Internet of Things : How vendors can use IoT to achieve value creation

Abstract: The IoT (Internet of Things) is developing rapidly, as a result of that, the number of connected devices in Sweden has doubled every year. According to big companies like Ericsson, the estimated number of connected devices worldwide will be 50 billion in 2020. IoT, by itself, may be a relatively simple concept of connected devices and machines, but its implications are profound. For companies in Sweden which offer a broad range of non-connected tools and products, it is becoming increasingly important to adapt their products to IoT; adherence to IoT will warrant new developments which offer value-added services such as monitoring and remote control, etc. The primary research method employed for this thesis is a case study at a vendor company who today offers their customers non-connected tools. To be able to demonstrate the concept of IoT enhanced tools we create a conceptual framework and a prototype, which we present to our interviewees and use as a starting point for qualitative interviews. In this thesis, we want to know how vendors could benefit themselves by the use of IoT in their businesses. We formulated some research questions, being, based on a vendor’s perspective: why do they (vendors) need connected products; how can such products be made marketable to the customer; and what are the predicted benefits of IoT-connected products for the customers? The case study brings to light some issues dealing with the business model, service providing, data display and data security which every company should take into consideration before implementing IoT.