The Internet of Things (IoT) is rapidly emerging as a powerful culmination of technology requiring strategic alliances. It involves applying internet-connected chips, wireless communication, and computing power to everyday items such as thermostats and light bulbs. Now just about every manufactured product, including large industrial machines and tiny medical devices, can be part of IoT. The world is now evolving rapidly due the advances these machines are making. Intel is one of the most powerful companies pushing this trend forward. Intel created strong alliances for this purpose.
As one of the largest global producer of semiconductors, Intel leads the wave of IoT. In fact, they created their own solutions alliance with thousands of corporate members – Intel IoT Solutions Alliance. In fact, they created their own solutions alliance with thousands of corporate members. Some of the main manufacturing partners include: Dell, Kontron Computers, Beckhoff, HPC Systems, Thomas-Krenn and Xenon Systems. The goal is to create the most innovative products that include Intel chips and are connected to the Internet. Members come from every major economy in the entire world.
In only a few years, the alliance has developed over 6,000 solutions in everything from retail to health care to transportation to military to hardware devices. For trains, that means internet connected panels, motors and sensors. Planes also have products with internet-connected panels, engines, motherboards and sensory devices. There are Intel chips in new Point of Sale (POS) readers and registers for retail. There are also Intel chips in MRI units, Ultrasound machines and a range of diagnostic devices. All of these devices are also connected to servers and storage with Intel semiconductors that are specially designed to read and interpret the data, making the solution seamless. All of these advanced solutions evolved from the Intel alliances.
Individual Ecosystem IoT Alliances:
- With Verizon, Intel created alliances with over 10 different universities
- Intel created alliances with Google for cloud computing
- Intel and Visa formed an alliance for mobile commerce.
- Arrow and Avnet have an alliance with Intel for distribution of solutions
Intel realized that they could not serve all the needs of the IoT marketplace. They have gone so far as to create alliances with some of their competitors to grow the marketplace. IoT total solutions require alliances. Small and large companies in IoT should follow the steps of Intel.