edge Velocity and Sine-Wave.
