Daniel Elizalde hosted Soledad Alborno, Jessica Groopman, and Teresa Tung last night at Ericsson D-Fifteen in Santa Clara, CA. The experts and practitioners on AI and ML, this all-women (yay!) panel discussed “Unlocking the Value: ML and IoT.” The exchange, as expected, was very informative and thought-provoking. While a range of topics was covered, here are three things that stood out for me.
1) Business Outcome: Technologists find it easy to dive into the nitty-gritty of the technical specs and the fascinating world of sensors and devices. Having a clearly defined, agreed-upon “business outcome” is critical for the overall success of the IoT initiatives. Calling it a “product mindset,” Teresa articulated that one must have a business problem to solve post the data-collection. Efforts throwing technology without a clear business objective usually do not deliver optimal results.
2) IoT is an Ecosystem Play: Daniel called out that customers demand an integrated solution. However, there is inherent complexity in manufacturing, deploying, implementing, collecting, and processing required for a single player. Some have tried, nonetheless, but have not been very successful. As such, a tighter integration model, a healthy ecosystem is required to deliver value to the Customer. Jessica stated that IoT and other heterogeneous technologies (such as Blockchain) need multiple players to work together for an excellent end-to-end solution.”It takes a village,” she said with agreement from the entire panel.
3) Data Security: As sensors get integrated into everyday products, a vast amount of data gets collected. Companies making simple household devices such as garage door openers are suddenly able to collect and store this data. “Having a Data Strategy from the get-go is critical,” said Soledad. “Collect only the data that you need,” said Jessica, “and stay away from the mentality to collect everything.”
As an increasing number of devices get connected, the onus of protecting and inquiring about data lies with the consumers as well. What is collected, where and how is it stored, who has access to it, and why, are questions users should ask and find out for the devices they currently use or intend to purchase.
Thank you, Daniel, and the panel for an excellent exchange.
PS: The D-Fifteen name is a tribute to Ericsson founder Lars-Magnus Ericsson, his wife Hilda, and their partner Carl Johan Andersson, who created the company’s first products in a kitchen workshop at Drottninggatan 15 in Stockholm. Read more.
