Networked world: Risks and opportunities in the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) – devices that are connected to the Internet and collect and use data to operate – is about to transform society. Everything from smart fridges and lightbulbs to remote sensors and cities will collect data that can be analysed and used to provide a wealth of bespoke products and services. The impacts will be huge - by 2020, some 25 billion devices will be connected to the Internet with some studies estimating this number will rise to 125 billion in 2030. These will include many things that have never been connected to the Internet before. Like all new technologies, IoT offers substantial new opportunities which must be considered in parallel with the new risks that come with it. To make sense of this new world, Lloyd’s worked with University College London’s (UCL) Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP) and the PETRAS IoT Research Hub to publish this report. ‘Networked world’ analyses IoT’s opportunities, risks and regulatory landscape. It aims to help insurers understand potential exposures across marine, smart homes, water infrastructure and agriculture while highlighting the implications for insurance operations and product development. The report also helps risk managers assess how this technology could impact their businesses and consider how they can mitigate associated risks

The impact of digitalization on marketing strategies: empirical evidence in BtoB and BtoC firms.

Our era is characterized by a great digital and technological disruption that is changing both the social and economic landscape. Firms have to implement new business strategies, technologies and skills to remain competitive. This process of evolution is known under the heading of digital transformation which encompasses internal and organizational changes for firms, the implementation of new skills, new digital technologies and capabilities. One of the most promising among these technologies is the Internet of Things – IoT, which is gaining additional interest from businesses and academic researchers, due to its great opportunities for both firms and people. With our work, we aim to analyze the main impacts that the digital transformation, and the IoT as part of it, are having on the relationship between the firm and its market. Making a distinction between BtoB and BtoC markets, we have studied how the marketing strategies have been changed by the IoT and data analysis. Capitalizing on a literature review, we have formulated six propositions related to our research question, involving both direct and indirect impacts of the IoT on marketing. These hypotheses have been proved with some empirical case studies. The indirect consequences are referred to the organizational and cultural changes which are inevitable for a successful adoption of IoT solutions. While the direct changes are related to two marketing areas in particular: the customer engagement/relationship and the servitization and digital servitization, which benefit the most from IoT implementation as suggested by the case-study analysis.ope