IoT Adoption Success Story: a Transformation in Product Positioning
A water dispenser company uses IoT to expand market share with new competitive advantage.
Table of Contents
A water dispenser company started the IoT adoption process to monitor component performance, but ended up creating a competitive advantage that resulted in significant expansion in market share.
Phase 1
Finding an optimal filter replacement strategy
A water dispenser company makes water dispensers that take tap water as input and filter it to produce drinking water as output. Its business model is leasing the dispensers to schools and businesses.
The problem they have is that the filter eventually loses effectiveness. However, because the filter life-time depends on the amount of water dispensed, which varies from dispenser to dispenser, it is difficult to come up with an optimal filter replacement strategy.
Our prior startup, GTI, created an IoT solution for them to monitor the water output using a water quality sensor. If the water quality degrades to below a preset threshold, an alert is sent wirelessly to the company, which then can schedule an operator to replace the filter.
Phase 2
IoT solution provides new product value
Very quickly, the water dispenser company realized that the value of the IoT solution is not in filter replacement. They added an LCD panel on their water dispenser to display the water quality in two ways: a number which is the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and a status which is “water quality: high” in green. Their marketing message also changed to revolve around “Delivering Safe Drinking Water.”
Phase 3
Serving local schools and major enterprises
The company then went ahead to build the water quality indicator into every one of its water dispenser models. They also created a mobile app so users can check water quality in real-time. In the past several years, they expanded their operations from primarily serving local schools to serving major enterprises across the country.
Conclusion
Use small, quick steps for disruptive results in IoT adoption
The benefit of IoT is often not well understood during the early phases of adoption. Very few customers can foresee how IoT will change their business operations or business model, and the transformations often come as surprises past the early adoption phases. Successful IoT adoption is disruptive, and it requires iteration and experimentation. It requires taking lots of small but quick steps. Prescient Designer serves this type of adoption process by offering solution flexibility and adaptability.
About Prescient Devices
The mission of Prescient Devices is to help customers achieve transformational IoT adoption. Our IoT Edge Solutions platform enables agile development of IoT projects without the IoT technology complexity barrier. Contact us to see how Prescient Designer can help you to achieve long-term IoT adoption success.