The Record - Issue 21: Summer 2021

55 departments have to integrate it into their cur- rent IT architecture or adapt it due to the higher generation of data. How can Bechtle support customers in their IoT journey? Bechtle is known for providing its customers with hardware and IT infrastructure (cloud, on premise, related know-how and services). But in 2020, it decided to invest heavily in IoT as demand increased. In the DACH region (Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) we now have over 80 people that are focused on IoT. We have exper- tise in developing digital products, expertise in devices and connectivity, and we have a unit related to analytics. As one of the few players in the market, we can combine IoT know-how with the power of an IT systems house. We cover all aspects when customers want to implement and scale an IoT solution. In the IoT life cycle, a lot of companies are left alone when it comes to deploying, managing and decommissioning, but our role is the ‘one- stop shop’ for IoT solutions. This reduces com- plexity for customers and helps them to work with one supplier. How is Bechtle using the Microsoft suite of IoT products? We are a strong partner of Microsoft and a leader for IoT platforms. Nearly all of our people have Microsoft background and are using Microsoft’s technology stack. Besides our ability to work with Microsoft’s IoT products, we are a good partner for scaling projects. We work with customers on the physical side of IoT projects and know how to connect generated data to Microsoft’s IoT products. This is a perfect partnership. I person- ally like the focus of Microsoft into IoT and the approach to use this technology for improving sustainability. We are now working together on a project on how to improve sustainability with IoT for a very big food producer. Combining tech- nology and sustainability is a good cause and has real business impact for large scale companies. What is IoT’s place in the future? The players who went through this are now dom- inating the market and others have to follow. I think the topic of IoT will gain much more trac- tion and we will see an increase in the speed of implementation, especially with cloud technol- ogy being a strong driver for IoT implementa- tion. With more connectivity options and more suppliers of reliable sensors, more customers will implement large scale IoT cases, bringing pres- sure to their peers in the market. New sensor and connectivity technologies will enable more user cases and due to the increased number of suppli- ers, costs will come down. Edge and fog comput- ing will play a strong role in IoT and will make it more affordable. IoT, AI and blockchain will go hand in hand and will provide companies more transparency or enable new business models.