With her knowledge of the industry, Anne Hoyer has been advising several Fortune 500 companies on their IoT and innovation strategy and leading cross-company execution teams on IoT development. An IoT expert who started her Technology career at SAP and quickly progressed to a global role in the industry, Anne is now Chairman of the Advisory Board for Smart IoT London
What are you expecting to see at Smart IoT this year?
Lots of good use cases! Real world problems here and now, solved by a myriad of companies specialised and general to create this beautiful and ever evolving ecosystem that is lifting the IoT.
Also, I am waiting to see some good debates in the panels. Some opposite opinions and viewpoints. It is okay to disagree. This is where we spark innovation, by pushing each other’s boundaries. I am really looking forward to this year, the keynotes, the panels and the exhibitors are all going to get the conference buzzing.
Which particular areas do you think are developing the most quickly and why?
We have been talking about data as truly value generating and now we need to start harvesting that.
Not just in silos but cross industry, private and public. IoT is strongly rooted in manufacturing but the use cases are endless, especially if we start to enrich data with data from other sources. Data exchange will be a massive topic in the very near future.
Anne Hoyer, IoT and Innovation Director, CGI Business Consulting
Thinking about smart cities, where do you see opportunities for private & public sector cooperation?
Cities needs to see this new area from different angles. Public and commercial. Smart Ccities are not just about the – hands down valuable – aspect of public wellbeing, but there is also a commercial aspect that can prove lucrative for cities.
If a city is well connected on their data infrastructure and intelligent use thereof, this can create new innovative jobs which can attract talent. Talent also attracts global company subsidiaries such as R&D labs. All of what in the end creates revenue for a city.
Now, once we start combining public and commercial aspects, we need to be very sure that the platforms we chose has the right level of security but there is a great progress on that front both from public bodies and start-and scale-ups working to tackle this issue.
Do you see the IoT industry sector fragmenting into verticals?
AI see more unity. The understanding of data and how this can enrich not just your company but the industry and the society in which we live will be a key focal point for IoT. This is both internal and external. I see companies wanting to consolidate data on the shopfloor between different machine manufacturers and I see cities cleaning citizen’s data for research and other purposes.
Anything else to add?
The true beauty is when we can gain understanding cross sector, cross supply chain, cross locations. Security is a topic but with technologies as blockchain we are getting more and more security. New cyber security centres, more focus from private and governmental institutions.
Join Anne Hoyer at Smart IoT London, 11-12 March, ExCeL London
Smart IoT has compiled the biggest and best programme to date with 2 theatres, 67 speakers and 4 brand new streams of content!
