SIIA Executive Spotlight with Michael Beamer of Gotransverse
by the Software & Information Industry Association
SIIA: Gotransverse was recently recognized as the 2016 CODiE Award winner for Best IoT Solution of the Year. Talk a little about IoT monetization, where are we today and where are we headed?
BEAMER: The most important thing about IoT Monetization is that the possibilities are limitless. Early players in this space are creating service offerings around capabilities and data. More advanced players in this space are maximizing monetization by capturing revenue at a more granular level, such as how a sensor is being utilized.
All of this is happening in real-time, so being able to rapidly adapt to market conditions is key. We are working with some of the biggest companies in the world that are driving IoT initiatives around their platforms and products. They are seeing speed to monetization and unbounded monetization as the primary drivers. In a world where everyone is iterating on new models, this is key.
As a leading provider of tools to help monetize, we are actively working with business leaders around the world on how to drive monetization. It is an active community that is defining how we, as a society, figure this out.
SIIA: How do you see the collective ecosystem around IoT utilization expanding?
BEAMER: Much faster then what we think. The engineering behind IoT in regards to instrumentation with sensors and actuators has been going on for decades. This has mostly occurred on the Industrial side of IoT. The costs have been high, the effort complex, and the ROI not as clean cut. With the advent of low cost sensors, cloud computing, and networks everywhere -- the rules have changed.
The current dynamics really opens the door for the consumer side of things. This puts the ability to develop solutions in the hands of more engineers and developers around the world. As that happens, the pace of solutions expands. Ultimately, that drives utilization.
SIIA: What advice would you give companies looking to turn their IoT product into profit?
BEAMER: Think differently! Do not be bound by how companies are monetizing today. The more creative you are in how you package and price, the more opportunity you create for yourself to maximize revenue.
Engineer your solution with monetization in mind. Often companies build the product, then think about how to price and package. Do that early and you will find opportunities to capture additional revenue in the product.
SIIA: You have an impressive partner ecosystem. Can you talk about the impact your channel has on your business and what tips can you give on how to be successful in the partner ecosystem?
BEAMER: The world is different today in how solutions are delivered. The days of a mega-vendor trying to deliver every application you can think of under one roof are over. We have all realized the power of “crowd-sourcing” Essentially that’s what a partner ecosystem is. A large and diverse partner ecosystem allows us to leverage a huge number of solutions from vendors as well as plug into a wide range of System Integrators that each have their industry areas of expertise.
To be successful in the crowdsourcing/partner ecosystem model you have to play well with everyone. It’s nice if you have good integration to one big provider (like Salesforce.) We do as well. But we don’t stop there. You have to engineer your solutions and your people to thrive in a diverse world of partners.
The final point I would suggest is treat your partners like good friends. Our motto is let’s make friends, have a good time and deliver amazing solutions!
SIIA: Any finally, how do you define success?
BEAMER: Success at Gotransverse is when our customers are successful. This means they are hitting their business objectives, utilizing our platform, TRACT. For many, this means top line revenue growth through new product expansions or unique pricing models, getting to market faster than their competition to gain market share, and the freedom and flexibility to package and price in the way their customers want to buy. Our customer's success is our success.
Just like on the partner side, we treat our customers like friends. Our motto is let’s make friends, have a good time and deliver amazing solutions.