IoT Hotlist '18:
Five Trends,
Five Firms

WHAT’S HOT?

Corrux is a brilliant example of what can be made possible with IoT and analytics. The company specifically approaches clients whose heavy machinery already collects data, which makes it possible to achieve a proof of concept without having to set foot upon a construction site. “As early on as the sales process, we can tangibly demonstrate the benefits of our solutions when we analyze previous client data.” Also of interest is Corrux’s partnership with Relayr and Münchner Rück (Relayr was recently purchased by Münchner Rück for EUR 300 Mio.). Whereas Relayr helps to obtain the right sensors for retrofit projects, Corrux is able to ensure total security for its clients if necessary through the Münchner Rück Group by insuring the optimization result at the construction site. Value-based pricing also remains within reach for Corrux in the future.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The seed-financed company aims to bring the first major project under contract during the final quarter of 2018. After its launch in Germany this year, Corrux aspires to go international: initial exploratory negotiations have already taken place in the United States, and by next year, Corrux is to have permanent representation in America. Bold plans for expansion, certainly - but understandable given the market dynamic. In addition to the growing offers of OEM construction equipment such as Caterpillar - whose lack of comprehensive interoperability continues to be a niche for providers such as Corrux - other independent providers are certainly abuzz in the market; providers such as ES Track and Topcon in the areas of fleet and site management, respectively, occupy the same niche as Corrux, but not yet with this business model. The startup now needs to harness their head start on the competition.

WHAT’S HOT? 

AnyLedger works using a (system-agnostic) blockchain wallet that directly becomes part of the microcontroller firmware of IoT devices. “We are giving decentralised superpowers to your IoT devices,” says Pieri. Through AnyLedger, every IoT device is equipped with its own wallet and can therefore independently carry out transactions.

By doing so, AnyLedger could become a central building block for implementing the dreams of ‘IoT on blockchain’ that we have been tracking in the market for some time now. Thanks to blockchain technology, truly decentralized and secured devices are edging their way into the realm of possibility. For one thing, AnyLedger remains pragmatic - no blockchain nodes are run locally, drastically influencing the demand for computing power and storage space for blockchain functionality. For another thing, AnyLedger specifically develops hardware architecture that is applicable for IoT, with a current focus on ARM chips.

AnyLedger intends to earn money with services that despite the decentralized nature of the blockchain, are often in demand within the B2B sector. Among these are wallet management, which is the administration of IoT devices that are equipped with AnyLedger, as well as additional services in the foreseeable future.

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Pieri envisions AnyLedger’s future in supply chain management, where offers for PoCs are already on the table, as well as in the automobile industry. Contrary to the trend of the last 18 months, an ICO (initial coin offering) is not the established medium for him to finance the growth of AnyLedger from prototype to scalable product - which is a good thing for us as initiators at LSP. Instead of an independent cryptocurrency, the path to market acceptance is through the compatibility to distributed ledgers that the target clients wish to implement.

The use of AnyLedger’s local encryption secures the device’s firmware as a side benefit also against malicious third-party access and/or the installation of malicious firmware as an OTA (over-the-air) update.  According to Pieri, this has already attracted the interest of the cybersecurity industry – which we find to be an intriguing second use.

WHAT’S HOT? 

Having one’s own OS on a chip is certainly a plus - but it’s not a unique selling point with regard to many open-source projects and large-scale initiatives such as Android Things. Yet paired together with the focus upon local networks of IoT devices that are intended to operate without a permanent internet connection and be able to interact with one another, last but not least with its own communications protocol as an intriguing alternative to other LPWA solutions, Lemonbeat’s proposition has earned a spot on our Hotlist. Its primary use cases currently revolve around smart metering and building management solutions, but Lemonbeat also continues to be used for the development of smart home solutions. One example of this is its partnership with Gardena. Products such as sensors, sprinkler systems, and lawn mowers operate independently with one another without a manual setup. “We help devices and system manufacturers to get started with the IoT: from the initial hardware development kit to industrial manufacturing in the same environment,” says van der Mond. Lemonbeat earns its money primarily through licensing its component offerings.

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Mr. Van der Mond sees Lemonbeat’s future in the areas of energy and utilities - a logical focus, given the company’s origins. Lemonbeat is also included in all of the smart meters produced by the energy company enviaM. It is here that the proprietary communication protocol also has big possibilities, for in heterogenous contexts, as they are found above all in smart homes, a rapid saturation of the market with LB Radio is not to be expected. All the better that Lemonbeat also supports LoRa and ethernet connectivity.  

WHAT’S HOT? 

mozaiq recognizes what has proven difficult in many places: consumers want to operate and manage their devices as effortlessly as possible. Customer loyalty to the manufacturer only lasts as long as it is also supported by added value. This is precisely the fertile soil upon which offerings such as IFTTT is sprouting up rapidly. Aggregators and third-party apps enable the user to make the most out of his or her device irrespective of the manufacturer. As a result, OEMs lose what are often the key customer touchpoints within their own applications.

mozaiq offers OEMs the possibility to increase the value of their own apps – and thus still stay ahead with regard to their customers. Says Rehberger: “We help our clients to pinpoint the right B2B partnerships within the Internet of Things and to launch projects collaboratively. Within the mozaiq market, over 130 partners are available which can be independently linked to complex logics in the Use Case Designer.” For the use of the platform, the OEMs pay a variable fee depending upon the active end-customer app installations connected to mozaiq.

In so doing, mozaiq enables the OEM to focus upon their own core competencies: instead of spending considerable time and resources to securely integrate diverse partners, only one interface to mozaiq is required.

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Following the public launch at IFA 2018, mozaiq is now focusing upon the further expansion of its platform.

Of particular interest are the possibilities for data-driven B2B business models through mozaiq: affiliated companies can decide for themselves how much they wish to charge for their data - mozaiq carries out the billing and participates in the transactions. Moreover, intriguing business models could emerge with regard to service providers such as insurance companies.

An important success factor is the breadth and relevance of offerings that mozaiq provides - it is only in this way that it pays off to integrate the new partner in place of direct, individual partnerships. Accordingly, mozaiq is currently pushing the expansion of the platform of corresponding digital services in the fields of smart building, smart cities, and the like, in order to be even more widely positioned for its B2B clients.

WHAT’S HOT? 

In addition to the established tools on the factory floor and high-cost specialized solutions such as AR glasses, the Workerbase watch is an exciting addition to the market. While a clear differentiator is the company’s own hardware, solution competence is at the forefront of Workerbase. “We are an IoT platform provider that also supplies corresponding hardware. In the future, Workerbase will also have available additional hardware options apart from the smartwatch,” says Krüger. Considering the diverse offerings of generically industrial interfaces on the market, Workerbase is betting big by linking self-developed hardware with a self-designed platform.

We’re excited about the universal applicability of the Workerbase system: the ‘clocks’ are an effective method for both continuous use in standard processes and process reality implementations within the framework of optimization projects, provided that the envisioned savings can justify the technical effort. Workerbase would even rent the watches instead of selling them, but due to the complex purchase processes of large companies, this is still a rare occurrence.

WHAT’S NEXT? 

Workerbase was quickly able to get diverse automotive OEM as well as major consulting firms enthusiastic about pilot projects: this creates profitability and finances the company’s further development. The first international projects are already underway. In addition to commercial uses, Workerbase must continue to acknowledge the social obligations of its solutions: good then, that the company is already making a concerted effort now to proactively communicate with for its clients, for example, with works councils that are involved.