Internetmagazine: Internet of Things is also here here on the Web Buzzword number 1. If one tries to grasp this concept, one finds a myriad of definitions. It begins with RFID technology in packaging and does not end with 3D printing as a print-on-demand service. What does the Internet mean to you?
How to define "Internet of Things"?
Rafi Haladjian: Internet of Things is a false term, but now that he is there, it does not matter what he means. You should not stop with definitions. Essentially, it means that things are no longer purely virtual behind a screen, but are connected with real products. We go out of the goldfish into the real world.
Internet Magazin: The new start-ups, which are in the area of the Internet of Things, face completely new challenges: Suddenly there are manufacturing, trade, distribution channels, support and so on. How does the startup culture change? Does it need a new type of founder?
Rafi Haladjian: Maybe. First, you need a lot of money. For a start-up of 20,000 euros, a company needs at least 2 million on the Internet of Things. Many startups have a website or good apps and want to connect now with networked products. That the production phase lasts 18 months, they have not on the screen. It is expensive, it takes a long time, and mistakes are made. In the early days of the internet, there were many websites with good ideas but poor implementation. Until it became a good product, there were many improvements. But now it takes 18 months and costs 2 million euros!
Internet Magazine: How will the Internet of Things Change the Traditional Industry?
Rafi Haladjian: It changes the industry fundamentally. If you are today a mattress manufacturer, you take materials, make your mattress, put it in the store and promises in the advertising that you sleep well with this mattress. But if you pack sensors into the mattress and measure the sleep every day, it changes the angle of view. Now you do not sell a mattress anymore, but good sleep.
One becomes from the mattress manufacturer to the Schlafexperten. The industry will evolve from commodity producers to useful experts. And since the industry is now connected with the customer 24 hours a day, the relationship with him is much closer. Much closer than with websites and apps or earlier with free service phone numbers or even earlier with coupons from magazines. And the relationship is directly from the customer to the manufacturer - no intermediary, no intermediate trade
Internet Magazine: So you do not produce products anymore, but meet needs?
Rafi Haladjian: You create experiences and benefits. And benefit is the benchmark on which manufacturers are measured. I do not just promise good sleep, I prove it is so, every day. I go into a close relationship with the customer. I measure his sleep, I lie with him in bed. As a manufacturer, I am committed to keeping my promise. Companies that are not going to take this step will find it hard to sell products in the future.
Internet Magazine: Has Industry Seen That?
Rafi Haladjian: In parts. Marketing departments see the trend but have problems to convince management of this fundamental strategic change.
Internet Magazine: There is Google Glass, the Samsung Smart Watch, soon the mattress with sensors. Is there a living area that will not be collected, processed and poured into the large information flow in the future?
Rafi Haladjian: In principle no. Every industry sector will have to consider how to intensify its customer relationship. Currently this happens through websites, in the future over networked products. This applies to toothbrushes, mattresses or telephones alike.
Internet Magazine: Will the customer accept this in times of NSA surveillance discussions?
Rafi Haladjian: The whole Big Brother discussion comes from the fact that companies and institutions have information that you do not have. It is therefore about obtaining sovereignty over his data. The normal user must therefore get the tools to get this information as well. So there's no question of capturing less data. It is about the transparency of the collected data. Only who knows what is recorded about him can also decide which data he wants to have recorded and which is not.
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