As the industry becomes more connected, and the Internet of Things takes greater prominence in business, Simon Gillespie, General Manager of Corporate, Spark Digital, has one simple message for Kiwi organisations.
“Smart companies are using IoT to develop new services that create better value for their customers and their own business,” says Gillespie, speaking exclusively to Computerworld New Zealand following the company’s new Machine to Machine (M2M) agreement with ADT Security, the world’s largest electronic security firm.
As businesses across the country move to a more connected cloud-first world, Gillespie, commenting on the back of a wealth of industry experience, believes that what the earliest adopters realise is that the IoT isn’t actually about ‘things’, it is about providing a service.
“The ‘things’ are just a means to an end,” he explains, “the tools that help your business establish a direct, always-on connection between you, your customers and the rest of the world.
“Examples of industries that have done this very successfully are automotive, transportation and logistics, agribusiness and healthcare.
“By making the IoT central to your business and recognising that all ‘things’ become a service, you can optimise your assets, differentiate your products and services and transform your customer relationships.”
Responsible for the delivery of services to Spark Digital's corporate customers throughout New Zealand, Gillespie is accountable for assisting Kiwi businesses as they attempt to forge a competitive advantage in the market through expertise in technology and application services.
As a result, the former Dimension Data New Zealand CEO believes to that to become an IoT business, organisations need to focus on three aspects - launch, manage and monetise.
“We are developing partnerships and building ecosystems to provide all the systems required to launch, manage and monetise a successfully connected service business,” adds Gillespie, who replaced Steve Mills in the role in July 2014.
Smart Data
As the Internet of Things, and its revolutionary capabilities, continue to become synonymous with valued customer service, Gillespie believes that the smart data it provides is critical to quality control, cost efficiency and bottom line.
While Kiwi organisations of all shapes and sizes understand the value of smart data, arisen out of connectivity, Gillespie, speaking as a 30 year industry veteran, believes it remains an untapped resource.
According to the IDC New Zealand Big Data Heat Map in 2014, only 11% of Kiwi businesses are analysing their smart data, begging the question, are machines working hard enough?
No, not really, according to Gillespie, citing Spark Digital’s Connected Mobility offering as a way of unleashing the connected devices in organisations.
“As opposed to other local M2M providers Connected Mobility offers greater visibility through self-service, and real-time, rich diagnostics,” says Gillespie, explaining the benefits of the cloud-based, automation and management solution.