As LinkedIn has reminded me and my connections, this month we celebrate our third birthday. It had me reminiscing about the journey - the highs, the lows and everything in between. Without self-indulging too much, I want to share a short story of that journey and some key lessons which I think you may find valuable.
The bumps and swerves in the road have developed us all personally and professionally and, without doubt, helped us deliver better solutions and outcomes for our clients. Every cloud, as they say…
Where it all started
Just over three years ago, my business partner (Neal) and I were at a Sigfox conference in Miami. We were working in the world of LPWAN (low powered wide area networks) and had extensive experience delivering client projects.
After the conference, we took an extra couple of days to explore the area and, as we were driving south in a hired Mustang, roof down, shades on and elbows resting on the car doors (cliché I know!), we embarked upon one of the most interesting and, as it turns out, life-saving conversations we'd ever had.
We both loved what we did and were truly excited by the potential IoT offered but, at the same time, frustrated by society's lethargic adoption of the opportunities it presented.
As we cruised towards Key West that Friday afternoon we pondered why and what could be done about it - eventually arriving at the conclusion that we were the ones to solve the lack of adoption crisis that existed.
In summary we saw three vital factors:
- There were no ubiquitous networks that could be used for large roll-out IoT projects.
- IoT was not understood by those that needed to understand it.
- The cost of deployment was far too high for any organisation to roll out at scale, because they had to deal with multiple hardware, software, connectivity and network partners to make anything work - everyone adding margin and making integration difficult.
Point one was not in our power to solve, though we had the contacts and the knowledge to investigate and influence. Points two and three - now, we could do something about those. We decided there and then, with the wind in our hair, to do something about it.
The next leg of the journey
Without going through every decision that we made, suffice to say that through much forensic analysis and research we arrived at a business model and solution set that we felt would address these issues and respond to significant societal challenges in a meaningful way.
Based on our research, discussions and pilots, we produced a plan based on volume across specific solutions. A clear roadmap involved promotion and deployment on what we thought was a realistic timeline. The market was there, the appetite existed and we'd opened many doors.
Dealing with curve balls
No-one in the world has been unaffected by Covid in one way or another and it's fair to say that our business has felt the impact. We lost potential business as budgets were reassessed and diverted, some projects were postponed and yet, new opportunities arose.
The greatest new opportunity for us to make a difference was around the drive towards technology in the field of adult social care. New relationships were formed, new applications for existing solutions were uncovered and lives were saved.
Over the last three years I can honestly say that a day hasn't gone by without me learning something new and I strongly believe that the lessons have helped us deliver better for our clients, our team and society.
Three lessons from the road
If we had not been able to pivot our focus and resource then IoT Solutions Group would have died. No question. As an organisation, we stayed true to our core principles of providing end-to-end IoT solutions that minimise costs and provide valuable, actionable insights, but we shifted the focus to what was needed. Instead of continuing down our pre-determined roll-outs, we responded to what our clients needed.
Customer intimacy is crucial to any organisation operating in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. As it became clear that plan A was not going to see us through, we spent time really getting to understand what our clients now needed in the face of fresh challenges. By working closely with local authorities and private sector organisations, we were able to demonstrate that our founding principles allowed us to deliver true value - helping them achieve financial savings and make a real difference to the lives of individuals.
One of our organisational values is Tech For Good and this isn't just a tick box. It guides what we do and who we do it for. We set out three years ago to make a positive difference to people, business and society. Councils, business and individuals need to work together to uncover those opportunities, translate code into meaningful benefits and remove the barriers that prevent society progressing as fast as is possible.
The lessons learned are great and the journey over the last three years has been amazing - but the future promises so much more for everyone we work with, because of all that has come before.