#70 Bill Johnson: 3 Ways IoT Companies Should Optimize Their Alliance Ecosystem

The IoT world expands exponentially almost daily. Companies are rapidly innovating and combining their technologies together to deliver on increasing customer expectations. So, how can IoT companies optimize their entire ecosystem to deliver joint solutions?

We asked Bill Johnson this very question at IoT World 2019 on our #AllianceAces podcast. Bill is the Marketing Director at Teledyne LeCroy, and we asked him about how their partnering with amazing companies (like BMW!) to deliver powerful IoT solutions.

Here’s what he had to say:

1: Pick a swim lane with IoT

IoT isn’t just broad — it’s an ever-expanding pool of technologies with new ideas, new use cases, and broadening applications. It’s impossible to be an expert in all areas in connectivity, and no one company can do it all. Bill’s advice:

Don’t shoot too broad.

By honing their expertise, Teledyne LeCroy has had incredible success — When we hung out with Bill, he was at his booth in front of a BMW i8. Because of the connectivity expertise Teledyne has, they’re helping BMW with advanced driver-assistance systems (or ADAS), LiDAR, imaging, sensor data, and in-car networking.

The opportunities have really innovative power because they focus their expertise within specific IoT swimlanes.

2: Solve end-user pain points

What’s one of the biggest IoT pain points for end-users in vehicles?

They don’t know who’s responsible for connectivity issues.

When your Bluetooth isn’t working — where’s the problem? Is the car manufacturer to blame, or is your device manufacturer's fault? Or, is a third-party software within the car or the phone malfunctioning?

It’s can be a confusing mess, with everyone pointing fingers at someone else.

Teledyne solved this pain point by developing an embedded Bluetooth trace. Their trace is so powerful, that multiple sides of the connectivity equation are now using the tracing software. Now, they can even share tracing activity with each other, enhancing the user experience, and problem-solving even faster. (With multiple companies using the tracer, Teledyne has incredible market leverage.)

3: Be on ground 0 to know how people are using IoT

To keep the creative energy flowing in IoT, you have to be on the ground level. Trade shows, tech blogs, conferences, etc. all give you ideas on how you can use IoT in ways you hadn't considered.

Your company's capabilities may be cutting edge, but when you see other cutting-edge technology, imagination explodes, and new IoT frontiers are pioneered.

Bill sees this all the time — someone will inevitably come by his booth at a trade show and see something Teledyn’s working on. It sparks their imagination: “Hey, we have this other innovative tech. What if we teamed up?!”

Signing off

IoT is a gold mine, but no company can go to market alone.

Pick a swim lane, solve problems, and stay aware of the technologies that are breaking new ground.

Listen to the podcast here.

To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the Alliance Aces Podcast, or visit our dedicated Alliance Aces page.

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To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

• Email: chip@workspan.com
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