The affection of Internet of Things on business models

Industry leaders and experts all agree that the Internet of Things (IoT) will be the new big thing. The IoT will have an impact on almost everything in our daily routine. From infrastructures to smart houses, from clothing to smart cutleries – almost everything will be connected with the Internet.

But what affect will the Internet of Things have on business models? It´s obvious, that the World Wide Web has significantly influenced innovations and business models since the 1990s. However, the biggest breakthroughs in the economy, based on the Internet, have been made in the digital and the tech-industry – No other section has risen that fast.

Of course various industries improved as well, e.g. by implementing business intelligence or data mining. Nevertheless, their changes pale in comparison to the improvements in the tech-industry. Just look at schools or the public service sector in general (especially in Germany).

With the IoT the digital business model patterns will become more relevant for the physical industry and the separation between physical and digital industries will melt together even more. For instance the Internet of Things will improve transportation speeds by dynamically using data about the traffic situation provided by connected cars, or will reduce marginal costs for productions by gaining information about the consumer needs by communicating with smart fridges, smart houses, etc.

It´s clear that companies and whole industries need to prepare themselves for the Internet of Things, otherwise they will miss chances and lose touch in a forward-looking high technology sector. But how are companies, entrepreneurs and customers supposed to respond to the upcoming affection of the Internet of Things on business model innovations?

In cooperation with the Bosch Internet of Things Lab, the University of St. Gallen tried to answer the question. Besides the animation video, check out their exciting whitepaper “Business Model for the Internet of Things”.