You Sold Your First 1,000 Devices? Now What?

You Sold Your First 1,000 Devices? Now What? September 09, 2015 MobileCON, CTIA 2015

Syed Zaeem Hosain (“Z”), CTO, Aeris Communications, Inc. [email protected] | @aerisCTO

2 © 2015 Aeris Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

§  Who is Aeris

§  The “Growth Stall”

§  IoT Products Life-Cycle

§  A Look Into The Future

Topics


About Aeris Overview

Company:

•  M2M / IoT services

•  HQ in Silicon Valley, CA

•  Services since mid-1990’s

Our Customers:

•  Enterprises deploying M2M

•  Connectivity to / from Devices

•  Analytics à business actions

Solutions

•  Optimized M2M / IoT platform

•  Connectivity to Application

enablement

•  Neo™ – Rapid M2M deployment

The Numbers:

•  Global M2M / IoT services,

CDMA, GSM, and LTE

•  99.995% infrastructure reliability

•  350 Million+ messages per day


§  Multi-technology services for M2M / IoT

Aeris Markets & Services Global solution

Markets •  Healthcare

•  Telematics

•  Consumer Auto

•  Monitoring & Control

•  Point of Sale

•  Utilities

Platform •  Application enablement •  Connectivity enablement

•  Provisioning / Activation •  Real-time information •  Alerts & alarms •  Billing & reporting •  Acct-level NOC support

•  Device/IP session control •  Data & voice connectivity

Cellular •  Global services

•  500+ carriers

•  2G / 3G CDMA & GSM

•  4G LTE


The Aeris IoT Platform Full solution stack for M2M and IoT applications


§  Many companies “stall” after deploying X units … –  “X”: hundreds to a few thousand devices … –  … occasionally, tens of thousands of devices

§  Why? … outcome is not totally surprising –  Initial systems & processes reaching capacity –  Cost of operation is higher than expected –  Smaller companies & startups are resource-constrained –  Learning from mistakes taking time & effort to resolve –  Generating end-user bills & invoices at scale isn’t easy

§  Key Issue –  Planning for growth was secondary to getting product launched!

The “Growth Stall” “We will cross that bridge when we get to it”


IoT Products Life Cycle Choices for successful applications

EOL

•  Plan up-front •  Remove units •  Re-use #’s

Operate

•  Manage units •  Bill customers •  Update app

Scale

•  Manufacture •  Provision •  Test (on-air)

Develop

•  Buy vs. Build •  Certification •  Select network

à Successful applications plan for entire life-cycle


Development / Deployment Planning for scale is key to growth

Bill Analyze Operate Install Make Design

à Successful applications plan for growth …

… as early as possible!


Designing the IoT Application What are the design factors that need to be considered?


Design Factors to Consider Details could be critical to product success

•  Does the device need to work for long periods? •  How large a battery might it need? Rechargeable? Power •  What sensors are available for the measured data? •  Is the cost of the sensor(s) sufficiently low? Sensors •  Where is the data being sent from? Home? Outside? •  Is the technology / transport appropriate for the use-cases? Connectivity •  Do the product components require special miniaturization? •  What impact does this have on design and manufacturing? Size •  Is the device protected from being compromised? •  Is the application purpose life-threatening if compromised? Security •  Where is the data being sent and to whom? •  Who has access to the data (device, transport, destination)? Privacy •  Is the data transient or stored for later access and analysis? •  What data analytics support is needed? Analytics •  What features are needed for deployment? •  Can the software and features be updated later / remotely? Features


STAND-ALONE Certified communications equipment

EMBEDDED MODEM Pre-certified carrier cards

MODULE Pre-certified radio modules

CHIPSET Cellular radios and components

TIME TO MARKET

Cellular Hardware Design Time to Market and Level of Integration depends on choice of radio


Making the Devices What are the manufacturing factors that need to be considered


Manufacturing Factors to Consider Details could be critical to scaling growth

• Can the manufacturer assist with design issues? • Do they have engineering skills to assist on “designing for manufacturability”? Good Partners • Does size reduction drive component costs too high? • Are there multiple sources for the components? Component Cost • Does the production process require new technology? • Does the new technology impact the yield too much? Technology • Will the design require special manufacturing equipment? • Does the device form-factor require unusual “touch”? Form-Factors • If product is successful, can the manufacturer scale production rapidly? • Will production scaling needs impact quality? Scaling • Are there materials in the device that require complex supply chains? • What impact does this have on production times and cost? Materials • Does the manufacturing process yield good product quality? • Is the manufacturer able to enhance the yield over time? Yield • Can test failures be reworked with sufficient quality? • Will field failures be easily repairable by the manufacturer? Rework • Are there any unique test requirements for the device? • Will the testing catch real-world use case faults? Testing


Installs Are Challenging OEM installations generally easier – controlled at factory

Installation outsourcing services are available •  If not installed by the end-user

Requires documentation and training •  Mistakes by installers are tough to debug

Post-installation end-to-end testing is key •  KISS … “push test button” à “green light” à done!

Beware inaccessible devices •  Leads to high cost of replacement and repair


Managing Operational Reliability & Scale OEM installations generally easier – controlled at factory

Redundancy required for growth •  For connectivity, and application data servers

Devices in the field may retry excessively •  Accurate timed transmissions can overwhelm servers

24 / 7 system uptime is essential •  Devices may expect timely responses

Automation is key to scaling growth •  Manually provisioning large volumes not possible


PARTNER Outsource: off-the-shelf solutions

and/or design services

BUY Incorporate pre-certified embedded components

BUILD Design from the ground up

Buy vs. Build … Data & Systems Find the right partners when resource constrained


Receiving & Analyzing the Data Big Data analytics and services for scaling

Rapid analysis of data often required •  Near real-time analysis and actions may be essential

Actions are end-purposes of applications •  Filtering / processing data at servers common today

Transport & processing costs may become high •  Filter / process “at the edge” – with configurable devices

Data analytics for alerts and actions •  Careful of automated responses – provide oversight


Billing End-Users Key to generate and scale revenue

Timely invoicing critical for funding growth •  Common growth stall issue for many companies

Scaling units in billing systems is critical •  Existing systems may not be adequate for M2M / IoT

Automation of billing functions is key •  Service providers can provide sufficient information

Outsourcing billing services available •  Enables companies to manage growth


§  2010: IBM (describing their Rational software design) –  “A World with 1 Trillion Connected Devices” by 2015

§  2011: Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg –  “50 Billion Connected Devices” by 2020

§  2013: ABI Research report –  “30 Billion” by 2020

§  2013: Morgan Stanley report –  “75 Billion Devices Connected … IoT” by 2020

§  2014: Intel infographic –  “31 billion devices connected to Internet” by 2020

§  2014: ABI Research report –  “41 billion active wireless connected devices” by 2020

The Predictions Are Staggering Numbers over the years remains high

Source: Intel


Impact of One of the Predictions Data growth leading to storage and processing concerns

Cellular M2M / IoT data increasing •  M2M devices average: 2 MBytes / month

•  USA: 15 M devices (8% of all M2M): 30 TBytes / month

With 50 Billion IoT devices by 2020 •  Number of cellular devices (at 5%): 2.5 Billion

•  Total data (at 4 MBytes / month) : 10,000,000 TBytes /

month Even with more conservative estimates

•  Transmissions & data haystacks are enormous

•  à greater emphasis on “processing at the edge”


§  Faster pace than cellphones … > 4X in five years

Total Cellular M2M Connections World-wide growth in number of units

Source: Harbor Research, 2013


Cellular M2M Device & Traffic Growth

Device Type Mobile Devices, 2013-2018 CAGR

Mobile Data Traffic, 2013-2018 CAGR

Smartphone 18% 63%

Tablet 41% 87%

Laptop 13% 30%

M2M Module 43% 113%

Source: Cisco VNI Mobile 2014


Summary Exciting times ahead

Avoiding the “Growth Stall” is possible •  Plan before systems get max’ed – tougher when busy

Automate everything •  Processes, systems, support … “no hands” approach

M2M and IoT is the next Big Thing •  Even conservative projections are enormous

Global industry and market •  Applications are quite similar everywhere

Thank you!

[email protected]

§  +1 (408) 557-1905, twitter: @AerisCTO, blog: www.aeris.com/blog