Business Strategy and Innovation Framework
The recommended approach is first to include IIoT as an item on executive-level agendas . The move to adopt IIoT technologies is a CxO-driven initiative , not merely another IT or product development project . It will significantly transform the nature of the business — either by improving operational processes by means of new insights , by enabling new business models based on real-time data , or by delivering new customer experiences and engagement models through connected devices and services .
The first questions to answer are , ‘ How compelling to our business is the IIoT hype ? Is this really the single most important disruptive force set to change our business in the coming years ? Or is it just one of several change areas , or something that ’ s not relevant to our business at all ?’
In a large , highly diversified organization , the answer to these questions may differ from one business segment to the next . What ’ s more , it may not relate explicitly to the IIoT . For an automotive OEM , the question might instead be , ‘ How important will the connected vehicle be to me , and when will it impact my business ?’ An industrial equipment company looking to design new products with integrated services might ask , ‘ What is the strategic importance of connected devices in the context of our overall servitization strategy ?’ Some CEOs might prefer to hire a management consultancy firm to answer these questions , while others will decide this together with their inner management circle based on internal business knowledge and experience .
Many large organizations will already have corporate strategy and portfolio management processes in place , alongside different types of CoEs and shared IT platforms . It is important to stress the articulation for questions outlined above , and the answers to these questions . This will form a solid basis from which the management team can derive a vision , goals , and guiding principles for its IIoT activities .
4.2 SYSTEMATIC MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL IOT PORTFOLIO
A particularly beneficial course of action involves implementing frameworks and processes for tracking IIoT projects from conception through to live operations , including validation of results , to ascertain whether individual IIoT projects have achieved what they set out to achieve .
This kind of tracking should ideally include portfolio management and progress tracking , and budget tracking and overall roadmap . We discuss these two elements in turn .
4.2.1 PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT AND PROGRESS TRACKING
Accurate IIoT project portfolio tracking is needed to support sales and marketing activities , and for overall business management . It is also an important input for corporate budget planning and iterative refinements of corporate strategy .
As project portfolios and timelines are subject to updates and refinement as organizations discover barriers or restrictions to deployment , it is essential that this type of information make its way to some kind of corporate overview dashboard .
The best way to achieve oversight capability is by establishing a traditional ‘ program office ,’ supported by both technical experts ( embedded in the wider business ) and dedicated business analysts . One of its tasks is to ensure that IIoT initiatives are refined and rescheduled when
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