The Internet of Things, or IoT for short, is on everyone's lips. How strong is IoT in Munich? And how is this field developing here? Munich Startup went on a search for clues.
First, a definition of the term is important, as not everyone has the same understanding of the Internet of Things. In general, the term refers to the networking of devices, sensors, etc., via common interfaces. The basis of IoT is intelligent objects. These "smart objects" are objects whose original functionality has been enhanced with the help of built-in sensors, microprocessors, or network adapters.
We want to look at two areas of the Internet of Things that are equally important for Munich: Industry 4.0, but also the consumer sector with smart homes and wearables.
In Industry 4.0, smart objects are networked with "embedded systems." These are compact computers that are built into other technical systems (vehicles, production machines) and control various system functions. The term Industry 4.0 was strongly coined in Germany and describes the advanced automation and customization of production processes using IoT technologies. However, the term is virtually unknown abroad; here, it is more commonly referred to as IIot, or the Industrial Internet of Things.
In the B2C sector, digitalization is making its way into private life, be it through smart homes, connected cars, or wearables such as fitness trackers, smart watches, etc. Here, too, it is about networked devices that provide, in particular, gains in comfort, knowledge, and security, or energy savings.
And then, of course, there are the "smart city" applications that are revolutionizing businesses, government, and private life alike. One thing is undisputed: IoT will radically change our lives and economies.
More networked machines than people on Earth
Forecasts predict that there will be more than 20 billion connected devices by 2020. According to IT analyst firm Gartner, 5.5 million are being added every day. After all, hardly any modern device today is without an internet connection. In addition to wearables and smartphones, printers and webcams, as well as cars and toasters, are connected to the network.
Marcus Köhler, the founder of the Munich startup comfyLight is sure:
"IoT will impact our lives much more than the traditional internet, simply because it already connects more devices than there are people on Earth."
The disruptive changes of the IoT-driven "fourth industrial revolution" are affecting not only business models and corporate strategies, but also employee skills and society as a whole. At the same time, technology is sometimes lagging behind: While sensors are being manufactured more cheaply, power supplies and battery storage are still immature. The same applies to data transmission. Often, the bandwidth required to transmit high-resolution data is lacking. Or, data analysis is still lacking. Companies also lack skilled employees and young talent. This creates major challenges.
How German industry is dealing with IoT
Only a third of international executives believe they are able to lead their companies safely through the disruption brought about by Industry 4.0. This was the result of the global "Industry 4.0 Readiness Report by Deloitte. Another study by EY and Bitkom on "Industry 4.0: Status Quo and Perspectives" showed that in 2017, less than half of all companies in Germany (45 percent) were working with IoT solutions. This represents an increase of four percentage points compared to 2016. And another 43 percent are planning or discussing the use of IoT. But these results show that there is still considerable room for improvement.
Markus Reichenberger, as founder of neu.de an internet pioneer and today CEO of the company mint working in the field of digital business development, sums it up:
"The challenge is that products are suddenly being made 'intelligent' that were never considered. This means that medium-sized companies with high levels of technical know-how and little IT knowledge are being asked to develop an 'IoT strategy.' Many will fail at this—and new companies will emerge."
Dynamic Components-founder André Leimbrock adds that IoT can only bring about a transformation for the industry if the challenges mentioned above are mastered. Leimbrock says:
“IoT can only be successful if the use of the technologies is not an end in itself, but rather if new business models are found that increase or stabilize sales or save costs.”
The German fear
With all the possibilities, there are also many fears: Hackers could virtually break into children's rooms, cars, offices, or even paralyze entire production chains in factories. Therefore, a major challenge of the Internet of Things is data protection and data security – the An SZ report has intensively examined possible dangersGerman manufacturers are more cautious than others. According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC), many companies are reacting with uncertainty, and the demand for IoT security training has skyrocketed.
"IoT devices form the basis for complex applications and business processes, but are often vulnerable to attacks. Insecure configurations and a lack of control lead to numerous devices being compromised by malware. If companies continue to use the data from these devices in their processes, this can have fatal consequences.”
so Viktor Deleski, Head of PR & Marketing at AISEC. From the perspective of the research institute for IT security and cyber security, security and trust in devices is the key issue in IoT.
This security awareness is, at least in some areas, lacking among consumers; convenience, in particular, overrides security concerns. However, in many areas, German consumers are not yet as advanced as IoT providers would like them to be in the consumer sector – so far, connected objects have not been as widely adopted by B2C customers as hoped.
However, according to a 2017 study by Deloitte, a trend reversal is now emerging: the number of consumer IoT devices has increased noticeably. The most popular smart devices are currently fitness trackers and smart watches. How is this trend reversal coming about?
Tado-Founder and CPO Christian Deilmann in addition:
"The three major smart home platforms and voice assistants from Amazon, Google, and Apple are currently enjoying a great deal of attention. This is helping market preparation for smart applications."
Another challenge – especially in the smart home – is ensuring that the various devices work together seamlessly and effectively. This often doesn't work, as devices from different manufacturers don't share common standards. Early adopters take this with a sense of humor. For those who want to delve deeper, we recommend the hashtag #Internetofshit.
The benefits of IoT
Despite all the challenges, what benefits can IoT provide? Almost poetically, the Andreas Kunze, Founder and CEO of Konux:
“IoT brings light into the darkness.”
Kunzes Successful startup Konux offers artificial intelligence-supported sensor and analysis systems for predictive maintenance, works with Deutsche Bahn, among others – the startup raised millions, grows continuously and wins one award after another.
Specifically, the benefits of IoT, especially in the industrial sector, can lie in process optimization and efficiency gains. The potential for this is immense. Important here is not only continuous data collection to create a digital representation of industrial processes, but also targeted, intelligent data analysis. New business models can therefore also develop around data exchange.
The Munich startup ProGlove For example, with its wearables for industry, it focuses entirely on process optimization. This makes the company more efficient in logistics and production processes. Why exactly have they specialized in this area? CEO Thomas Kirchner explained:
"In industry, it's always about achieving high quality as efficiently as possible with as few resources as possible. We are convinced that this technological leap has the potential to improve efficiency, quality, and flexibility by a factor of 10."
Creating digital twins of factories
The Munich startup view In turn, it specializes in providing data for logistics and production processes. COO Philip Eller observes that more and more companies are recognizing the benefits of comprehensive data collection. The trend is toward creating digital twins of processes, factories, or even entire supply chains. However, many industrial companies are overwhelmed by the analysis and targeted use of the data. This is certainly also due to the difficulty of finding the right experts and, as a company, attracting precisely this talent.
“Therefore, the goal for all IoT companies must be to generate not only data, but also added value such as recommendations for action,”
so blik founder Philip Eller.
Munich: Germany's IoT stronghold
The consulting firm McKinsey forecasts a €23 billion revenue potential in the IoT sector for 2020. The study identifies Industry 4.0 and connected cars as the most important application areas in Germany. Munich is well positioned. The Bavarian capital has important international players such as Siemens or BMW, and IBM, Microsoft, Amazon or Google. At the same time, Munich has a strong research landscape (for example, there is a own competence center Industry 4.0 at the TUM School of Management), there is capital and an increasingly strong startup scene is establishing itself — but does that automatically mean that we are also Germany's IoT stronghold?
CEO Thomas Kirchner ProGlove says:
"All of Germany's successful IoT and industrial startups are located in Munich. There are comparatively few in Berlin: Munich is the center for both hardware and industrial customers."
How come? What's the specific advantage of Munich? Andreas Kunze, Konux founder, sees it very clearly:
“Munich is the strongest city in Germany when it comes to IoT because it is where users and providers meet.”
In fact, Munich is home to the successful young companies cited here, such as the sensor-driven LED lamps from ComfyLight, the intelligent heating control from tado, or the smart scanner glove from ProGlove, there are many other startups that are active worldwide. Tacterion, the startup for tactile sensor technology, Bragi with its smart earphones that display indoor 3D maps of NavVis, the iOS sockets known from DHDL from Parce, or the networked fitness equipment from eGym.
From an international perspective, it could be a great advantage for Europe — and especially for Germany and Munich — to focus particularly on the IIoT, or Industry 4.0. Hansi Huber, founder of PeaceTech Foundation, Germany’s special competencies lie here:
“We can and love to improve processes and create incremental innovation—all of which can be perfectly implemented here.”
Where the future is headed
Naturally, we also asked what the future holds for IoT in Germany and where it might be headed. Everyone agrees – we can't avoid more intelligent data collection and analysis when it comes to IoT.
With the help of artificial intelligence, the vast amounts of collected data can be analyzed in a targeted manner and tailored to customer requirements. Furthermore, the focus will be on making the data transmission processes from the process to the evaluator and back to the machine more intelligent.
In the consumer sector, it is also about making the user experience more pleasant, for example by Voice Search. Optimized interaction between individual devices is also important. Perhaps common standards can be developed that can be adopted worldwide?
One thing is certain: no matter what business models will emerge here in the future – we can remain excited!
